In the before-time, Marvel made sure their many trains always arrived on time. Every three months or so there’d be a new entry: a solo movie (that may actually be a small group outing), a big ensemble melee. The films moved in concert with the newish TV shows that now bow on Disney+. Some major new development in one was reflected in the others. Then the pandemic happened and threw it all out of whack. Now no less than five (5) Marvel movies have been delayed. Ditto the fifth Indiana Jones.
As per Variety, the delays range from a couple months to half a year:
Disney has delayed release plans for several upcoming films, including “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” from March 25 to May 6, “Thor: Love and Thunder” from May 6 to July 8 and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” from July 8 to Nov. 11. With the “Black Panther” sequel jumping to November, “The Marvels” has been postponed to early 2023 and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” was bumped from Feb. 17 to July 28, 2023.
Meanwhile, the still untitled fifth Indiana Jones, also owned by Disney, is moving a mere month, from June 30, 2023 to July 29. That film has been plagued with certain on-set hiccups relating to its star, who’s pushing 80 and still, presumably, cracking that whip.
The reason for the reshuffling? It’s tied to productions taking a little longer than usual in the COVID era. Black Panther 2, for instance, is still filming in Atlanta. Meanwhile, long-delayed Marvel movies are still hitting theaters. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been one of the biggest hits of the pandemic era, although it’s still slightly behind the franchise average. So this is not about box office panic. It’s just because, you know, making movies is hard, especially during a public health crisis.
Sylvester Stallone has said he was quitting things before. Back in 1996, he claimed Daylight — the instantly forgotten tunnel thriller — would be his farewell to action movies. It wasn’t. He’s said he was retiring Rocky Balboa before. He came back, multiple times. (Although it sounds like Rocky may be retired for real this time.) Sly usually comes back for more, and even at 75 years old, he could always do another Rambo.
So take this with a quarry of salt: Stallone says that he’s done with the Expendables franchise. He did recently wrap on the fourth one, the first in the all-star action star series since 2014 (the one where Mel Gibson is the baddie, and Harrison Ford is also there). He reunites with longtime costars Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture. It adds Megan Fox, Andy Garcia, 50 Cent, and more. But if there’s an Expendables 5, Stallone won’t be there.
Stallone broke the news on Instagram. “The greatest thing is being able to provide films [and] entertainment [where] maybe there’s a little message in there, because what I try to convey in my successful films is the human touch,” he said. “Not so much the action; the action is self-evident. But it’s just relating to the audience in a way that they can identify with whatever the mission is, with the characters at hand.”
He added that he’s “getting ready to accept the next challenge,” whatever that may mean.
Again, Stallone has retired characters before only to resurrect them anyway. And again, he’s 75, but that doesn’t appear to be slowing him down. But if it’s true and Expendables 4 is the last time we see Sly’s Barney Ross, the plus side is that Jason Statham — one of the only actors to be in all four movies — may lead his first franchise since the Transporters.
The NBA’s rookie scale extension deadline came and went on Monday evening at 6 p.m. ET, and a number of players from the 2018 Draft class cashed in. Max deals were handed out this offseason to Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Michael Porter Jr., with others like Mikal Bridges and Jaren Jackson Jr. landing major deals as well.
There were some notable names that didn’t get extensions, most surprising being Deandre Ayton, along with Collin Sexton not coming to terms with a deal in Cleveland. Still, there were some others who were able to get a deal done before the deadline on non-max level contracts, which isn’t always the easiest thing to workout. Non-max rookie deals require the team and player to be seeing eye-to-eye on value, something that’s rare for a player entering their fourth season in the league who isn’t viewed as a max player by both parties.
Three players worked out deals in the final hour that will bolster the rosters of a trio of playoff contenders this season.
