Category: News

Dakota Johnson was a star from the second she appeared in The Social Network. Actually, she was a star from the moment she was born, considering her parents are Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith, but the decade-defining birth of Facebook movie is when she got the greatest compliment of her career, courtesy of director David Fincher: “David said that role could have easily been thankless and that I did something different with it. I found that to be the most wonderful thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Johnson’s first leading role came four years later when she starred in Fifty Shades of Grey. The erotic-drama, which was followed by two sequels, was a huge hit at the box office and, as Vanity Fair put it in a new cover story, “turned Johnson into a globally known name in 2015.” But not a lover of limes. Looking back at playing Anastasia Steele now, Johnson has mixed feelings about the films. “There were a lot of different disagreements. I haven’t been able to talk about this truthfully ever, because you want to promote a movie the right way, and I’m proud of what we made ultimately and everything turns out the way it’s supposed to, but it was tricky,” she said.

“I’m a sexual person, and when I’m interested in something, I want to know so much about it,” she begins. “That’s why I did those big naked movies.” She sips her tea without breaking eye contact. “I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making.”

I ask if the studio or the directors were the problem, or if it was a combo platter.

“Combo,” she says. She leans in. “It was also the author of the books.”

That would be E. L. James, who got the inspiration for the Fifty Shades books after writing Twilight fan fiction under the name “Snowqueens Icedragon.” (Do you think Johnson, Robert Pattinson, and Kristen Stewart, three of the finest — and finest looking — working actors in their 30s, ever text about this? They should.)

When asked if she regrets starring in the Fifty Shades trilogy, Johnson replied, “No. I don’t think it’s a matter of regret. If I had known… If I had known at the time that’s what it was going to be like, I don’t think anyone would’ve done it. It would’ve been like, ‘Oh, this is psychotic.’ But no, I don’t regret it.” She doesn’t wanna live forever with regret.

You can watch Johnson in Cha Cha Real Smooth, now on Apple TV+.

(Via Vanity Fair)

This was probably one of the most difficult weeks to get through after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which sent the country into panic. Many musicians spoke up about it, from world-dominating pop star Billie Eilish to old-school legends Pearl Jam, providing comfort to fans who know that their idols support the same values as them. It even brought Taylor Swift to Twitter to discuss the matter. Despite the chaos, there were some great releases in pop music this week, which can be found below.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop releases. Listen up.

Taylor Swift — “Carolina”

Taylor Swift’s new song “Carolina” is for the forthcoming film Where The Crawdads Sing. It’s a haunting ballad that feels taken from Folklore; it’s in touch with her patient, folky side. Her vocals linger in a lower range, imbuing the track with a visceral seriousness.

Willow — “Maybe It’s My Fault”

Willow, who pivoted to pop punk with her latest album Lately I Feel Everything, has barely rested in the past year. “Maybe It’s My Fault” is the newest of her songs, after collaborations like “Psychofreak” and “Purge,” and it has the same sharp edge and bombastic personality, but it’s even more inventive and catchy, really leaning into the darkness.

Muna — “What I Want”

“Silk Chiffon” singers Muna have had to prove that they’re more than that hit, and this new self-titled album succeeds. This electronic track “What I Want” is colorful and holds nothing back: “I want the full effects / I want to hit it hard / I want to dance in the middle of a gay bar,” they sing. It’s the perfect pride anthem.

Nessa Barrett — “Die First”

Nessa Barrett’s strength is her vulnerability, and her new song “Die First” takes that to the next level. In Morrissey-like fashion (“To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die,” of course), Barrett shows her love and devotion through tragic means, contemplating her own mortality as well as that of her lover: “I hope I die first / ‘Cause I don’t wanna live without you,” she sings.

Conan Gray — “Disaster”

“Disaster” portrays pop star Conan Gray’s immaculate storytelling ability. Against a bouncy beat, he sings about his reluctance about engaging in romance. He thinks about the worst possible scenario, as we’re all prone to do: “I’m a little bit plastered / You call me a liar, / Now I’m falling in faster / This could be a disaster,” he sings entertainingly.

Kacey Musgraves — “Can’t Help Falling In Love”

A lot of artists have taken on the task of covering this classic, but Kacey Musgraves is definitely one of the best candidates. Her soft voice and twangy style make it sound as if the ballad is her own; her vocals glow with earnestness and emotion against the slow piano. Though it’s brief, every second is impactful.

Dove Cameron — “Breakfast”

Dove Cameron is not messing around on this new song “Breakfast,” which is propelled forward with a brooding, menacing rhythm as well as mischievous vocals. She haunts in a Lana Del Rey or Billie Eilish kind of way, with incisive lyrics: “I eat boys like you for breakfast / One by one hung on my necklace / And they’ll always be mine / It makes me feel alive,” she sings.

