Category: News

America’s Sweetheart and Hollywood legend Carol Burnett doesn’t do interviews very often, but when she was approached by a 17-year-old to chat, it seems like she was delighted at the prospect! In a new interview with the iconic actress, Vanity Fair asked what she had been up to lately, Burnett casually announced she would be a guest on season six of the hit Breaking Bad spinoff, Better Call Saul.

While describing her lockdown experience (it appears the interview was conducted last year), the prolific comedian nonchalantly added that she would be starring in the final season of AMC’s Better Call Saul. “I’m also going to be working in August. I’m going to do a guest shot on Better Call Saul. It’s their final season. I’m in the last few episodes.” Burnett said.

Burnett will be portraying Marion for the final few episodes, which begin airing next month. Her character details haven’t been announced, though Burnett is seemingly ecstatic. “I’m thrilled to be a part of my favorite show,” Burnett said in a statement to MovieMaker. With Burnett’s comedic history and Bob Odenkirk’s out-there sense of humor, it’s surprising it took this long to make it happen!

The second half of the final season will begin airing on July 11th, with more familiar faces slated to appear: earlier this month, the dynamic two from Breaking Bad were confirmed to have a guest appearance in season six, where hopefully nobody will die before the conclusion but with this universe…you really never know.

(Via Vanity Fair)

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Conan Gray was preternaturally ready for life on the internet. Despite the kind of chaotic and abusive upbringing that so many children in America unfortunately experience, Conan found resilience in creativity, and sharing his many artistic projects with a community online. After video diaries and a visual art series began to blow up on YouTube, Conan released his first song, “Idle Town,” back in 2017, and became a pop star almost immediately after that. It only took a few months for Republic Records — home of his idol, Taylor Swift, no less — to scoop him up, and a debut EP, Sunset Season, came shortly after in 2018. Spending the next two years touring, releasing singles, and carefully readying a debut album, Gray was one of so many artists whose 2020 turned out much differently than expected.

Dropping Kid Krow about a week after the initial lockdowns began, and putting plans to perform at his first Coachella on ice, Conan still earned a top five spot on the Billboard charts and had the track “Heather” go viral on TikTok. The bulk of Kid Krow is about relationships with frustrating ends — or, with frustrating beginnings and middles, too, a bloodletting of high school cliques, fake friends, and toxic crushes. It’s both a continuation and refinement of the sound that Gray established on his early YouTube singles and initial EP, and likely would’ve been a much bigger album if the rollout hadn’t been eclipsed by a global crisis. But, maybe all things turn out how they’re supposed to, because as great as Kid Krow was, Conan’s follow-up album is even better. Superache is aptly named, an album full of songs about wanting and hoping, a more grown up approach to the relationship frustrations that defined Kid Krow.

Kicking off with “Movies” and “People Watching,” two songs about wanting to feel a love that seems omnipresent but is still somehow inaccessible, there’s a lighter touch on Superache than Gray’s songwriting had in the past. Even when he gets closer to the scorched earth feel, like on “Disaster” and “Jigsaw,” there’s a sense of lived experience in these songs that adds a layer of depth. Much of Kid Krow was obsessed with what-if’s and potential relationships that never quite jelled — Superache is about the aftermath. And, there’s plenty of songs on this record that expand Gray’s palette past the subjects of unrequited love or breakup drama. Even “Memories,” one of the album’s standout tracks, offers a new angle on the age-old situation of seeing an ex for the first time after a breakup.

When he gets even farther off topic though, Gray’s storytelling skill really shines, like on the trauma-exploring “Family Line,” which examines Gray’s troubled upbringing once more, interrogating just how close he is to the mistakes his parents have made. Another left-field song, “Best Friend,” dips a toe into the world of trap beats, praising a ride-or-die (platonic?) friend with the same fervor generally reserved for loathing an ex. It’s the kind of song that the eternally single will relate to, the rare track devoted to a platonic relationship instead of a romantic one, and a celebration of the way completely accepting someone, flaws and all, breeds a sense of safety and comfort.

