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American Express Is Bringing Exclusive Billie Eilish Merch And More To Coachella 2022

For two weekends this month, a portion of Indio, California will essentially become its own temporary city of its own with the Coachella festival hosts its annual event, from April 15 to 17 and 22 to 24. This means there will be a lot more going on than just the performances on stage. Part of the festivities will come courtesy of American Express, who are carving out their own corner of Coachella in a number of ways.

Perhaps most enticingly, in their on-site American Express Lounge, Amex will host a pop-up shop featuring exclusive, limited-edition festival merchandise from artists including Billie Eilish and Conan Gray. The pop-up shop will be open on the first day of each festival weekend, April 15 and 22. For American Express card holders who aren’t able to make it, though, the merch will be available in the Amex Artist Shop powered by Bravado from April 15 to 30.

Card holders get other perks, too, including complimentary rides on the La Grande Wheel (one per weekend), exclusive table reservations at the festival pop-up restaurant Broad Street, and other stuff going on in the Lounge, like astrology readings, a crystal bar, acupressure ear seeding, and more.

All of that is just a portion of what American Express has going on at Coachella this year, so check out the Coachella page on the American Express website to learn more.

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The ‘Killing Eve’ Finale Has Left Some Fans So Furious That They Dubbed It ‘The New Game Of Thrones’

(Spoilers for Killing Eve will be found below.)

Killing Eve felt practically incandescent for its first two seasons. Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer carried their chemistry into the stratosphere, and the third season lost some momentum but still hypnotized loyal fans. Season 4 grew even stranger than usual and clearly meant to set up the future of the franchise, and yup, that is what the closing episode has done, although the means to the end felt, well, like a middle finger to an iconic character. Naturally, viewers are airing their thoughts on that note.

It sure seems the finale episode’s title, “Hello, Losers,” feels personal to many who’ve followed the cat-and-mouse reversals over the years. The final moments set up the spinoff, which will revolve around a younger version of Carolyn Martens, the MI6 officer (and head of Russia’s desk), who went HAM in the Season 3 finale by killing Paul. And after a final season full of Carolyn seeking vengeance for the killing of Kenny (those bastards), she made the call to take out Villanelle. And that might create some Carolyn intrigue, so people would tune into a prequel about her early life. Or it could backfire.

Although I did dig the first half of the season, let’s just say that I was crushed that the show offed Konstantin (who did some wonderful dancing) in the penultimate episode. And yup, it’s an awfully curious decision to finally allow Eve and Villanelle to feel real happiness right before one of them literally dies and the other one will likely never recover. So, uh, the title of the show, Killing Eve, is feeling metaphorical right about now.

First, let’s enjoy those brief moments of happiness again.

And here comes the anger, with viewers calling out showrunner Laura Neal, who finished what Phoebe Waller Bridge began. Let’s just say that “the new Game of Thrones” and “they Dextered Villanelle” are some of the leading complaints, and those extra kill shots in the water are being called out as “cruel and unnecessary.”

RIP, Villanelle. You shall be missed.

The ‘Killing Eve’ finale is currently streaming on AMC+.

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Tame Impala Joins The Wiggles On Stage In A Meeting Of Australian Music Icons

For the past year or so now, The Wiggles and Tame Impala, perhaps Australia’s two biggest musical exports in their respective genres of children’s music and psychedelic rock, have been circling each other. A bit over a year ago, after a viral campaign, The Wiggles covered Tame Impala’s “Elephant,” merging it with their own “Fruit Salad.” Then, at Outside Lands 2021 a few months ago, Tame Impala took the stage dressed as The Wiggles (pictured above; the festival was on Halloween weekend).

Now, the two titanic forces in Australian music have finally connected: Yesterday, The Wiggles performed at Perth, Australia’s RAC Arena and were joined on stage by Kevin Parker to perform both “Elephant” and The Wiggles’ “Hot Potato.”

Parker said of the collaboration, “When I got the invitation, I knew it was a once-in-a-life time opportunity, so it was an obvious yes. The Wiggles are the real rock stars in this world. I was pretty nervous!”

Back when The Wiggles’ “Elephant” cover was a chart success in Australia, Parker noted, “If someone had told me back when we released ‘Elephant’ that, in ten years’ time, The Wiggles were gonna cover it and it would get Top 10 Hottest 100, I would’ve told you that you were out of your mind. I would’ve told you that that’s a ridiculous idea and I wouldn’t have believed you. If a fortune teller told me that was going to happen, I would’ve asked for my money back. […] They made it their own, which showcases the genius of The Wiggles. They really gave it a new personality, a new animal personality.”