Kevin Huerter, Atlanta Hawks: 4 years, $65 million
Huerter’s emergence in the postseason for the Hawks was a major catalyst for their run to the conference finals, and he was rewarded with a $65 million deal. For the Hawks, it ensures that they lock up another core piece long-term after already doling out extensions or new deals to Trae Young, John Collins, and Clint Capela this offseason.
Atlanta Hawks guard Kevin Huerter has agreed on a four-year, $65 million rookie contract extension, @PrioritySports agents Mark Bartelstein and Andy Shiffman tell ESPN.
Huerter averaged 11.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game last regular season, and came up big in key moments for the Hawks in their playoff run. With him, De’Andre Hunter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic on the roster, the next very interesting decision for Atlanta will be the future of Cam Reddish, who could end up as the odd man out on the wing eventually.
Landry Shamet, Phoenix Suns: 4 years, $43 million
Everyone but Ayton got paid in Phoenix, and that will only fuel the drama around the Suns big man heading into the season. After trading for Shamet this offseason, they clearly wanted to lock him up long-term, handing out a near $11 million per year deal for the sharpshooter who has some very real questions about playoff viability after the way his tenure in Brooklyn ended. That said, Monty Williams is a big fan having coached him for a year in Philly as a rookie, and it’s clear Phoenix sees him as a rotation piece for a hopeful title contender.
Phoenix Suns guard Landry Shamet has agreed to a four-year, $43 million rookie contract extension, his agent @GeorgeLangberg tells ESPN.
Grayson Allen, Milwaukee Bucks: 2 years, $20 million
A similar deal to Shamet’s, just with two fewer years, the Bucks lock Allen in for the next three years after dealing for him this offseason.
Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen has agreed on a two-year, $20 million rookie extension, his agent Mitch Nathan of @CAA_Basketball tells ESPN. Allen arrived with the defending champions in a trade this summer. He was the 21st pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Allen has become a quality 3-and-D wing, and for a team that wants to bolster its depth in that area, it makes sense to bring him in and sign him up long-term. How much Allen helps comes playoff time remains to be seen as rotations shorten, but there’s value in having players who can bring regular season depth even for contenders. On top of that, the Bucks learned last year that having additional help on the wing is never a bad thing after having to make their title run without Donte DiVincenzo.
Last Friday, multi-hyphenate star KYLE dropped a video for his latest single ‘Sunday,’ which follows the singer through dreamy melon-toned visuals of Los Angeles set to a beat that samples Craig David’s “7 Days” and borrows the framing from the song’s chorus to tell a tale of the fleeting qualities of love in 2021.
“Started vibin’ On Monday, then you started trippin’ on Tuesday. And now we makin’ love by Wednesday, and even Thursday and Friday and Saturday. You tell me that we break-in’ up on Sunday.” Sings KYLE, over some plucked Spanish guitar, thumping 808s, and skittering hi-hats.
“Every time I make music I try to discover something new about myself and what I make,“ KYLE tells me over the phone while discussing the origins of the track. “I was listening to a lot of late Garage music, I wanted to make uptempo R & B but I was having a hard time finding that. I made ‘Sunday’ out of complete fandom for Craig David and how smooth his records and vocals were over these really fast-moving tracks.”
Despite being heavily indebted to the source material, KYLE’s ‘Sunday’ presents a different vibe to David’s original, which keeps it from sounding like a straight-up cover. Instead what we get is an expert interpolation of a classic that comes off as smoother and altogether more romantic than the original. For the visuals, KYLE reached out to director Made By James, and the duo attempted to make a video that felt as thematic and stylized as a movie, while still giving a glimpse into KYLE’s personality,
“I was always a fan of early 2000s music videos, especially surrounding r&b culture. Very smooth and about love and sexy — featuring this day in the life storyline that made you fall in love with the artist.”
The result is a dreamlike and slightly eerie video that acts as a companion piece to KYLE’s “Love Me Like You Say You Love Me.” Part of what makes the video so appealing are the visuals that capture the romance of LA driving culture. To better understand things from his perspective, we hit up KYLE for the perfect LA date night, driving routes included.