For the second time, Gray worked closely with producer Dan Nigro on the record, and though Nigro is now synonymous with the success of Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour, his working relationship with Gray predates Olivia’s debut. Still, close listeners will hear some similarities in vocal style between Gray and Rodrigo, like clusters of close harmonies, emotional delivery, and slowly enunciated words, and the two also happen to be fast friends outside of music as well. Unlike Sour, though, Superache isn’t afraid to go long and slow, with plenty of ballads that hold up just as well as the bangers — “Astronomy,” “Summer Child,” and “Footnote” all lean more heavily into the acoustic side of things.

At just twelve songs, Superache is relatively short in terms of a modern pop record, but each song is a thoughtful expansion and nothing ever drags. The only truly puzzling decision was the choice to relegate “Overdrive,” a joyous, chaotic single from early 2021, to bonus track status. That one, along with “Telepath,” represents a couple of the more upbeat singles Gray put out last year, but the pair were bumped for some of the slower singles included instead. And if the only thing wrong with Superache is that there are so many great songs that a couple of early singles needed to appear as bonus tracks, well, that’s a good problem to have. Gray’s second album makes the riskier choice to go much deeper into the vulnerable side of things, and the fact that these downtempo tracks can still be hits is a testament to his staying power.

Superache is out now via Republic Records. Get it here.

Fans of Muni Long‘s breakout single “Hrs And Hrs” have helped make the songwriting star one of R&B’s biggest success stories of the past year, and today, she’s announced her impending follow-up to her debut EP, Public Displays Of Affection. Fittingly, it’s titled Public Displays Of Affection Too and it’s due July 1 via Supergiant/Def Jam Recordings. Clocking in at five tracks, it contains one guest feature from Saweetie and will contain Muni Long’s new singles “Another” and “Pain.”

The former aspiring country star — she released a twangy project under her real name, Priscilla Renea, in 2018 — made the switch to R&B for her 2021 EP after writing songs for the likes of Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Selena Gomez, and more, a move that paid off big time. “Hrs And Hrs” became a huge smash thanks to a viral trend on TikTok and since then, Muni Long has gone on to work with pop R&B juggernauts like John Legend, appearing on his new single “Honey.” Muni Long’s coronation came at last night’s BET Awards, where she performed her breakout hit on stage amid performances by Latto, Chance The Rapper, Doechii, and more. You can watch her performance below.

Public Displays Of Affection Too is due 7/1 via Supergiant/Def Jam Recordings. You can see the tracklist below.

1. “Pain”
2. “Another”
3. “Baby Boo” Feat. Saweetie
4. “Crack”
5. “Cartier”

As Wednesday’s deadline for players to exercise or decline their options for next season approaches, all eyes are on Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets, as his departure could also pave the way for Kevin Durant to ask out — which would lead to one of the all-time bidding wars in NBA history.

On Monday morning, there appeared to be little in the way of positive momentum between the Nets and Irving, with Zach Lowe reporting on ESPN’s Get Up! that a max offer was not going to be on the table from Brooklyn and they seemed willing to draw a line in the sand to not be “held hostage” by Kyrie and KD.

Later in the morning, a bombshell report from Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News indicated that not only was there not any positivity in contract talks between Irving and the Nets, but that Kyrie had requested and been granted permission to seek out sign-and-trade offers from other teams.

In fact, things are trending the opposite direction: While Nets GM Sean Marks and superstar forward Kevin Durant have yet to speak this offseason, Irving’s camp has requested and received permission from the Nets to speak with other teams about sign-and-trade packages, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. The belief among both league and player circles is that Irving is gone and the Seven-Eleven Era is over before it ever began.

That is the most significant report yet that Irving’s tenure in Brooklyn is over and that things are truly moving towards his departure in the next few weeks — and follows Shams Charania saying it was “expected” that Kyrie would seek a trade on Draft day. The group of teams on Irving’s preferred list (Lakers, Clippers, Knicks, Heat, Mavs and 76ers) are all capped out teams, meaning a sign-and-trade is the only option — although some, like the Lakers and Clippers, would need him to opt in and trade for him on his current $36+ million salary to get it done.