Watch the performances above.

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Chris Rock Won’t Discuss Will Smith Slapping Him At The Oscars Until He Gets Paid

Unlike Ricky Gervais, Amy Schumer, Billy Crystal, O.J. Simpson, and Zoe Kravitz, and seemingly everyone else in the world, Chris Rock hasn’t said much about the time that Will Smith slapped him at the Oscars. Remember that? It was weird.

During his first post-Slap standup set, the comedian said, “I don’t have a bunch of s*it about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still kind of processing what happened.” Rock, who shut down a heckler, added that “at some point, I’ll talk about that shit,” but not until he gets paid.

Fans of comedian Chris Rock who hoped he’d share his thoughts about being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars during his show at Fantasy Springs on Friday night were disappointed as soon as he took the stage.

“I’m OK, I have a whole show and I’m not talking about that until I get paid. Life is good. I got my hearing back,” Rock said.

Netflix is driving a dump truck full of money to Rock’s house as we speak.

On Friday, the Board of Governors for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences announced that Smith has been banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years. “We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances,” the statement read. As an apology, the Academy should give Rock a lifetime achievement award for Pootie Tang.

(Via the Desert Sun)

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What’s Popular On Streaming Right Now

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts and ratings) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

10. (TIE) Turning Red (Pixar film on Disney+)

Pixar has brought the world a coming-of-age tale the likes we’ve never seen before, and it’s not only a rager but one of the better Pixar movies in several years. Mother-daughter conflict abounds, and this is a much more updated take on female adolescence than, say, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret could ever hope to be. If you loved Soul, then you’ll appreciate how this movie’s even more of an outside-the-box presentation of a question that mulls over our very existence. Not only that, but this (since it’s a Pixar movie) will tug at your heartstrings in a way that you can’t resist. Surrender to the panda.

10. (TIE) Deep Water (Hulu movie)

Ben Affleck is the alpha cuck who rises victorious, sort of, while Ana de Armas’ is the saucy temptress who seems really bored and could use a vocation, rather than whatever it is that’s going on in this coupling. Still, this is a victoriously sleazy ride from director Adrian Lyne, who’s somehow upping his own stakes (or, at least, the body count) after both Unfaithful and Fatal Attraction. Those snails might be having the most enjoyable time of all, though.

9. Metal Lords (Netflix film)

It’s a love letter to spandex and bad hair and music that’s got more to do with classical than many people ever give it credit for. HBO Game of Thrones co-creator D.B. Weiss teamed up here with Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine axeman) to pen this story about high schoolers who team up for context glory and, ultimately, the right to rock out. Don’t think too hard about this one, just click play.

8. Taboo (BBC One/FX series on Hulu)

Tom Hardy gets cryptic and intense in this 2017 show that will soon have a Season 2. Also, many people only recently discovered this joint, and as a bonus, a self-assured Jessie Buckley pops outta nowhere to counter Tom’s prodigal son. He may or may not be able to stay alive as The Devil Delaney, whose romantic interests are, well, taboo, and he’s attempting to claim his late father’s empire. Hardy had a huge hand in the planning of this show, too.

7. Bad Vegan (Netflix series)

There’s no telling, exactly, how or why subject Sarma Melngailis truly fell into the trap of her eventual husband, Anthony Strangis, before the two stiffed her employees and investors as the famed vegan restauranteur fell from culinary grace. Sarma has since pushed back at multiple Netflix approaches to marketing this show, but the fact remains that she and the fake-black-ops dude headed into fugitive mode while apparently squandering $2 million of other people’s money. All for the promise of dog immortality? Oh girl, you could have done so much better, Alec Baldwin or not.

6. The Girl From Plainville (Hulu series)

Another straight-from-the-headlines show arrives here with Elle Fanning starring as the seemingly heartless Michelle Carter, who became the center of the infamous “texting-suicide” case. For a primer, head over to Jesse Barron’s Esquire article, which provided the show’s framework after Conrad Roy III took his own life and Carter got convicted for involuntary manslaughter. Chloë Sevigny’s also onboard, and she’s everywhere lately.