“It would start early in the morning, right from the jump. We’re going to wake up and the first thing we’re going to do is get some coffee.”
The perfect cup of which can always be found at KYLE’s go-to LA roaster Cognoscenti:
“Cognoscenti on Washington Blvd is the best coffee shop in Los Angeles. We can fight about it, but I’ll win. My go-to order is the Green Matcha Latte Iced, with oat milk, or a half-caff almond milk latte with a hint of agave sweetener.”
From there the date would continue on through the city:
“Then we’re going to head to the Culver City stairs. We’re not going to run up the stairs, we’re going to drive up and take in the view.”
The stairs offer a great panoramic view of the downtown Los Angeles skyline and served as an obvious inspiration for some of the scenes in the video.
“After we do that we’re going to get some bunch, probably somewhere on Melrose. Sitting out on the street, people watching. Before we know it It’ll be nighttime when we’ll head to Javiar’s in Century City, and maybe catch a movie after.”
But to really capture the vibe of the song, your best bet is to jump in a car, blast ‘Sunday’, and just enjoy the sights that driving in LA always provides. If you’re looking for the best experience, follow KYLE’s route.
“You want to start somewhere in Mid-City, head toward West Hollywood. Take that down until you hit PCH, and take that to Malibu so you can sit on the beach, throw on ‘Sunday’ again, and take in the sights before you head home.”
Ko Lee
Watch the video for ‘Sunday’ above, and then watch the companion piece “Love Me Like You Say You Love Me.”
For years, Deandre Ayton was harshly and unreasonably compared to what he wasn’t: Luka Doncic and Trae Young. Then, suddenly, he became an integral member of the Western Conference-winning Phoenix Suns. He authored two-way dominance against the reigning champs, Los Angeles Lakers. He posed issues for MVP Nikola Jokic. He feasted inside against the Los Angeles Clippers’ small-ball brigade.
By the second half of the season, Ayton was a marvelous pick-and-roll defender, an elite play-finisher, and excellent rebounder. For the betterment of the team, he sacrificed counting stats and starred in his role, the latter of which emerged as a tagline of sorts for him down the stretch. Many top picks whose play is juxtaposed with All-Star ball-handlers racking up nightly double-doubles might not embrace that.
And yet, the reward for his admirable selflessness and growth is to play out the final year of his rookie contract, and pursue a new deal next summer. Every night, he will suit up and risk injury without the safety net of another contract, all because he’s beholden to the financial preferences of an exorbitant billionaire.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Ayton and the Suns ended extension talks ahead of Monday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline without reaching an agreement. Ayton rightfully wanted the max. Owner Robert Sarver refused to grant it. Sure, Ayton will probably receive a max contract next summer, whether it’s Phoenix outright or the organization matching another team’s offer, but this is a matter of principle and acknowledging the human aspect of sports. Sarver is disregarding relationships. He’s jeopardizing an environment that has been lauded for its culture since head coach Monty Williams took over following years of dysfunction fueled in part by Sarver’s previous ineptitude.
Ayton took a backseat and welcomed the grunge work of NBA basketball. He posted career-lows in points per game (14.4) and usage rate (16 percent). After frequenting midrange jumpers his first two seasons, perhaps in the hope of stretching out beyond the arc, he largely excised those shots from his profile. He guarded three top-10 superstars across four playoff series. He played his absolute tail off to try and deliver the Suns a title.
Some may try to justify this move by referencing Ayton’s struggles in the NBA Finals. Maintaining such prolific impact in that context simply cannot be threshold for a 22-year-old in his third season, tasked with containing Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is en route to one of the greatest careers in league history. If that’s the bar, almost every player in the NBA fails to meet it.
What’s more is even if you don’t deem Ayton to be the caliber of guys at similar price points, which is roughly the 40th-highest-paid player, he has another year to reach that level (at worst, he’s already close). Given how much he’s developed and altered his game since entering the NBA, future growth should be expected. He recently turned 23. Who he was in July 2021 will not be who he is in October 2022 when a new deal begins.
