Category: News

Nearly a decade after the project was announced (and after a few scheduling changes due to COVID Delta variant concerns), we are now merely a month away from the first-ever live-action adaptation of Clifford the Big Red Dog hitting theaters — and even have a warm and fuzzy final trailer to prove it. Based on the upcoming film’s final trailer, it looks like we can count on it containing just as much love as there is pup, with some heart-warming moments and lessons about never making yourself small to fit into a world where others deem you “too big.”

Based on Norman Bridwell’s 1963 Scholastic children’s book series of the same name, the upcoming movie follows a young, New Yorker named Emily Elizabeth (Darby Camp) who lives with her mother in a small apartment. However, as she grows older, she never quite feels a sense of belonging — that is until a strange man named Mr. Bridwell (John Cleese) gifts her a strange, red puppy that will forever change her life. As her love for the dog causes him to grow to a preposterous size, Emily has to recruit her Uncle Casey (Jack Whitehall) to help her care for him. However, while Emily, Jack, and the community take to the pup, proving to Emily regardless of who you are you do belong, the government — fueled by a social media frenzy — threaten to take Clifford away from her.

In addition to Camp, Cleese, and Whitehall, the film features the talents of Tony Hale, Sienna Guillory, David Alan Grier, Russell Wong, and a what’s sure to be a fun Kenan Thompson cameo. While the initial report of the film being live-action (as well as the first look at CGI Clifford) was met with some scorn, Deadline reports the film has been tracking well and could be a real, heartwarming film for families, providing they feel safe enough seeing it with current pandemic conditions. Clifford the Big Red Dog will be released both theatrically and via streaming over on Paramount+ on November 10.

When she’s not on the road or collaborating with major brands like Popeyes and Revlon, Megan Thee Stallion is watching anime. She has so much love for the genre that she even partnered with anime streaming platform Crunchyroll for some eye-catching merch. Now combining her love of hot foods and anime, Megan joined an episode of Hot Ones to explain what exactly she loves so much about watching anime.

When asked about her go-to anime show on Hot Ones, Megan described the series Black Clover, which she says she’s currently watching. The rapper explains why she relates to the only character who doesn’t have magic, saying she loves proving to everyone she’s stronger than they first expected:

“My favorite character on the show is Asta because this motherf*cker is always screaming and hollering. Even if they’re in the middle of the fight, he’ll just bust out with some goofy sh*t. […] I just feel like I can relate to him, and a lot of the other characters in anime, because people will try to count you out when they feel like you ain’t sh*t or you ain’t got something yet. But you train and train, and you fight and fight, you keep proving everybody wrong and you keep beating the odds. I feel like, that’s the type of person I am.”

Watch Megan’s Hot Ones segment above.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

As the Dave Chappelle controversy continues to engulf Netflix, employees have been sharing internal conversations at the streaming giant, and what they reportedly reveal (according to Bloomberg) is a surprising bit of information about how much return Netflix is getting on its massive investments — and one of its smallest.

In a new Bloomberg report on how much “impact value” Chappelle’s special brings to Netflix, internal documents on the streaming company’s metrics show that Netflix actually lost money on his last special, Sticks & Stones, which cost $23.6 million. By comparison, the entire first season of Squid Game only cost $21.4 million, and it’s an international smash-hit that’s delivered record numbers for Netflix.

As Collider notes, Squid Game is also considerably cheaper than other Netflix hits:

At around $2.4 million per episode across its nine-episode run, securing the K-drama was also less costly than fellow top ten launches on the platform like The Crown and Stranger Things which, per a Variety report, came in at $10 million and $8 million per episode respectively. While still a lot of money, Squid Game was a bargain, especially in the age of increasingly rising costs for television shows fueled by bigger properties like Marvel and Disney seeping into the market.

These new internal numbers apparently provide an interesting look at Netflix’s inner-workings, which have been notoriously opaque. Most reporting on the success of Netflix series relies on Netflix as a source, which is not always ideal. More importantly, it raises questions about the streaming company’s strategy of dropping big bucks to secure A-list actors like the reported $200 million it spent on Red Notice starring Ryan Reynolds, The Rock, and Gal Gadot. You can almost buy 10 Squid Games with that kind of money.

(Via Bloomberg)

Everybody is obsessed with Squid Game, the Netflix drama in which a group of desperate people competes in children’s games for a massive payout — only to discover that elimination in the games means death. People love the show so much that they’ve begun competing in their own makeshift Squid Games in real life (minus the threat of imminent death, of course).

One such group is the high-end sneaker store Patnmoon, which invited customers to compete in the dalgona challenge from the show, in which a shape must be pieced out of a circular honeycomb toffee without breaking the shape itself. The prize is merch from the store, including Chrome Hearts apparel, Off White Nike Dunks, or a PlayStation 5.

And wouldn’t you know it, the store’s staff convinced Atlanta rapper Lil Baby to try his luck, posting a short video to TikTok. Baby always seems game to play around with TikTok-ers, previously participating in a quiz of his own lyrics (and inexplicably failing somewhat miserably). This time around we don’t get to see how he did, but considering he’s trying the umbrella — the most difficult shape to carve out, according to the show, we can assume he probably didn’t make it.