Charlie Puth, Jung Kook — “Left And Right”

This collaboration between Charlie Puth and BTS’ Jung Kook is about trying to move on from a relationship that’s hard to forget. The two singers trade off verses, singing about the pain over a breezy beat: “Did you know you’re the one that got away / And even now baby I’m still not okay,” Puth sings.

Hayley Kiyoko — “Deep In The Woods”

“‘Deep in the Woods’ is a song that captures the feeling of instant connection,” said singer Hayley Kiyoko, “as if you’ve known someone forever even though you’ve only just met.” She does a great job conveying this powerful sensation in her emotive new song, on which she sings, “I know I met you in another life / You’re unforgettable.”

Glaive — “Minnesota Is A Place That Exists”

Glaive’s new song “Minnesota Is A Place That Exists” is an addictive, vivacious anthem about youthful, reckless love: “Smoking cigarettes with pretty girls inside my head / Do you remember when you / Said you’re smoking less and then you ashed it on your chest,” he sings over an almost hyperpop sound. The track bursts with idiosyncratic synths and an eccentric aura that will make you press repeat.

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

SpotemGottem is known for getting in trouble. The Jacksonville, FL rapper, whose real name is Nehemiah Harden, has been arrested after a jet ski chase. According to NBC Miami, Miami police tried to pull Harden over when he was speeding on a jet ski. Needless to say, he did not pull over. When the cops caught him, he was charged with reckless operation of a boat and fleeing police.

Last year, the “Beat Box” star was arrested by US marshalls on firearm violations and aggravated assault. He and several of his friends broke the gate at a parking garage in Miami and reportedly threatened someone who tried to stop them — the story doesn’t make clear whether this was a passerby or the garage attendant — with a semi-automatic weapon. He was granted an $18,500 bond.

A few months after that incident, he was shot multiple times while driving on the I-95. He told police he was being driven south on the highway when someone in another car began shooting at his car, hitting his driver in the hip and wounding Spotem, who was sitting in the passenger seat, in both legs. The report said at least 22 shots were fired, likely from an automatic weapon.

While Britney Spears has shared several celebratory moments on Instagram recently — including getting married, recreating her iconic kiss with Madonna, and moving into her new home — she, like many of us, admits she still sometimes feels insecure seeing other people’s photos and videos on the platform.

In a video set to Katy Perry’s “Firework,” Spears shared a video of her recreating a viral dance. Although she appeared happy in the video, the accompanying caption indicated that she’s worked hard to find that happiness.

“Do you know how many times I literally wanted to crawl in a hole and feel like an idiot while looking at social media ???” said Spears in an Instagram post. “These women with a style game and hot bodies … sh*t !!! The excitement of fast shooting with edits these days … In my conservatorship, each shot in my videos was like 4 years !!!”

Also in the post, she admitted she feels she doesn’t have it all together, saying, “I lose my phone 3x a day, can’t find my shades when they are on top of my head … I’m human and I do my best !!! I know I completely suck most of the time but I still try my best.”

Stars — they’re just like us.

Vladimir Putin’s so steamed over the world rejecting Russia amid his Ukraine invasion that the Kremlin’s been rolling out massive sh*t lists of Americans who are no longer welcome to visit his country. That includes expected. names like Joe Biden and his colleagues, but also semi-random names like Morgan Freeman. None of them, probably, are losing any rest over never entering Russia, but Putin’s still going. The Russian president, who’s leadership is said to “no longer absolute” is continuing to bring the (ineffective) hammer down, and he’s got a new list.

According to Forbes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has finally landed upon Putin’s list of those who not “indefinitely” worthy of Russia. This is amusing, considering that (back in 2019) Mitch groused on the Senate floor after critics dubbed him “Moscow Mitch,” and the Washington Post called him a “Russian asset.” Yet Forbes unrolls the list of Putin-banned names, which includes part of Biden’s family and these U.S. lawmakers:

A host of high-profile politicians have also been targeted, including McConnell, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Sen. Benjamin Sass (R-Neb.), Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

What did Mitch do? He criticized far-right congresspeople (including Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Green), who he accused of being part of the “Putin wing of the Republican party” as well as “a few lonely voices off to the side” who should be ignored. Surely, Putin’s also steamed about this lack of Mitch support during the Russia-Ukraine war, all while the U.S. continues to pile on economic sanctions. Well, Vlad the Bad really told him who’s boss, not to mention who’s the biggest Botox addict of them all.

(Via Forbes & Salon)

A couple nights ago, on June 26, Halsey played a show in Phoenix, Arizona. Since abortion and Roe v. Wade is on minds everywhere right now, Halsey took some time during the show — after “Nightmare,” towards the end of the setlist — to speak out about the issue. At one point, they noted, “If you don’t like it, you can go home right now, I don’t care. If you don’t like it, I don’t know why you came to a Halsey concert, because I’ve never been shy that this is how I feel.”

