Category: News

It’s not often that you can go to a festival designed by the theme park artists behind Universal’s “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” Disney’s “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge,” and the impending Avatar and “Super Nintendo World” theme parks. For his Second Sky Festival 2022, Porter Robinson is teaming up with designers Nassal and B Morrow Productions once again to create an immersive experience. You see, with Second Sky, Robinson and company seek to build out an intentional experience that’s made to feel like another world altogether. It’s why last year’s edition sold out in less than a day and 2022 looks to be just as promising.

The two-day festival will be taking place over Halloween Weekend on October 29th and 30th at the Oakland Arena grounds in the Bay Area. The full lineup was announced today and it featured the North Carolina-based Porter Robinson headlining the affair, along with performances by trap and bass music star RL Grime and a set from Robinson’s Virtual Self b2b with trap producer G Jones. Rounding out the lineup are the very in-demand Fred Again, Swedish rapper Bladee, Scottish super-producer Hudson Mohawke, Japanese pop singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, LA’s dreamy hyper pop duo Magdalena Bay, and Manchester’s Salute.

A pre-sale starts at 10 am on Friday, 05/13 PDT which fans can register for here. All tickets go on sale four hours later at 2 pm PDT on 05/13 at the same link. Check out the lineup poster below.

The Warriors and Grizzlies have found themselves embroiled in the most heated second round series in this year’s NBA Playoffs, as the two teams have traded hard fouls, accusations of dirty play, and verbal jabs through the media.

On Wednesday night, Golden State will look to finish the Grizzlies off in five games after somehow escaping with a win in Game 4 on Monday despite trailing for the first 47 minutes of action. To do so, they’ll have to close things out on the road, where a hostile Memphis crowd will be looking to will the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies to a win to force things back to the Bay over the weekend.

After pulling the Houdini-act in Game 4 to put the Grizzlies on the brink of elimination, the Warriors are feeling a little frisky, particularly Stephen Curry who led the fourth quarter comeback after a dreadful shooting start. After shootaround on Wednesday afternoon in Memphis, Curry authored the latest bulletin board worthy material from this series, responding to Kendra Andrews’ ask about the game plan for Game 5 with a simple “Whoop that trick.”

That, of course, is the rallying cry for the Grizzlies, and it’s clear Curry is feeling a little spicy coming into Wednesday night’s closeout possibility. We’ll see if that results in a masterful Curry performance to back it up in a win or if the Grizzlies and their fans will have a little extra fuel when it blasts over the PA system after a Memphis win to extend their postseason dreams.

After the success of South Park’s COVID specials, a third movie based on the hit adult animated comedy is heading to Paramount+ next month. South Park The Streaming Wars will premiere on June 1st on the streaming service. It will be the third installment of a planned 14 (!) movies ordered by the platform. A fourth movie is expected to air this summer.

Specific plot details are under wraps, but here is the official synopsis: “In South Park The Streaming Wars, Cartman locks horns with his mom in a battle of wills while an epic conflict unfolds that threatens South Park’s very existence.” You can probably expect some sort of tasteful joke about Paramount in there.

The long-running series was renewed for another five seasons on Comedy Central through Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s $900 million deal (!) with ViacomCBS. This keeps the series running through 2027. So if you are a fan of the loud-mouthed fourth-graders, you are set for a long time!

South Park’s specials Post Covid and Post Covid: Covid Returns aired last year, tackling the future of the COVID pandemic in the fictional land of South Park. The series has been on air since 1997 and just wrapped up its 25th season earlier this year.

Check out the quick teaser trailer above.

The fear of unskippable ads in menus or gameplay has led to a lot of concern over recent reports that Microsoft and other gaming companies are searching out ways to implement advertisements into some of their games. Those fears were only increased when Electronic Arts CEO, Andrew Wilson, said in a recent earnings call that he feels in-game advertisements can have a place in gaming “if done right.”

We want to ensure that the player experience is the best possible player experience that we can provide. And that’s why you’ve seen us kind of test various models over the course of time, some have continued and some we have stopped on the basis of really upholding the best possible player experience we can.

What we’ve seen generally though in entertainment media and even in games, particularly in mobile games right now, you see that there is a place for advertising when done right. And there is a portion of the community that when given the choice will participate in advertising where it benefits their gameplay experience..