Sarver should reward Ayton for his vast, difficult improvements and commit to him long-term. Affirm your belief in him and the team’s title aspirations. Relationships matter and this was a golden chance to strengthen one. Sarver bungled it, seemingly because of greed.
Bypassing an extension for Ayton does not and will not free up significant money to be applied elsewhere and mitigate his potential departure in restricted free agency during this era of Suns championship contention. This “saved” money does not translate to the open market. Phoenix had avenues to retain its key players like Chris Paul and Mikal Bridges because of provisions in the CBA that allowed them to go over the cap to re-sign them. Ayton, even if he came off the books completely next summer, wouldn’t create any space for Phoenix to replace him. This is predominantly use it or lose it money that exists only within this context.
In re-signing Paul and extending both Bridges and Ayton, Sarver and the Suns had a chance to help maintain or accentuate the rosy vibes cultivated last season. Instead, this story line will lurk in the shadows. That’s not to say it will derail anything this year, but it’s an unnecessary risk motivated by relatively mild financial gain.
The Suns will not reach their goals without Ayton. He deserves his money. This was a disheartening misstep in which an owner wielded too much power over a player. Pay the big fella, he’s done everything possible to earn it.
The best things come to those who wait, and that goes extra for Succession heads. Fans of the HBO show about one evil family of wealth monsters went two whole years without a new episode, the series having to go on hiatus thanks to a certain once-in-a-century public health crisis that still hasn’t been licked. They were rewarded with a predictably excellent season 3 premiere. In that time the show even picked up more supporters, because Sunday’s numbers were (allegedly) a series record. Variety reports that HBO says the show’s belated season premiere netted some 1.4 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max. That’s a 21% increase from the Season 2 finale, back around this time in 2019. It was also, they say, the best premiere-night performance of any HBO show since HBO Max went live in May of last year. And it had the biggest digital premiere of any HBO show since Season 2 of Big Little Lies in June of 2019.
Mind you, this is all from HBO, which, like Netflix, tends to only report numbers when they’re very good. They’re also saying that, in the lead-up to Sunday night’s premiere, a ton of people were catching up (or catching back up) with older Succession episodes. So it’s (allegedly) more good news for the unimaginably rich fictitious family that once indifferently destroyed a media company called “Vaulter.”
Country musician Travis Tritt wants to make his stance on performing shows during Covid-19 known — he’s against any and all protections that keep his fans and crew safe from the disease. In a statement released today, Tritt announced that he was canceling shows at any venues that had restrictions in place regarding vaccination status, testing, or mask mandates.
“I’m putting my money where my mouth is and announcing that any venue or promoter mandating masks, requiring vaccinations, or pushing COVID testing protocols on my fans will not be tolerated. Any show I have booked that discriminates against concert-goers by requiring proof of vaccination, a COVID test, or a mask is being canceled immediately. Many people are taking a firm stand against these mandates around the country, and I wholeheartedly support that cause. I have been extremely vocal against mandates since the beginning. This is a sacrifice that I’m willing to make to stand up for the freedoms that generations of Americans have enjoyed for their entire lifetimes. There are plenty of promoters and venues around the country that appreciate fans and the freedom of choice in this great country, and those are the promoters and venues that I will be supporting. I’m sorry for any inconvenience this situation creates for anyone who had purchased tickets to these shows. We will try to reschedule unrestricted shows in these areas as soon as we can.”
Though guidelines for protecting Americans from Covid-19 have sparked debate, Tritt’s stance is a fairly radical one. Most artists are happy to have restrictions like testing or vaccination in place, along with masks. Another musician in the country space, Jason Isbell, was one of the most outspoken artists about having guidelines to keep fans safe in place. It will be interesting to see how fans and peers react to Tritt’s decision. If you’re unfamiliar with Tritt’s music, check out a live performance of one of biggest hits, “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive,” above.