We will now see what happens in the next couple of days, because if Irving picks up his player option it would indicate what teams will be able to get involved, while if he hits free agency it shifts who would be favored to land him — and now the clock is ticking on what KD will try to do.

Lauren Boebert has been dragged into an election fraud scandal. Tina Peters, an indicted Colorado election clerk who’s also running to be Colorado’s secretary of state, has reportedly accused Boebert of encouraging her to copy “sensitive” election software data. Peters is looking at seven felony charges including identity theft and criminal impersonation. However, despite reportedly admitting that she copied the data, which has endeared her to election conspiracy theory pusher Mike Lindell, Peters has pleaded not guilty and claims “there was no rule or regulation against it.” The Colorado secretary of state office has argued otherwise.

Via The New York Times:

In public appearances since, Ms. Peters has said she made the copies because she worried the voting machine company was going to delete computer systems that recorded the 2020 election and wanted to preserve records. She has been less forthcoming about how the material ended up online.

“The people want to know HOW our elections have been turned over to machines with no oversight, transparency or real security in any meaningful way,” Ms. Peters said in the statement.

As for Boebert’s involvement, Peters told the Times on Friday that the congresswoman “encouraged me to go forward with the imaging.” When reached for comment, a representative for Boebert told the Times that Peters’ claim is “false.”

However, as Raw Story reports, Boebert had previously issued a statement of support in 2021 when Peters was indicted. “Many of the constituents I represent have expressed concern about the ongoing investigation into Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters,” Boebert said. “As many of you know, I have been a vocal opponent of the overreach and targeted nature of the FBI’s activities on a national level.”

(Via The New York Times)

Around this time last month, Drake and Haim met up in Toronto, with Drake sharing a smile-heavy photo of the encounter and writing, “Just met the Beatles.” While it made sense that the two would meet in Drake’s hometown, what hadn’t been made clear is how Drake and Haim actually crossed paths. Now, though, the Haim sisters have shared how it happened: pure coincidence.

According to a new NME interview, the story goes:

Alana: “We literally landed in Toronto, and went to the first restaurant we saw… it’s like something out of a movie. We were at this random restaurant and Drake showed up.”

Danielle: “It sounds like folklore, like a mythic story.”

Alana: “But that’s what happened!”

Este: “We were straight-up wearing our clothes from the plane, to see Drake.”

Alana: “Well, we didn’t know! It’s pretty crazy.”

Este: “But that’s what I’m saying, we didn’t know and he showed up and I was wearing pajamas and Uggs and no make-up and acne medication, to meet Drake.”

Alana: “It was great.”

As for what the band’s up to now, Alana said, “We’re always writing, it never stops. I think the biggest thing is being away from touring for two years was the most heartbreaking for us, we’ve always considered ourselves a touring band. We love playing live, and we just did our tour in the states and in a couple of weeks we get to do our UK tour, and we’re just so excited. We’re playing The O2 arena!”

Check out the full interview here.

Some members of the GOP (including Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sarah Huckabee Sanders) continue to stumble over logic following the Supreme Court’s devastating Roe v. Wade ruling while many non-GOP U.S. citizens (like John Oliver) have voiced their concern. Still others have taken to the streets. That would include Full House (and Fuller House) alum Jodie Sweetin, who joined a pro-choice protest on the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday.

Sweetin was met with a confrontational stance from a member of the LAPD while marching (as noted by The Hollywood Reporter) near a freeway. Photojournalist Mike Ade posted a video that showed Sweetin then being hurled to the ground “as she was trying to lead a group of peaceful protestors away from the freeway.” The video’s rather shocking to watch, and fellow protesters helped Sweetin up from the ground, where she continued to stand for the cause. According Sweetin’s rep via THR, she’s physically alright and issued this statement:

“I’m extremely proud of the hundreds of people who showed up yesterday to exercise their First Amendment rights and take immediate action to peacefully protest the giant injustices that have been delivered from our Supreme Court. Our activism will continue until our voices are heard and action is taken. This will not deter us, we will continue fighting for our rights. We are not free until ALL of us are free.”