While Wilson does mention the “player experience,” it’s hard to not bristle at the idea of advertisements taking on a larger role inside games. For example, Wilson mentions the ads that exist within mobile games right now, and as someone who plays mobile games, many of them do have unskippable ads that interrupt gameplay. EA, in particular, has a negative history involving forced advertisement in its games, such as when ads had to be taken out of UFC 4 because they would appear in the middle of a fight. One of EA’s competitors, NBA 2K, caught major flack for trying to cram unskippable ads into NBA 2K21.

To play devil’s advocate, ads have existed in games for a long time in more subtle formats. Sports games feature them on billboards or will have awards named after them, and we’ve seen racing games use billboards and decals of real-world brands plenty of times. Then again, these were all subtle. If we start seeing huge, unskippable ads in the middle of games, there will be a whole lot of extremely unhappy players. History tells us players don’t want this, and while Wilson can speak to the player experience all he wants, that isn’t going to quell the fears.

The director of the polarizing movie Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, just landed a new project at Peacock, and it sure sounds like a doozy. Jason Woliner’s untitled series promises to be a “mind-bending” show, with Seth Rogan signed on to executive produce.

Lionsgate Television EVP Scott Herbst said, “This show is unlike anything else you’ll see this year. This is one of the most bizarre, out-of-the-box shows I’ve ever worked on, and I can’t believe we’re even getting to make it.” The show’s premise is….still not clear, but will allegedly “mix fact and fiction to tell a bizarre and incredible tale,” according to Deadline. So, like Borat!

Woliner has reportedly been working on the project for over a decade. He has also directed episodes of Nathan For You, which is a similarly “out-of-the-box” show, so this should be good!

Lisa Katz, president of scripted content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, added, “We can’t wait to dive in with renowned filmmaker Jason Woliner, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and our partners at Lionsgate for this truly unique series that begins with betrayal and quickly becomes an epic, hilarious, action-packed journey. We know Peacock audiences will be hooked by this unpredictable mystery that examines a complex man on a remarkable journey.” The series is expected to stream on Peacock later this year.

In a stunning legal blunder, the far-right personality known as “Baked Alaska” (real name: Anthime Joseph Gionet) may have completely blown up a plea deal during a hearing for his involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building. Gionet, who literally filmed himself inside the Capitol during the MAGA insurrection, was set to plead guilty to one misdemeanor count by admitting he “willfully and knowingly paraded, demonstrated, and picketed.” However, the situation quickly went south when Gionet, instead, declared that he’s innocent.

Via NBC News:

But the deal went out the window at a hearing on Wednesday after Judge Emmet G. Sullivan asked Gionet whether he was pleading guilty because he was, in fact, guilty.

“I wanted to go to trial, but the prosecutors if I [went] to trial they would put a felony on me, so I think this is probably the better route,” Gionet said. “I believe I’m innocent… but they’re saying if I go to trial they’re going to hit me with a felony.”

After hearing Gionet declare himself innocent, Sullivan set a trial date for March 2023. “If Mr. Gionet wants to go to trial, he’ll get a fair trial, like anyone and everyone else who has appeared before me, regardless of the charges,” Sullivan said. “I’m not trying to trick you… Don’t plead guilty to please me.”

Despite Gionet seemingly shooting himself in the foot and locking himself in for a trial where he’s on video saying, “Occupy the Capitol, let’s go. We ain’t leaving this bitch,” federal prosecutors said they would leave the plea deal open for 60 days should Mr. Alaska change his mind.

(Via NBC News)

Amazon’s The Boys will really push the envelope this time. That’s saying something, especially considering that their Emmys-submitted clip probably freaked out some people not familiar with how the show does things. And given that Chace Crawford admitted to wondering whether he’d work again after seeing what The Deep does in Season 3 (after already, uh, showing off his tan lines and enduring some gill action), fans will really be in for an outrageous treat.

That includes a depiction of the comic book’s famous “Herogasm” arc (which is totally what it sounds like, and it’s a group effort). And shock of all shocks, the season will contain a musical episode. This development was heavily suggested in a teaser trailer (shortly after the 1:10 mark), and here’s a screencap of Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) and Frenchie (Tomer Capone), who appear to be building on their enhanced connection.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly (which published a higher-quality/preview photo), Capone declared, “Dancing With the Stars ain’t got s— on us.” That sounds about right. The pair trained with choreographer Amy Wright, and here’s more:

“In my private life I do love to move and express my rhythm, but I’m not sure you can call it dancing,” Capone says. “But if it’s in the script, I’ll go for it.”

Even after executing moves like her season 2 “Black Widow flip,” Fukuhara feels dancing was the hardest part for her in season 3. “I am not used to it,” she says. “If you don’t know the basic moves, you can’t do the choreography. It’s so difficult.”

