Category: News

To fans of South Park, Casa Bonita is the oft-mentioned Mexican restaurant where Kyle had a birthday party back in 2003 episode aptly titled “Casa Bonita.” To millions of people who grew up in the American southwest in the ‘70s and ‘80s, the Mexican restaurant/theme park is a beloved relic of childhood family outings. And for South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, it could very well be their next creative collaboration.

Originally opened in Oklahoma City in 1968, Casa Bonita is a very real, adventure-filled restaurant that blossomed into a locally beloved mini-chain back in the day, with most of its eateries located in Arizona. While the so-called “eatertainment” venue began to lose its luster when the ‘90s came knocking — not long before South Park premiered in 1997. Eventually, all but the Lakewood, Colorado location of Casa Bonita closed, and it’s a place that has long held great memories for both Parker and Stone. Which is why the restaurant — which can seat more than 1,000 people at once and features a 30-foot waterfall with cliff divers — has become South Park canon. And why the Emmy Award-winning duo are attempting to buy the restaurant, which closed in 2020 due to the pandemic and filed for bankruptcy in April of this year.

“We want to buy Casa Bonita and treat it right,” Parker told The Hollywood Reporter. “I feel like it was neglected even before the pandemic.” One of their main goals is to improve the quality of the food, which The Denver Post says “has never been the restaurant’s strong suit.”

But what do two dudes who make an R-rated animated TV show that featured a talking poop know about running a restaurant? Probably not a whole lot, which is why they’re partnering with a couple of local restaurateurs on what could be an epic culinary adventure — and a crowning professional achievement.

“It’s just sitting there. It sucks,” Parker told THR. “For a moment when it was like, ‘Casa Bonita is going to close down,’ we said, ‘We’re going to go buy it.’ And I felt like it was the crowning achievement of my life.”

The deal, however, is far from done. According to a local news report from Fox 31, Casa Bonita might already be getting ready to reopen once it passes a health and fire inspection. Still, Parker and Stone can hope — and dream.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Apple TV+’s See turned out to be wild and wooly that it worked as one of the tech giant’s first offerings. Jason Momoa donned more fur coats as Baba Voss, the fierce warrior leader of a post-apocalyptic world, in which everyone is blind. That’s kind-of a waste, if you really think about it, given that the other characters can’t see Momoa, and now, I’m just being silly. Yet his muscles and sword-fighting (through “echolocation”) and beard game will receive some true competition from Baba’s brother, Edo, portrayed by Dave Bautista. The first trailer showed the pair’s tense reunion, and in this followup trailer, it sure looks like Edo has the upper hand.

Let’s just say that the Voss family reunion isn’t a happy one. Nesta Cooper’s Haniwa (the adopted twin daughter of Baba) will have some run-ins with Edo, too, and Baba looks to be taken prisoner at some point. The masturbating Queen Kane (Sylvia Hoeks) is back, and yes, you read that correctly, all while there’s war, war, and more war. Let’s do the synopsis:

Baba Voss (Momoa) is struggling to reunite his family while protecting them as the threat of war looms between the Kingdom of Paya and the Trivantian Republic. Despite his best efforts, his wife and sighted children are pulled to the forefront of the conflict, where they come to the attention of his estranged brother, Edo Voss (Bautista), a powerful and cunning Trivantian General, whose long-simmering hatred for his brother imperils them all even further.

Man, everyone is so intense on this show. No one ever gets to rest and relax, everyone’s always on the run, and the twins are likely still in danger, given that they both possess miraculous sight. So, it’s a slightly stressful watch, but Momoa digs this archetypical character, who has at least a little bit in common with Game of Thrones‘ Khal Drogo, Frontier‘s Declan Harp, and the Conan the Barbarian title character. And the addition of Bautista always makes things better.

See will return on August 27 with new episodes arriving weekly.

The music world was met with some tragic news yesterday, when it was revealed that ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill died at 72 years old. The band was in the midst of a tour when he passed, and it appears they will finish that run of dates and perhaps continue into the future without Hill.

Eddie Trunk, host of “Trunk Nation” on SiriusXM, shared some texts he received from Billy Gibbons, which read, “As Dusty said upon his departure, ‘ Let the show go on!’.and…with respect, we’ll do well to get beyond this and honor his wishes. […] Dusty emphatically grabbed my arm and said, ‘Give [longtime guitar tech Elwood Francis] the bottom end and take it to the Top’. He meant it, amigo. He really did.”