Of course, Baby’s got more than enough money to just purchase the expensive wares at Patnmoon, so he was probably able to laugh off any potential losses — especially since no masked, triangle-faced soldiers were hovering nearby to punish him like in the show.

Following the release of Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Ringer‘s Keith Phipps wondered where have all the sports movies gone. Now, you may think the genre deserves to be put out of its misery after watching the miserable Space Jam sequel and seeing the faith-based trailer for the Kurt Warner movie, American Underdog, but all is not lost. Halle Berry is doing her darnedest to keep the sports movie alive.

In her directorial debut, Bruised, Berry plays Jackie Justice, a washed-up MMA fighter who’s attempting to make a comeback. She’s also a mother looking after her six-year-old son. “I loved it because fighting is something that I just know so much about on a personal level and on a career level. I understand what it is to fight and not be heard,” the Oscar winner told the New York Times about what drew her to the movie. “I understand the trauma of life that makes one want to fight, need to fight, have to fight.”

You can watch the trailer above. Here’s more:

Jackie Justice (Halle Berry) is a mixed martial arts fighter who leaves the sport in disgrace. Down on her luck and simmering with rage and regret years after her last fight, she’s coaxed into a brutal underground fight by her manager and boyfriend Desi (Adan Canto) and grabs the attention of a fight league promoter (Shamier Anderson) who promises Jackie a life back in the octagon. But the road to redemption becomes unexpectedly personal when Manny (Danny Boyd, Jr.) — the son she gave up as an infant — shows up at her doorstep.

Bruised comes out on Netflix on November 24.

This article originally appeared on 11.16.15

In the magazine aisle there’s no shortage of suggestions to spice up your sex life with your partner.

They usually range from “duh” to … absurd.

Not a real Cosmo cover. But it sooo could be. Image by @Remiel/Flickr (altered).

While most magazine tips focus on what women can do for their male partners (I mean, there’s a reason why Cosmo has a reputation), a newly-released discovery is for the fellas.

What Canadian scientists recently found is an easy-to-follow tip that probably won’t be in the next issue of Esquire: Do your fair share of chores.

Sorry. I hate chores, too. GIF from “The Office.”

I know, I know. Sorry. But it doesn’t have to be so bad! If this did make it into the Cosmo and Men’s Health sex and relationship tips sections, I imagine it’d go a little bit like this:

“Think of her carpet … and how badly it needs to be taken care of. Then reach for the vacuum for a loud cleaning session to make that rug spotless.”

“If you really want an irresistible move to get her in the mood, try introducing plastic into your routine. Using plastic gloves while scrubbing the tub and toilet doesn’t just give your skin a relief from those harsh cleaning chemicals, but that cleaning sesh will really show you mean business.”

“To achieve sex-god status, you have to truly master cleaning the pots. Firmly hold the handle of the pot and gently scrub away that grease and grime. The clean, shiny insides of her cookware will really get her going. For extra points, clean the pans, too.”

Sexy, right?

This guy knows what he’s doing. Image by garlandcannon/Flickr.

If you’ve been following research on the effect of chore division on a couple’s sex life, then you might be scratching your head. This new research goes completely against a bombshell 2012 University of Washington study that said men doing what is traditionally seen as “women’s work” in the home leads to heterosexual couples having less sex.

But wait, before running to mop the floor a few extra times. It isn’t a certain qualitative amount of chores that helps couples reach the sexy times jackpot.

The key to the couples’ satisfaction is whether the man feels he is doing his fair share.

While pouring over a five-year study of German couples and their sex lives, researchers found a trend for which couples had the most frequent and most satisfying sex: the ones who had a male partner confident that he’s pulling his weight in the household.

Sorry folks: Skipping doing the dishes in hopes of more romps in the bed is the wrong way to go.

The finding is helpful for cohabiting couples trying to balance their needs for both a clean house and sexual intimacy.

They only studied heterosexual partners, but I bet the moral behind it could be true regardless of gender. When people make a fair contribution to the household, everyone feels better and the couple has more opportunity for quality time.

Sounds like a win-win to me.

GIF from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

As the NBA season approaches and training camps get underway, we’ll be taking a look at the player on each team that holds the key to unlocking their potential, starting in Atlanta with third-year forward De’Andre Hunter.

Hunter was on his way to a breakout sophomore campaign, averaging 15 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game on 48.4/32.6/85.9 shooting, but knee issues plagued him all season, limiting him to 23 games in the regular season and a torn meniscus ended his first postseason after the first round against the Knicks. Without Hunter, the Hawks surprised many by upsetting the Sixers to reach the Eastern Conference Finals, pushing the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks to six games.

The Hawks will look much the same this coming season, led by Trae Young and John Collins, with veterans Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari, and Bogdan Bogdanovic all back for another go around. Most of Atlanta’s offseason moves this summer were about bolstering depth, which means top-level improvement needs to come from internal development of their young stars and better health, as well. Hunter will be the biggest addition to the roster we saw in the Conference Finals — along with Bogdanovic being back at full strength — and his two-way ability has the potential to keep the Hawks in the conversation of East contenders.