In response to an inquiry from THR, the LAPD stated that they were “aware” of the video footage shot by Ade, and “[t]he force used will be evaluated against the LAPD’s policy and procedure.” The department also indicated that officers were intent about not letting any protesters block the freeway.

The weekend saw protests across the country following the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling in favor of overturning Roe. Prior to that happening, several red states, including Texas and Oklahoma placed a bounty on anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion, and GOP lawmakers in Missouri responded to the SCOTUS ruling by introducing a law that would halt women from traveling out of state to have abortions. In other words, lines will continue to appear in the sand as the U.S. continues to react to the ruling.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Among the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Lakers was Malik Monk, as the young shooting guard enjoyed a career year after signing with the Lakers on a minimum deal after the Hornets declined to extend a qualifying offer to him.

Monk’s time in Charlotte was rocky at best, but arriving in L.A. he found something that allowed him to live up to his potential as a former lottery pick as he became the Lakers best and most reliable shooter. Monk averaged 13.8 points per game, hitting 39.1 percent of his threes, in his first season with the Lakers, and in doing so he positioned himself to make a significant raise this summer as he hits unrestricted free agency again.

With the Lakers capped out, all they have to offer him is another minimum or the taxpayer mid-level ($6.3 million), which is potentially well below what the market may provide. For most, that’s enough of a difference to walk without much thought, but Monk told The Athletic’s Jovan Buha that it won’t be that easy of a decision and that, if that mid-level offer comes, he’ll have to seriously consider it given how comfortable he felt in L.A.

“They might not be able to pay me as much as I want,” Monk said. “But I could be here and be way more comfortable as a Laker than going to any other team and they’re paying me $5 million more. So it’s just me trying to figure out what team would really want me.”
…
“I definitely would still want to evaluate things,” Monk said. “You never know what happens. Some other team could come in and hopefully tell me the same thing and maybe I get a little bit more minutes on that team. So it’s just actually me being presented and being able to go out there and do what I do is a priority. That’s the biggest priority: A team that’s just going to let me come in and be myself.”

For Monk, who’s made just over $17 million in five seasons, this is his first chance at a big payday, but the situation he’s going into and the opportunity to play as freely as he did in L.A. seem more important than the financials. Now, if a team is going to commit $10+ million annually to him on a three or four-year deal, they are almost assuredly envisioning him in a pretty significant role on their team, so all this may end up being moot if there’s a team out there that sees Monk as that guy. However, if push comes to shove and all that’s out there are two-year deals that might provide a bit more money but don’t offer true financial stability or a guarantee of an increased role, then it seems the Lakers have a real shot at retaining Monk.

Although Eminem has always had a reputation as something of a provocateur, in recent years, a lot of his most inflammatory statements have been reserved for current events as his targets shifted from pop stars to political figures. In 2017, he went after Donald Trump multiple times, most notably during his BET Hip-Hop Award Cypher verse and during an appearance at the Reading Festival in the UK. More recently, he took a knee in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick’s 2016 protests against racial injustice during the Super Bowl Halftime Show, an action that riled some conservative commentators.

So it should come as no surprise that Eminem has similarly weighed in on the biggest political shift of the past week — or even of the past fifty years. Last week, the Supreme Court voted to overturn one of the landmark rulings of the past century, Roe V. Wade. The move prompted an outcry from celebrities and musicians of all stripes, with singers like Lorde and Phoebe Bridgers leading “f*ck the Supreme Court” chants and Kendrick Lamar calling for the protection of women’s rights during their performances at Glastonbury.

Eminem has joined this cadre of outspoken pop stars, tweeting, “As a father, it pisses me off that women have fewer rights 2day than just a few days ago. We r fuckin goin bckwards.” The proud Detroiter also provided a resource link in his tweet, writing, “Here’s how to help in Michigan.”

You don’t have to be a father to appreciate that many people feel unsafe as a result of this new landmark ruling and that there’s a sense that things can certainly get worse from here. However, there may be a bright side: When even Donald Trump admits that the move was a strategic mistake for the Republican Party, potentially galvanizing Democrats in the Senate to do… literally anything, there might just be some course correction in the near future.