According to some fan reports online, it turns out that a decent number of attendees took Halsey up on that and did in fact leave the show: One fan tweeted, “The amount of people who just walked out of the Halsey concert after Nightmare when she spoke about abortion was sickening.” Halsey, though, remains unbothered, as they shared that tweet and added, “downside of doing outdoor venues: no door to hit them on the way out [hand waving emoji].”

This came a couple days after Halsey tweeted, “I have been advocating for abortion, reproductive rights, and bodily integrity for as long as I’ve had a platform and I’m running out of ways to word and frame the severity of the impact that fundamentalism has on our country. I know some of you look to my page for information or guidance but I need a little bit of time to speak to some people with more authority and experience than me and gather my thoughts. I don’t want to just contribute to antagonistic noise. I’m just defeated at the moment.”

For the past 48 hours, Rudy Giuliani has been trying to make hay of being “attacked” at a Shop-Rite in New York while campaigning for his son, Andrew Giuliani. However, despite Giuliani’s claims that he could’ve died if he was a “weaker 78-year-old,” the so-called assault looked like nothing more than a pat on the back to most observers. With Fox News not really covering the story, Giuliani took his harrowing tale to Newsmax where he expected a more sympathetic audience. Instead, even pro-Trump anchor Greg Kelly’s first reaction is the same as anyone with eyes.

“I’ve got to be honest, it doesn’t look that bad,” Kelly said during the bizarre interaction where it sounds like Giuliani is next to a lawnmower.

While Kelly’s initial reaction pretty much says it all, the Newsmax anchor gave Giuliani some wiggle room, and America’s Mayor immediately used it to claim that the anchor was looking at the wrong person. Via Insider:

As the video showed the man slapping his back, Giuliani claimed that Kelly was looking at another person in the video.

“That was the woman who was rubbing my back, not the guy who hit me,” said Giuliani.

Kelly didn’t challenge this, saying: “That makes sense. Well look, I’m sorry you were roughed up but the campaign trail is crazy.”

It also doesn’t help Giuliani’s case that a judge has already downgraded the charges from felony assault to a misdemeanor because, again, the video clearly shows a pat on the back. MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes went full Zapruder on the footage, playing it slow motion, and it is nowhere near the potentially deadly assault that Giuliani has been touting since Sunday.

(Via Aaron Rupar on Twitter)

As outrageous as it sounds considering the laundry list of crimes for which R. Kelly was convicted, the disgraced R&B star still has plenty of hardcore fans — some much harder than others. According to Billboard, one who recently went way out of his way to show his support for Kelly was arrested after threatening federal prosecutors involved in Kelly’s New York case (his Chicago case is still pending). Bolingbrook, Illinois resident Christopher Gunn was arrested Saturday and faces up to five years in prison if he’s convicted.

Appearing in court yesterday, he was detained without bond. A detention hearing was scheduled for Wednesday, and the Department of Justice wants him moved to New York for trial. Gunn allegedly posted a video to his YouTube page flashing a photo of the prosecutors’ Brooklyn office building and sharing his plan to “storm” it. “[I]f you ain’t got the stomach for the shit we bout to do, I’m asking that you just bail out,” he says in the video. Prosecutors say Gunn also accepted payments via Cash App for ammunition, including transactions with messages such as “30 rounds on the haters.”

While there’s plenty of idle talk on social media, it appears that Gunn may have been planning to carry out his threats; a log book from the courthouse where Kelly’s trial was held contains Gunn’s signature on September 3, 2021. Incidentally, there’s no indication that Kelly actually knows Gunn, and there are all kinds of things you can say about that. According to court documents, Gunn is charged with “knowingly and intentionally transmit[ing] in interstate and foreign commerce communications containing threats … that would result in the death or serious bodily injury” of three Assistant US Attorneys who participated in Kelly’s prosecution.

Kelly, meanwhile, awaits sentencing after being found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking, with prosecutors recommending over 25 years in prison under the belief that if released sooner, he’d be up to his old tricks rather than reformed.

Did you think the summer of video game announcements was over? Not at all! While PlayStation, Xbox, and most AAA publishers got their announcements out of the way earlier in the month, Nintendo decided that it wanted to have a Nintendo Direct right towards the end of June. Don’t worry if you missed it, because while it’s always exciting to get some new games, Nintendo made it very clear that this was going to be a showcase for only third-party publishers. That means no Breath of the Wild 2, Metroid, or Mario news.

It was still a fun showcase though! We got some updates on a few games we already knew about, saw a couple of new games, a legacy collection, and a surprising remake! It was a fun way to round out a month that’s always filled to the brim with announcements. Let’s break down what we learned from today’s Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

We already knew Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was coming thanks to its reveal during last Summer’s E3 showcases, but we were given a fun little teaser for the upcoming game during this year’s Nintendo Direct.