As Consequence notes, ZZ Top canceled last night’s Simpsonville, South Carolina concert, but as of now, the rest of the band’s upcoming shows appear to still be on, with the tour set to resume tomorrow (July 30) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Hill left the tour last week to address a “hip issue,” and while he was gone, Francis performed in his place, an arrangement that will presumably continue going forward. The band has yet to make an announcement of the fate of their tour beyond the canceled South Carolina show.

DaBaby continues to miss the point of the backlash against his Rolling Loud comments, issuing another statement on Instagram trying to defend himself from accusations of homophobia. Posting a snippet of his new video, “Giving What It’s Supposed To Give” (an example of appropriated LGBTQ slang), he noted the hard work that he put into the video, insisted that he already apologized (he didn’t), and boasted that he would overcome, all while bemoaning the fact that he has had to face consequences for his insensitive remarks such as losing his Boohooman deal. Read it below.

You ever wrote a video, you and 3 others produce it, you direct it while starring AND rapping in it, film the video for 16 HOURS straight wrap up at 4am, take a shower & jump on a jet to @rollingloud and with only 2 hours of rest give one of the BEST performances of the entire festival yet the most controversial and emotion provoking performance as well; due to things deemed “insensitive” said during your performance even though you’re an ENTERTAINER, try to apologize and explain that you meant no harm & that you were only entertaining as you are paid to do, & have no problem with anyone’s sexual preference that is outside of yours, only to have a substantial amount of people refuse to understand your logic, tag along with a trending topic & play with your character and do everything they can to take money out of your pockets and food out your kids mouth, and have everybody around you panicking only for you to apologize anyway stand on the fact that you were entertaining and truly didn’t mean to offend anybody or start no commotion, although they’re currently offending you, & COINCIDENTALLY the video you were shooting till 4am the DAY OF @rollingloud touches on EVERY controversial topic trending in the headlines, so you then go against the grain in the opposite direction of every scared person around you & stay true to yourself & DROP DAT BITCH in the height of the commotion & show the world once again that you CANT BE F*CKED WIT?
I have. I just did. God’s Work.

Okay. So. Let’s address this. There’s a reason that people are still mad and it isn’t because it’s a “trending topic.” Regardless of his intent, the impact of his words is very real. Right now, there are queer people facing levels of violence and persecution that literally put their lives in danger, and cracks like “if you ain’t suck a n**** dick in the parking lot…” only serve to reinforce the way of thinking that justifies it in the minds of bigots. Secondly, DaBaby didn’t really apologize. “I’m sorry you feel that way” isn’t an apology because it isn’t acknowledging the harm — intentional or not — and resolving to do better.

Doubling down by releasing this video only serves to mock the people who want to see him take responsibility and downplay how egregious his words were. When Elton John tweets you to tell you how your comments cause real-world harm and you still laugh it off, you’re not being an entertainer, you’re acting like an asshole. Admitting you were wrong doesn’t mean you’re admitting you are a bad person. But you still have to admit when you mess up and try not to do it again.

Finally, trying to draw attention to the other controversy within the set is probably not the move here. Because, again, that was an asshole move. Get your money or whatever, but if you have to step on people’s toes to do so, maybe that check isn’t worth it.

Anyway, here’s hoping that someone close to DaBaby can explain these things to him and that they’ll catch him at a time when he’s feeling more receptive, less combative, and ready to grow up instead of living down to his name.

In one of the more bizarre interviews you’ll see this year, Cuomo Prime Time host Chris Cuomo had a heated conversation on Wednesday with the owner of a restaurant that will only serve unvaccinated people. Basilico’s Pasta e Vino, a neighborhood Italian restaurant in Huntington Beach, California, recently posted a sign on its window reading, “Notice. Proof of being UNvaccinated required. We have zero tolerance for treasonous, anti-American stupidity. Thank you for pondering.” Owner Tony Roman, a wannabe movie mobster who looks like he wears Stanzo brand fedoras (“they’re nice!”), said on Instagram that “masks are the greatest weapons of the lockdowns. They are used to divide Americans, just like the vaccination, and they represent fear, control and surrender.” He continued to defend his indefensible position on Cuomo’s CNN show.

In response to Cuomo asking if sign was “a little bit of a joke,” Roman replied, “You’re a smart guy. It’s an IQ test. Like I say to people when they ask me, if they’re so blinded with their rage and their hate, I tell them, you know what, if you don’t understand it, maybe we should put up a sign that says you’re too stupid to come into the restaurant.”