Hunter’s impact defensively is tremendous. In 678 minutes (an admittedly small sample), the Hawks had a defensive rating of 105.9, while without him (a much larger 2,803 minutes) the team’s defensive rating was 113.0. Even factoring the noise of on/off defensive rating, the Hawks are significantly better when he’s on the floor thanks to his considerable gifts as an on and off ball defender, with versatility to guard 2-4. Adding him back into the lineup will, if nothing else, be a boost defensively, but it’s on the offensive end, where Atlanta is already terrific, that Hunter has the biggest questions.

Prior to the injury, Hunter was shooting 36.6 percent from three in the first 18 games of the season (his 1-of-13 stretch in the last five games of the regular season brought his percentage down considerably) and he was emerging as more of an on-ball threat in his second season. If he can sustain that back at full strength, he makes the Hawks a far more dangerous, balanced team no matter who he is paired with on the wing between Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter, who had a breakout of his own in the postseason.

The Hawks have a chance to be the third best team in the East next season, as there is a clear top two in Brooklyn and Milwaukee, but ample questions beyond that considering the Ben Simmons situation in Philadelphia (partially caused by the Hawks). If they are going to get there and have a chance at threatening either of those two top dogs, Hunter will need to not just sustain what he did at the start of last year, but continue growing as a player, something that’s very much in play for the third-year forward.

When we first met Jonah Hill—really met Jonah Hill—he was a twenty-something up-and-comer starring in 2007’s Superbad, arguably one of the best comedies of the past 20 years. Now he’s a 37-year-old actor, writer, producer, and director who has worked some of Hollywood’s biggest names—Martin Scorsese, the Coen Brothers, and Quentin Tarantino among them. He’s also been nominated for two Academy Awards. Yet all people ever seem to want to talk about is Hill’s body and his weight, and he’s really f*cking sick of it.

On Wednesday, Hill took to Instagram to post a very simple request: please stop making his body a topic of conversation. “I know you mean well,” the actor wrote, “but I kindly ask that you not comment on my body. Good or bad I want to politely let you know it’s not helpful and doesn’t feel good. Much respect.”

It’s a simple message, but a powerful one that immediately found support among his fans—famous and otherwise. Hill’s sister, Impeachment: American Crime Story star Beanie Feldstein, was among the first to show support for his message, replying: THATS MY BROTHER

As Complex reported, Hill’s post happened shortly after US Magazine posted a story titled “Jonah Hill Shows Off Dramatic Weight Loss: See the Before and After Pictures.” (No, we didn’t link to it—nor should you.) The article was cobbled together with photos and quotes taken from other interviews Hill has done over the years, but not with his direct participation. And for good reason: Hill has been very forthright that he has struggled with body issues over the years, and how that has affected his own self-view.

While appearing on Ellen in 2018, Hill offered some insight into the challenges he has faced, noting:

“I think everybody has a version of themselves—I call it a snapshot—at some point in life, trying to hide from the world. Even if you get success or grow up or become good-looking or whatever … you kind of carry some part of that with you. For me, it’s definitely being like this 14-year-old kid, being overweight, wanting to fit in with these skaters and hip-hop kids, and just feeling lonely and maybe not understanding my own worth.”

Whether it’s one’s body or something else, it’s hard to imagine there isn’t a person reading this who can’t relate to the idea of still viewing yourself as you were at a certain time in life—and how damaging it could be to have strangers keep reminding you of that image and talking about it—especially when you’ve achieved so much at such a young age. Frankly, even writing about Jonah Hill asking people to stop talking about his body feels like a betrayal of that very message. So let’s just leave it at that.

(Via Complex)

Kehlani announced her upcoming album Blue Water Road in a highly conceptual way. She unveiled the LP’s title with an eerie trailer, which teases a winter release date. The singer’s album announcement was different from how she’s publicized projects in the past, but that’s because this LP is apparently “vastly different” from what she’s written before.

Kehlani discussed her different direction in Rolling Stone‘s Musicians On Musicians series in an interview with Alicia Keys. The singer even notes that she wouldn’t put it in the same genre as her other albums:

“I’m about to drop music that, to me, feels vastly different than anything I’ve ever created. I wouldn’t call it the same genre sonically as I’ve done before. And I’m scared about it because I’m like, ‘Y’all may receive it and just feel like Kehlani is dropping another project.’ And to me, I’m making a pivot creatively because it was something I always wanted to do with people I always wanted to do it with.”

The singer went on to note that she’s nervous to see people’s reactions to the project, but hopes to take the feedback in stride. “I guess I just be nervous, but I had to also stop psyching myself out,” she continued. “I try to look from this big bird’s-eye view of like, ‘Well, I’m probably going to drop like five more albums. I’m going to have this experience a bunch of more times, don’t freak out, be like water, let it come out. Let people think whatever they think.’ I try to always come back to the emotion that I felt when I was creating it.”

Read Rolling Stone‘s full Musicians On Musicians profile with Kehlani and Alicia Keys here.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.