The trailer itself didn’t have too much new info to show us, although the inclusion of Bowser is always a good time when it comes to Mario spin-off titles, and we even got to see some gameplay. The big announcement everyone wanted to know though was a release date and we can excitedly expect it to come out on October 20. Hopefully, this doesn’t end up getting delayed, because a bunch of Rabbids dressing up as Mario characters sounds like the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit this fall.

Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection

Mega Man Battle Network on the surface looks a lot like if you combined Mega Man with Pokemon and in some ways it is, but simplifying it as just a Pokemon clone doesn’t do the franchise justice. These games are all filled to the brim with content thanks to enjoyably simple stories, addictive gameplay, and a lot of chance for variety in how you approach battles. There’s a lot of justified nostalgia for this franchise.

During the Nintendo Direct, it was announced that every single Battle Network game would be released in one package together in the Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection. That’s technically 10 whole games in one package! That said, it’s actually six games but a few of them have alternate versions so that’s how they’re able to advertise it as a 10-game package. It will include a couple features beyond the game such as a music collection pack as well as a cool resolution filter to make the GBA pixels not so harsh on high resolution TV’s and Switch screens.

Pac-Man World Re-PAC

Pac-Man might be best known for his adventures on arcade cabinets, but there was a brief period of time where he was a full on mascot character that received his own adventures and party games. These games usually ranged from bad to mediocre, but there was one adventure that a lot of fans really enjoyed and that was Pac-Man World for the PlayStation. It was a full on 3D adventure with worlds to unlock, items to collect, and enemies to defeat.

In what may have been the biggest surprise of the entire direct, Pac-Man World is getting a remake! Pac-Man World Re-PAC was announced during the direct with a trailer showing us a modern remake of the original game. Was anybody out there begging for a remake of Pac-Man World? Unlikely, but that doesn’t mean those of us who played the original and loved it are going to say no to a chance to re-experience that adventure. It’s also a great opportunity for younger players who never got to play the first game to jump into it.

Portal Companion Collection

When Portal Companion Collection was first announced back in February it was oddly not given a release date. We knew it was coming out in 2022, but that was about it. So imagine our surprise and delight to see the game show up in this Nintendo Direct to let us know that later today, June 28, the game would be officially released on the Switch!

Portal and Portal 2 are of course considered by many to be two of the best games ever made. These puzzle games are incredibly well made, extremely unique, and so well written that fans continue to quote them to this very day. Now they’re available to us on the go and we couldn’t be happier. Got a long flight coming up? Pick up this collection and watch time fly by as you experience two of the best puzzle games ever. This is great news for Switch owners.

Harvestella

Ya know what’s fun? Farming games. Everybody loves farming games like Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, or My Time at Portia, because they’re delightful and relaxing. Now what if you took that relaxing concept, added some JRPG stakes to it, and through in some combat? Well, then you would get Harvestella.

This new game from Square Enix combines the JRPG and Farming Sim genres to create a really intriguing concept. Is that concept going to work well together? We have no idea, but it’s going to be really exciting to give it a try once the game releases in November. Switch fans in particular should be really excited since it looks like the game is a Switch and PC exclusive. Another potentially strong RPG for the Switch library.

After a tumultuous first season in Los Angeles, Russell Westbrook will be returning to the Lakers (at least barring a trade this summer) after deciding to pick up his $47 million player option.

Westbrook seemed excited about player option day, as he posted a video of him joyfully singing in the car prior to the news coming out.

Westbrook, who could’ve become a free agent on July 1, unsurprisingly made the decision to finish out the last year of his contract rather than hit the open market, leaving the Lakers in the expected position of needing to fill out their roster around their three max stars with veteran minimums and the taxpayer mid-level. The only other Lakers under contract currently are LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Kendrick Nunn (who likewise picked up his player option for $5.25 million after missing all of the 2021-22 season with injury), which means there are 10 roster spots potentially to fill out — although Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, and Wenyen Gabriel all figure to be brought back and second round pick Max Christie is expected to make the roster in some form.

New Lakers coach Darvin Ham offered a public vote of confidence for Westbrook in his introductory presser, but did indicate that he’s aware the only way Westbrook, James, and Davis can work together is if they commit on the defensive end. That message seemed particularly pointed towards Westbrook, who struggled on that end a year ago and will have to be better at the point of attack for the Lakers to bounce back as contenders. There is always the possibility the Lakers decide they can’t run it back, but as the months have gone by since there was considerable trade deadline buzz about Westbrook, the indication has been the team doesn’t want to mortgage the future by dealing a pick away alongside the former All-Star.