Look, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp) is not going to, let’s say, make everything okay again or make you feel better about the way things are going in this world. Nothing, really, can do that right now. But, having said that, Marcel is a joyous time out and a look at a being, so precious and kind, that it’s kind of heartbreaking to have to re-enter the real world after.

Marcel the shell with shoes on is, well, exactly that. He is a shell (voiced by Jenny Slate, who also co-wrote the film) who lives in a house with his grandmother (Isabella Rossellini) after the previous owners left and took his parents and all his friends with them. When a documentary filmmaker rents the house, he discovers Marcel and makes a film about him, which captures a lot of online attention.

BTW, when this interview took place last week, the Supreme Court had just issued one of its controversial decisions minutes before and Slate, who hadn’t heard the news yet, was the first human I’d spoken to after learning about it. She was really wonderful about the whole thing and asked if we should do this another time, but talking about Marcel seemed therapeutic at the time.

Marcel has good opinions on things. He’s very positive.

Yeah. Marcel has a way of existing that is at once really encouraging, and feels, in this strange way that’s hard to describe, it feels like spiritually correct.

Yes.

Even though he is a little shell and everything about him is so funny and reminds you of the imagination itself. But I think, for me, I see his point of view and his existence as a kind of arrow pointing in the direction that I, as a person, would like to be moving.

What came first? Was it the voice that is extremely appealing for a very cute character? Or the design? Or did it all kind of happen at once?

The voice came first. Dean Fleischer-Camp, the director, he and I were at a wedding. We were sharing a hotel room with a lot of friends. We were all just trying to save money. And so we all stayed in a hotel, not a hotel, a motel together. And I was just so squished in and I started talking in this little voice. And it was perfect timing that Dean had promised a friend that he would make a short film for their comedy show and he hadn’t done anything yet. He was pressed for time on it. And so anyway, he was like, “I have to make this thing. Can I interview you in that voice? And maybe I’ll create an animation over it.” He didn’t even know, I think, what that would be. But he started interviewing and little bits and pieces of Marcel’s identity started to emerge. And then Dean had a bunch of found objects in the house, some shells from the craft store and googly eyes and went to the local toy store on Court Street in Brooklyn where we lived and bought a knockoff of a Polly Pocket for the shoes and put Marcel together.

I may have been to that toy store. I think I might know the one you’re talking about.

It’s near the movie theater? It’s called Pizzazzz Toys, I want to say.

I think it’s one of those stores you can’t not go in when you walk by.

For sure. I used to go there. They would give you a free balloon. And I would go there to get a balloon just to walk around because it made me feel special.

See, that’s nice. A free balloon. More places should do that.

Yeah. That’s true. I believe in that policy.

To turn something from a short film into a full-length film seems very difficult.

Well, there’s always a challenge. I think that the first thing that we had to do was to make sure that we were happy with what we were doing. Meaning that we weren’t making creative compromises or changing our goals just so that we could get a movie made.

Right.

There are some situations where it’s like, “I just want to get this movie made. I don’t care if we have to replace the main actor. If we have to shoot it in Atlanta instead of Massachusetts, or whatever.” All of this stuff that just comes into trying to get something done. And those compromises, in the end, can work. For Marcel, we really felt – just like some plants will die if you take them out of the greenhouse – everything has its environment. We knew what Marcel’s environment was. That it’s enough of a story to see him in a house. He doesn’t need to be on a cruise or whatever. He doesn’t need to be at the top of the Empire State Building. Actually, the best way to see him, and the only way that he would really be worthy of examination in a feature film, would be to see how he lives in his environment.

Now I’m thinking of the bad sequel. Marcel on his cruise. That would be the direction that I could see a studio wanting it to go or something like that.

Yeah. I mean, and it’s not like – it doesn’t need to be a knock on studio film in general. For example, I think Paddington 2 is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.