Fans will surely be here to watch them get down and boogie.

The Boys returns to Amazon on June 3.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Liam Gallagher said what now?? The uncompromised experience of the Oasis singer is a never-ending trove of one-liners and diatribes. Now with his new album, C’Mon You Know, due out on May 27th, Gallagher is making the press rounds to promote it. He appeared on the Irish comedy podcast, The 2 Johnnies Podcast, to talk about well… whatever the hell he wants to ya wankers!

Gallagher is a gloriously unfiltered interview subject and the show’s hosts asked him whether he enjoys going on Twitter or not. “I dig it, man, I’m not saying anything besides a bunch of sh*t and gibberish,” he answered. They have a laugh and then ask Gallagher if anyone, “…has come at you and tried to cancel you or anything like that?” And that’s when the vintage Liam Gallagher came out.

“Go for it man. Who are these f*cking people canceling people anyways? F*ck off!,” he said, before putting a bow on the topic: “They don’t speak for anyone, do they? The canceling people just speak for the people from the cancel world. They don’t f*cking speak for everyone… You can still go on and do your gig. There’s people out there who are going to like what you’ve got to say. So, bring it f*cking on, you f*cking squares!”

Yup, that’s Liam Gallagher. He also spoke in the episode about how Dave Grohl came to appear on his new album and how the new artists he’s been digging include Fontaines DC and DMA’s.

Listen to the whole episode of The 2 Johnnies Podcast here. The Liam Gallagher interview begins just before the 37-minute mark

Like most Americans, Michael Flynn wants to retire comfortably. Unlike (most of) the rest of us, he had been relying on some mad cash from Russia to help make that happen. On Tuesday, the former National Security Director sat down for an interview with Real America’s Voice, a far-right network, and lamented the fact that the Department of Defense had found out about the nearly $40,000 he was paid in 2015 for a speaking gig in Russia and that they are hellbent on seizing it.

On May 2, 2022, as Raw Story reports, the Department of the Army sent a letter to Flynn, declaring the $38,557.06 payment illegal and demanding it back. According to the letter (which you can read in its entirety here):

“The Army has determined that in December 2015 you failed to obtain the necessary approval in accordance with Army Regulation (AR) 600-29 before accepting compensation from an entity substantially owned or controlled by a foreign government in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. Specifically, the Emoluments Clause prohibits the receipt of such compensation unless Congress consents… The Army has determined that you did not obtain the necessary approvals before engaging in employment activities with Russia Today (RT), a foreign government-controlled entity. Specifically, between December 10-13, 2015, you traveled to Russia and spoke at a conference hosted by the Russian news agency Russia Today (RT).”

If $40,000 sounds like a lot of money to pay a disgraced politician, consider this: he actually gave Russia a discount on his normal fee, which runs between $55,000 and $75,000.

Whatever the amount, Flynn is not happy to have to part with it, as he thinks the whole matter is just a way to further humiliate him.

“It’s just another dig, another means to embarrass,” he told Real America’s Voice of the situation. “They just want me to shut up, and I’m not about to. It’s not in my nature; I’m not designed that way. And I will tell you that it actually stiffens my backbone even more because, at the end of the day, they’re just going to reach into my retirement and they’re going to take some money out. Money… yeah, it means something, but at the end of the day this country means a heck of a lot more.”

You can watch the full interview above.

(Via Raw Story)

When Khris Middleton went down in Game 2 of the Bucks’ first round series against the Chicago Bulls, Milwaukee lost its most reliable perimeter scorer and its most trusted on-ball creator beyond Giannis Antetokounmpo, who already shoulders a considerable creative burden.

The player thrust into the spotlight in Middleton’s absence has been Jrue Holiday, the third star they acquired two years ago who helped them crack the code and finally win a championship last year. Without Middleton alongside him, though, Holiday’s worst tendencies on offense and propensity to go through shooting woes have been magnified. For the second straight year, Holiday has seen his efficiency plummet in the playoffs with the Bucks, as he’s gone from 50.2/40.2/77.2 combined shooting splits in the regular season to 39.5/30.8/75.3 splits in the last two postseasons.

A year ago, his defensive presence alongside Herculean efforts from Giannis and Middleton were enough to mask those issues in a way they never could with Eric Bledsoe, who Holiday was brought in at a hefty price to replace specifically due to postseason struggles. Now, with Middleton out, Holiday needs to be the Bucks’ secondary star on offense and the results have been rough. Against the Celtics, Holiday is averaging 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2.8 steals per game, which are all more than respectable raw numbers, but he’s required 23 shot attempts per game to get those 21 points, shooting a dreadful 33.7 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from three on nearly seven attempts per night.