This made no sense to Cuomo, who asked Roman if he was vaccinated. Roman responded by demanding Cuomo give his vaccination status first, to which Cuomo replied that he and his family were vaccinated. “You’re failing the IQ test,” Roman replied, before then saying that barring vaccinated people from eating at his restaurant was not intended to be an anti-vaccine statement.

This was the hostile tone for most of interview. Roman brought up a pre-vaccinated Cuomo being caught not wearing a mask in public during the pandemic and his governor brother’s “nursing home fiasco,” while Cuomo grew increasingly exacerbated by Roman’s tired right-wing talking points. “This is not about whether I’m pro-vaccine or not, I’m pro-freedom and anti-tyranny,” he said. At the end of the interview, after accurately pointing that it “doesn’t make sense” for someone to claim they’re “pro-freedom” if his customers “can’t wear masks,” a frustrated Cuomo told Roman that he sounds “like an idiot.” Also, $20 bucks for spaghetti and meatballs? Get outta here with that.

You can watch the interview above.

(Via Raw Story)

As Marvel’s What If…? gets ready to kick off a massive dive into alternate realities, and the start of a new in-house animation studio for Marvel, the quickly approaching Disney+ series is now teasing its connection to the multiverse that was officially cracked open in the final moments of the Loki season finale.

In a new promotional tweet for What If…?, Marvel Studios writes that “A multiverse of infinite possibilities awaits,” which appears to be a strong hint that the animated series has ties to the reality-shattering events that occurred in Loki.

While there has yet to be an official confirmation from Kevin Feige or Marvel Studios on whether or not What If…? is canon, there have been online rumors that some of the alternate reality characters will appear in live-action form. But, again, these are online rumors that should be taken with huge grains of salt. The closest thing we have to knowing how connected What If…? will be to the greater MCU is an answer to an interview question from Loki himself, Tom Hiddleston.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, Hiddleston was asked about his voice work on Marvel’s What If…? After describing the premise of the show, he dropped what may be a hint to its greater impact on the Marvel universe.

“I am intrigued because I haven’t seen the whole thing,” Hiddleston told Fallon (via CBR), “And then it sets up a whole bunch of stuff in the MCU, which I know nothing about.” Naturally, Hiddleston added that last part with a little bit of sly Loki flourish, but that’s the closest intel we have to how far-reaching the impact of What If…? might be.

Marvel’s What If…? premieres August 11 on Disney+.

(Via What If…? on Twitter)

Festival season is among us, and one of the country’s most esteemed events, Rhode Island’s Newport Folk Festival, just wrapped up its 2021 installment yesterday. Beck performed on Tuesday the 27th, and his appearance featured a handful of surprise guests.

During Beck’s 15-song set (according to setlist.fm), Sharon Van Etten joined Back about halfway through his time on stage to perform “Asshole,” from his 1994 album One Foot In The Grave. Closer to the end of the set, Jack Antonoff popped up to help Beck cover The Korgis’ “Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime,” which Beck famously recorded for the Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind soundtrack. Then, to close the set, Fred Armisen hopped on the drums as Beck sang “Debra” and “Loser.”

Antonoff has been as busy as just about anybody in the music industry lately. Aside from his own upcoming Bleachers album, he played a major role in the upcoming Lorde album Solar Power and in the recently released Clairo album Sling, as well as Lana Del Rey’s Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Taylor Swift’s late-2020 effort Evermore. Meanwhile, Sharon Van Etten is also fresh off a collaboration with Angel Olsen, “Like I Used To.”

Check out some clips from the performances below.

Rootin’ tootin’ Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) can’t (or refuses to) help herself. She’s only a congressional freshman and is nearly as good at self-owning as Sen. Ted Cruz, especially at the U.S.-Mexico border, where lectured a cardboard standee of VP Kamala Harris. Boebert’s latest mission, however, is to endlessly rage against Covid-19 protocols. Earlier this week, she reportedly threw a mask before (not reportedly) tweeting about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “anti-science, totalitarian mask mandate” with a GIF of ex-President Trump saying “bullsh*t.”