As we all know pretty much know by now, the reopening of travel is happening on a country-by-country basis and depends greatly on which passport you hold. There are a million variables that we won’t get into here. But there was one slice of sunshine in the travel news this week and it’s a nice one, to be sure.
Thailand is reopening to vaccinated travelers from some countries, starting November 1st. The backpacker-friendly nation had already started a “Sandbox” travel system on October 1st. That system was put in place in very popular destinations around the country. Basically, if you were vaccinated and traveling from a low-risk country, you could go to Phuket or Ao Nang, for instance, but you had to stay there for seven days — a sort of quarantine in paradise. The success of that scheme has led to the government announcing that the country would fully reopen to vaccinated travelers from “low-risk” countries starting November 1st, 2021.
According to a press release from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the country will welcome vaccinated travelers from “10 low-risk countries, including China, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and USA” starting in November. They plan to expand the list of ten countries on December 1st and again on January 1st. You’ll also be required to show a PCR test before you board a flight to Thailand and get a test once you arrive. If you’re negative when you arrive, you’ll be allowed to travel around the country.
While November 1st is right around the corner, the same press release also notes that “consumption of alcoholic beverages in restaurants as well as the operation of entertainment venues under appropriate health precautions would be allowed from 1 December.” So that gives you about a month to chill in Thailand before the party crowd returns in earnest.
It goes without saying that any part of this or all of it could be reversed as the Thai government sees fit. Still, it’s a ray of hope for any traveler looking to get in on a slice of paradise in one of the best food countries on earth before 2022 arrives.
Until then, here are some Instagram shots from Thailand to whet your appetite.
Billy Porter, star of Pose and progressive fashion pioneer, is not a fan of Harry Styles’ Vogue cover look, despite the forward momentum it generated in the movement for breaking down arbitrary gender barriers in fashion. For what it’s worth, though, his skepticism for Styles’ cover comes as much from his own experience being castigated for his daring red carpet looks as for anything Styles’ dress did.
“I feel like the fashion industry has accepted me because they have to,” Porter observed in an interview with The Sunday Times excerpted by Rolling Stone. “I’m not necessarily convinced and here is why. I created the conversation [about non-binary fashion] and yet Vogue still put Harry Styles, a straight white man, in a dress on their cover for the first time. I’m not dragging Harry Styles, but he is the one you’re going to try and use to represent this new conversation? He doesn’t care, he’s just doing it because it’s the thing to do. This is politics for me. This is my life. I had to fight my entire life to get to the place where I could wear a dress to the Oscars and not be gunned now. All he has to do is be white and straight.”
Don Toliver is currently one of the hottest names in rap, with his new album Life Of A Don debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard albums chart. It’s no surprise, though, as he’s signed to Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack label, sharing with his mentor a certain level of cool-kid clout — enough to warrant a look from perennial streetwear favorite A Bathing Ape, which teamed up with Toliver to release a new line of exclusive co-branded merch. In addition, Toliver’s listening party for Life Of A Don was held at BAPE’s New York store and captured for posterity in the video above.
The merch line consists of four T-shirts combining the streetwear brand’s trademark logos with Don’s name and the album title. The shirts are all $129 and can be purchased either at A Bathing Ape’s website or on Don Toliver’s online shop with album bundles.
Seeing Don Toliver teaming up with A Bathing Ape makes perfect sense when you consider Travis Scott’s propensity for licensing his likeness to practically any brand looking to raise its profile among young spenders: Travis counts Sony, McDonald’s, and more among his partnerships, even as he insists he’s not looking to be a “brand” of his own. Don’s following in his footsteps and well on his way, although he’s making sure to balance savvy money moves with fan-favorite singles like “Flocky Flocky” and “Drugs N Hella Melodies.”
Life Of A Don is out now via Cactus Jack and Atlantic.
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