With Middleton ruled out for the rest of the series, the Bucks will need Holiday to turn things around if they’re going to find a way to get past Boston. Holiday has accepted the challenge of being a self-creator to a detrimental degree for the Bucks, as 46.7 percent of his shot attempts in the series (10.8 per game) have been pull-ups. He’s shooting just 34.7 percent on those attempts (31.6 percent from three). The problem is, this isn’t that different from how he operated in the regular season, where 43.7 percent of Holiday’s shots (6.2 per game) were classified as pull-ups, and he shot a terrific 45.8 percent on them (40.6 percent from three).

The biggest issue is that a huge amount of Holiday’s offense is coming in isolation, and without Middleton on the floor, the best perimeter defenders are now assigned to Holiday, meaning he’s no longer getting favorable matchups to attack 1-on-1. That’s an issue against any team, but particularly the Celtics who can deploy a number of terrific one-on-one defenders with length to frustrate him into some rather terrible shots.

Boston is able to consistently throw length in front of Holiday. It can be with his primary defender — usually Marcus Smart and Derrick White — or in switches with Jayson Tatum, Grant Williams, Al Horford, and others. Typically, Holiday feasts on smaller defenders, using his 6’3 frame and tremendous strength to push them into his spots on the floor, create separation, and rise up over them. So far against the Celtics, he’s not creating that same separation and is struggling to finish over good contests from Boston’s tenacious, rangy defenders.

It’s become fairly clear over a 32 game sample across the last two postseasons that Holiday’s normal shot diet is simply not as effective in the playoffs, and those issues are now amplified without Middleton taking some of these possessions and attention away from Holiday. His shot chart for the series is hideous, without any real success from anywhere.

The 14-for-44 on non-restricted area midrange shots are particularly jarring, while 9-for-21 in the restricted area is well below league average. Holiday keeps banging his head into that wall over and over. The Celtics are happy to let him isolate on their terrific individual defenders and put up contested looks that often have little chance of going in. If Milwaukee is going to get its offense going, the answer lies in asking Holiday to try and do less on his own.

The Celtics defense is as good as there is against isolation offenses, as evidenced by their success against the Nets as Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant found it incredibly difficult to create good looks consistently. When the Bucks get the Celtics defense moving, they’ve found some success, and they’re going to have to find ways to do that in Games 5-7 if they’re going to move on. Initiating the offense earlier in the clock has helped, as has sliding Holiday down onto the baseline, allowing him to be an outlet for Giannis when the Celtics send their inevitable help his way, which creates a much better look from the short midrange for Holiday than one of his head-down drives to nowhere.

Boston’s defense knows Holiday and Giannis want to go downhill, and have built their halfcourt defense to try and limit those opportunities. But when the Bucks push the pace and start running action before the Celtics are set up, they can catch them off guard and create driving lanes for Holiday without the same resistance, like this high double drag look that Holiday rejects once Brown jumps to the side, giving him a straight line drive to the rim.

Throughout the series, transition and semi-transition have been where the Bucks have had success, but that can only account for so much of a team’s offense. As such, they’ll have to find halfcourt success and a lot of that is going to be incumbent on Holiday being more trusting in those around him. While Boston is built to frustrate wing and perimeter players, there are opportunities to play above the rim that the Bucks could also look to take more advantage of against the aggressive switching of the Celtics.

This is particularly the case when Giannis is on the bench and the Bucks offense becomes heavily reliant on Holiday for creation. Pairing Brook Lopez with Holiday to work pick-and-roll action, with Lopez diving to the rim against a much smaller defender since Boston is so quick to switch their bigs out on the perimeter, would be a way to take advantage of the Celtics relative lack of size.

The Bucks are going to need Holiday to start making some of the shots he normally does in the regular season, but against a Boston team built to frustrate him with its length, Holiday and the Bucks need to be more adaptable in the final three games of this series. As much as he loves to isolate and attack mismatches, there just aren’t many opportunities to do that, aside from the few minutes Payton Pritchard and Daniel Theis are on the floor.

Otherwise, just about everyone in the Celtics’ rotation is long enough and strong enough to keep him from getting clean looks and, while Milwaukee needs him to continue being aggressive, the end result of that attack needs to be more passing than it has been so far this series.