Oh, yes…

And there are a lot of beautiful studio movies for kids, like WALL-E is so, so perfect to me. Generally, I’m a giant Pixar fan and a giant Illumination fan and also working for them… I don’t have an issue.

I, too, like studio movies. I loved Top Gun, great movie. That’s a studio movie. But I could see the bad studio pitch is what I meant.

Yeah. And, or you could just see the shortsighted way to monetize. How do we monetize this thing? Not that we don’t want to make a living. But first and foremost, we were like, if we’re going to make this movie, we have to remember why we wanted to do it in the first place. Last night I was a screening at Rooftop Films, which also was a big supporter of Obvious Child and all of my work with Gillian Robespierre and Liz Holmes. There were hundreds of people there and I felt this feeling that I’ve really never felt before because I don’t think I’ve ever put anything out there on this large of a scale that is, truly, I am one of the original collaborators in. I’ve been in large animated films, but I just walked in there and did the fun thing that they asked me to do.

Right.

To stand in front of those people who are so eager to see the film and you can feel the kindness in the audience. And know that there is a real living lifeline between your original hope for how you could self-actualize as a creative person and what you see on the screen. That is a priceless feeling. I’m not sure I’ll ever feel it again, as a creative person. It’s incredible.

Oh, that’s interesting. I bet you will because you just said this was one of the first times where you’ve done this. If you do it again, I’m sure you’ll you’ll feel that, right?

Well, maybe, but Marcel is so unique.

Marcel is unique. There’s no getting around that. That is true.

There will never be, for me, something exactly like this again. Which also doesn’t mean that there won’t be a million moments that are pleasing. And, generally, the ethos of the film, or the belief system of the film, that everything will change. Of course, it will. And that will lead to a wide variety of experiences, all of which have their worth. Even the ones that are hard on the heart, they have their worth. I believe that for myself.

I think a lesser movie would have something like “oh and now Marcel’s been kidnapped and we got to get him back” or something like that. And the worst thing that happens to Marcel, as far as people showing up at his house, is he has TikTok dancers out there. Which is such a great scene. “Are they going to help me?” “No.”

Right. Yeah. I mean, and all of the people that do end up finding Marcel’s house and leaving fan mail for him… What I’m so interested in is that blend of they truly are only trying to connect. The people who love Marcel. And the force of their desire to connect ends up being something that is a disruption in his life and even creates a little bit of danger. But it wasn’t their intention. And what I like about that is you can still have the disruption, you can still have the feeling that it’s too much, it doesn’t fit. It’s not the right way to connect. And the fact that there was no ill intent behind it, at all. And it’s a lovely moment to think about how real connection really is. And that even if you have an end point, I’m a little kid outside and my end point is I want Marcel to see the drawing that he gave me.

The reception is actually… Has many different things coinciding at once. And I don’t know. I know, as a person, I am often stumped about how I come across. And often I’m looking back into interviews and being like, “Why was I swearing so much?” Or what was that about? Not like I was angry. But whoa. Is that what I sound like?

Well, you’re talking to someone who went on a rant about the Supreme Court when we first got on this call. You were the first human I had spoken to since that happened.

Something I’ve learned as a parent — one of the most important things — is if somebody is trying to tell you how they feel, to try your best to be there and be able to be a good listener without making them feel that you’ve burdened them with what you have to say.

Right.

Because some people just get turned off on expression, in general. And I think that we’re in the most danger when we stop trying to show what we’re really like, or what’s really important to us. Obviously, I’ve learned for myself, there’s a time and a place. There are ways in which things can be more usefully said. For example, I took a bunch of years off of social media because I don’t really feel like amplifying messages on Instagram was the way that was going to be my best way for getting out there and changing the world. I actually started to be like, I think I just get out there and do stuff in the world.

But anyway. Anyway. This is all to say that I like how our movie says connection is worth it. But if you want to connect, it’s really important to stand at the intersection of all of the possibilities of how that connection might be received. How your expression, how what you’re trying to do for someone else, might be received. And to have a little bit of responsibility about that. We are all in this field of relations, responsible for how we meet each other.

‘Marcel The Shell With Shoes On’ is in theaters now. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.