Yep, Congress is totally tearing itself apart over the masking issue. On Wednesday, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Rep. Byron Daniels (R-NY), got into “a yelling fight outside the House floor” before they started feuding on Twitter. Meanwhile, Boebert continued her own “anti-science” crusade Thursday on Twitter, where she sarcastically asked a question to Apple’s “Siri” app. “Hey Siri, define hypocrite,” the rifle Republican tweeted. “Siri: **shows picture of the House Attending Physician on the day Pelosi re-instated mask mandates in the House**”

Well, people responded with their own questions to Siri and Google. “Monumental congressional failure” was only one of the searches on the board. And of course, someone took a swing Boebert’s rushed GED process before being elected, and the restaurant she owns, Shooter’s Grill. Ouch.

Call off the scientists investigating the who, what, and why of COVID-19’s origins. Tucker Carlson already seems to know that the coronavirus that has killed more than 4 million people worldwide — and is creeping back into our communities via new variants — was created by none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci. On Wednesday night, the Fox News host accused the clearly diabolical octogenarian of being “the guy who created COVID.”

Carlson delivered one of his signature rants, complaining about everything from the updated CDC guidelines on mask-wearing to how government health care workers will be required to be vaccinated. He also went off on a weird tangent about how Kamala Harris and her husband “whose name is either Doug or Douglas depending on the source — kiss each other in public with masks on” and how this might be “some kind of weird fetish ritual they’re into.” (Nicknames are a tough concept, F*cker.) But the real wackadoo moment(s) came when Carlson — after sharing stories of several people who have gotten COVID even after being vaccinated — described Fauci as “the guy who created COVID.” Twice!

In the clip Carlson showed, Fauci was clear that the new delta variant “has changed the entire landscape, because when you look at the level of virus in the nasopharynx of a vaccinated person who gets a breakthrough infection with delta, it is exactly the same as the level of virus in an unvaccinated person who is infected. That’s the problem.” But Carlson — who nowhere in his tirade used the word “variant” — was perplexed:

“So, the level of virus — and we’re quoting now — ‘ … is exactly the same as the level of virus in an unvaccinated person.’ What? What does that even mean? We’re not even going to speculate as to what that means. But if this administration is trying to reassure the country and justify forcing people to take medicine they don’t want, maybe they should wake up and figure out what they’re trying to say and then explain it to people.”

Nothing Fauci said there seems particularly confusing: There’s a new problem, it’s called the delta variant, and it has forced the government to adjust its mandates in order to keep more Americans from dying. Seems logical.

As The Wrap notes, this isn’t the first time Tucker has suggested that Dr. Fauci is an evil genius who is using government money to engineer a deadly virus. Back in March, Carlson claimed that COVID “wouldn’t have happened if Tony Fauci didn’t allow it to happen” and wondered “why isn’t there a criminal investigation into Fauci’s role in the pandemic?”

Unsurprisingly, Fox News did not immediately respond to The Wrap’s request for a comment on Carlson’s most recent bullsh*t — which you can watch above.

(Via The Wrap)

Following up her excellent 2020 debut Look At Us Now Dad, Melbourne pop star Banoffee is releasing her second album this fall. Titled Teartracks, the sophomore project features contributions from Planet 1999, Perto and fellow Charli XCX band member Ceci. Banoffee, aka Martha Brown, has been playing in Charli’s band for a while now, but it’s her left-of-center, shimmering pop that’s taking center stage for the artist lately.

Her album comes long with a new single and video, for the song “Idiot,” a track that certainly helps introduce the themes Teartracks will cover. In the self-deprecating clip, Banoffee reckons with her own past behavior, and how it’s led to a current depressive episode. Like the album title indicates, the record will concern itself with sad moments, and Banoffee said she hopes it helps people cope with their own bouts of misery. This has never been more clear than in the “Idiot” video, which was directed y her frequent collaborator Phebe Schmidt, and depicts the artist in the midst of several public tantrums, as well as wallowing in a heart-shaped bed.

“Making this video was such a joy,” Banoffee said of the clip. “Living out a dream I had about trolling tradies was such a fun experience and of course a moment on a love heart bed was crucial. ‘Idiot’ is about needing to stay indoors and be self-indulgent, it’s about indulging in brattiness, with the help of my amazing creative team I think we made a version of that that’s really fun.”

Along with this new single, the news of her new album comes on the heels of another single released earlier this year, “Tapioca Cheeks,” which will also be featured on the project.

Watch the “Idiot” video above and find the Teartracks tracklist below.

1. “Tapioca Cheeks”
2. “Enough”
3. “illnevergettofuckany1”
4. “I Hate It”
5. “Idiot”
6. “Pill”
7. “Money”
8. “Something Great”
9. “Tear”

Teartracks is out 10/8 via Cascine.