5. Atlanta (FX series on Hulu)

Time for another dose of Donald Glover’s scathing brainchild. Glover’s Earn is back, along with Zazie Beetz as Van, LaKeith Stanfield as Darius, and Brian Tyree Henry as Paper Boi. Much of this season was filmed in Europe, where the show was able to draw inspiration and tweak its existing cultural critique, but that season opener (and awful fried chicken) launched the return of one of the best shows on TV.

4. Bridgerton (Netflix series)

The bees are back, man. This Shondaland series keeps churning up scandal for a second round, albeit a less steamy one, but it’s nonetheless sustaining momentum even without The Duke. The show’s largely shifted into the story of Anthony Bridgerton and his search for a lifelong match, and it’s not hard to tell where this season will end, but as even Julia Quinn’s readers will attest, it’s all about witnessing a magical confection.

3. Tokyo Vice (HBO Max series)

Michael Mann crosses his fingers for more Heat while crossing into grittier Miami Vice territory with yakuzas and everything in the Japanese underworld. Ansel Elgort portrays an outsider (an American journalist), for which he actually went undercover during role preparation, even learning how to speak Japanese adequately enough to convince the audience. Ken Watanabe is on hand to portray a detective, and this crime thriller’s a slick watch so far.

2. Better Call Saul (AMC series on Netflix)

Get ready for full-on Jimmy/Gene/Saul madness when Season 6 arrives on April 18. For now, though, it’s time to worry about Kim Wexler. Maybe she’ll show up at Cinnabon in the opening scene and make us all stress a little bit less as the final round of episodes progress? Nah, that’d be too easy. She’s in full-on Saul Goodmanification mode, and hopefully, the viewers won’t pay for it with our sanity as this prequel approaches the Breaking Bad timeline. Is it too much to ask for a Jesse and Walt combo cameo, perhaps? There’s a lot to look forward to here while one of the most compelling sets of character barrels into truly ominous territory.

1. Moon Knight (Disney+ series)

Everyone who’s anyone is either in the DCEU or the MCU, which has now claimed Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke among its stars. Isaac’s pulling plenty of duties here as a character who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, and one of those characters just happens to be a hero who became an Avenger in the comics. Hawke’s a cult leader who’ll remind you a lot of David Koresh, and there’s a wiseass Egyptian god who’s
calling it like he sees it. This series only includes six episodes, and it makes ’em count.

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Frank Vogel On The Report That The Lakers Will Fire Him: ‘I Haven’t Been Told Sh*t’

The Los Angeles Lakers are apparently going to shake things up this offseason by bringing in a new head coach. In the moments immediately following the team’s 146-141 overtime win in its season finale against the Denver Nuggets, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that the Lakers decided to fire head coach Frank Vogel.

The catch: Wojnarowski reported that the decision would “be shared with him as soon as Monday.” The implication, of course, is that while Los Angeles is going to fire Vogel, he was not made aware of the decision before word of it went public. Well, after the game, Vogel — who is still employed! — sat down with the media for his usual postgame press conference and got asked about the report, which led to the following response:

“I haven’t been told shit, and I’m gonna enjoy tonight’s game, celebrate what these young guys did, in terms of scratching, clawing, getting back in this game, getting a W, and we’ll deal with tomorrow tomorrow,” Vogel said.

Vogel spent three seasons at the helm of the Lakers, accruing a 127-98 record with the franchise. Most notably, Vogel led the team to a Larry O’Brien trophy in 2019-20, as the team won its 17th NBA championship in the league’s Orlando Bubble.

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The Lakers Have Reportedly Fired Frank Vogel And Will Tell Him That On Monday

The Los Angeles Lakers ended their season on a rare high note, beating the Nuggets in the season finale despite being without any of their stars, as Austin Reaves had a 31-point triple-double in the comeback win in overtime.

That result will be the final one of the Frank Vogel tenure in Los Angeles, as the final buzzer had barely sounded when Adrian Wojnarowski announced he was being fired, with the team officially telling him that news on Monday — although, it certainly seems the cat is out of the bag a bit early.

Besides the funny wording of “a decision that’s expected to be shared with him as soon as Monday,” in a tweet announcing that news very publicly to millions of people, it’s the expected end to a dismal season for the Lakers. Vogel has been on the hot seat throughout and very nearly was fired in the middle of the year. Once the Lakers failed to even reach the play-in, the writing was on the wall and there are already rumors about potential replacements, including Quin Snyder and Doc Rivers, who each are coaching playoff teams currently.

The Lakers, despite their troubles, figure to be an intriguing job given the talent there, but they’ll need to be willing to pay like a top job this time around to get their preferred candidate after hiring Vogel when Ty Lue passed on the job. Still, Vogel’s tenure featured a championship in 2020, so while the end was rather disastrous, he accomplished what he was brought to do in L.A. Hiring a coach is now the first thing on the to-do list this offseason, but far from the last, as major roster changes are needed to provide the next coach with a chance of success.

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The NBA Released The Game 1 Schedule For The First Round Of The Playoffs

The NBA regular season came to a close on Sunday, with the final seeding battles in both conferences coming to an end. The Boston Celtics win moved them to the 2-seed in the East, while the Warriors and Jazz both got wins to lock down the 3- and 5-seeds respectively in the West.

While the play-in tournament this week will determine the 7- and 8-seeds in both conferences, the NBA went ahead and put out the schedule for Saturday and Sunday’s Game 1s of the first round, with times and channels already decided for Saturday’s action.

The Mavs and Jazz will have the honor of starting the playoffs on Saturday with a noon-local tip in Dallas on ESPN, with the Warriors and Nuggets taking the primetime ABC game at 8:30 p.m. ET. Between those two games will be Memphis hosting the winner of Clippers-Wolves and Sixers-Raptors, both on ESPN.

The Sunday slate will feature the Celtics, Heat, Bucks-Bulls, and Suns, but tip times and channels are yet to be announced, as they are assuredly waiting on where the Brooklyn Nets end up so they can ensure they put Nets-Celtics or Nets-Heat (provided they win one of the play-in games) in the biggest spot.

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The Western Conference Playoff Picture Is Set, Featuring Warriors-Nuggets And Mavs-Jazz

After the Eastern Conference play-in and playoff matchups were set earlier in the evening, the four teams jockeying for position in the West got their chance to solidify seeding in the late slate.

Phoenix and Memphis were locked into the 1- and 2-seed respectively and rested players accordingly, but the Warriors, Mavs, Jazz, and Nuggets all had something to play for on Sunday night. A Warriors win would secure the 3-seed, as they played a Pelicans team focused on getting rested for the play-in, but a Golden State loss would’ve left the door open for Dallas to beat the Spurs and jump into the third spot. Below them, Utah and Denver were tied for the 5-seed, with the Jazz holding the tiebreaker and playing the aggressively tanking Blazers, while the Nuggets hosted the star-less and already eliminated Lakers.

All four teams picked up wins on Sunday night, meaning the standings from earlier in the day held true and the first round matchups in the West are now set.

1. Phoenix Suns vs. 8. Winner Of Friday Play-In Game (MIN/LAC/NOP/SAS)
2. Memphis Grizzlies vs. 7. Minnesota Timberwolves OR L.A. Clippers
3. Golden State Warriors vs. 6. Denver Nuggets
4. Dallas Mavericks vs. 5. Utah Jazz

Warriors-Nuggets will be an interesting matchup between Nikola Jokic and Draymond Green, as well as Golden State anxiously waiting for the return of Stephen Curry, who is expected back and a full go by Game 1. Mavs-Jazz will feature two teams desperate to advance to the second round after some early playoff exits recently, with Dallas currently holding its breath after Luka Doncic left the finale against San Antonio with a calf strain.

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Luka Doncic Left The Mavericks Final Game With A Left Calf Strain

The Dallas Mavericks entered Sunday fighting for third place in the Western Conference, needing a win and a Warriors loss in New Orleans to move from the 4-seed to the 3-seed.

By the late third quarter of both games, the Warriors and Mavs each held double-digit leads and it certainly appeared clear the top-4 in the West would remain unchanged, particularly with New Orleans playing all bench players in the second half. That the outcome of the playoff race was seemingly decided made what transpired in Dallas even more difficult to see, as Luka Doncic pulled up after a drive and kick grabbing at his left leg.

Doncic would go back to the locker room, grabbing at his calf, and was quickly ruled out of the remainder of the game with a left calf strain.

Further testing surely will come on Monday, as an MRI will likely determine the timetable for Doncic, but it is the thing no one wants to see on the final day of the regular season. The good news is the early indications out of Dallas are that they don’t anticipate it being a serious injury, but muscle strains are always tricky to deal with and always leaves the fear of aggravating it later.

Doncic hopefully won’t have to miss any time and is possibly aided by the play-in tournament this week that now affords team a little added break for top-6 seeds before the playoffs begin, but Mavs fans will be holding their breath until further word emerges on his status ahead of a likely showdown with Utah in the first round.