Category: News

If you were one of the many devotees who plowed through all four hours of the “Sndyer Cut” of Justice League, you may have enjoyed one supporting performer in particular: Billy Crudup swung by twice as the imprisoned father of Barry Allen, aka Ezra Miller’s Flash. He didn’t have much screentime but he made the most of it, with lively line readings and a big, goofy congrats to his son during the lengthy epilogue. Well, hope you enjoyed it because, thanks to scheduling conflicts, Crudup isn’t returning for Barry’s long-promised solo movie. But that’s okay because at least they scored a good replacement.

As per Variety, Ron Livingston will be stepping into Crudup’s shoes after the latter was stuck shooting the next season of Apple TV Plus’ The Morning Show. They’re very different actors; where Crudup’s most famous work is in Almost Famous, Livingston has Office Space. But they scratch a vaguely similar itch, and the recasting shouldn’t cause too much commotion among the tetchier people on the internet.

Crudup had to stick by the role for a very long time, having filmed his Justice League stuff some five years back. The Flash movie has been in the works ever since, and it’s run into untold complications — and that was before there was a once-in-a-century pandemic.

This current version, which seems to be ready to go, finds It director Andy Muschietti at the helm, Birds of Prey scribe Christina Hodson doing the script, and a cast that includes Y Tu Mamá También’s Maribel Verdu as Barry’s mom, Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson, internet personality Rudy Mancuso, and Young and the Restless’ Sasha Calle as Supergirl. One Justice League performer they did get back — on top of Miller, of course — is Kiersey Clemons, who was the subject of a memorable rescue scene involving slo-mo hot dogs.

(Via Variety)

Things are pretty great for Steven Yeun right now. A few years ago, he was one of many Walking Dead alums. Today, he’s the first Asian-American to ever receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, for the much-liked Best Picture nominee Minari. And his first order of business after that milestone is to team with comedian and actress Ali Wong for a Netflix series about road rage.

It’s called Beef, and as per Variety, it’s a comedy-drama that “follows two people who let a road rage incident burrow into their minds and slowly consume their every thought and action.” It’s stretched over 10 episodes, so that’s a lot of rage for Yeun and Wong to exhibit.

In addition to her work on sitcoms like Fresh Off the Boat (where she was a writer) and American Housewife (where she’s a cast member), Wong is a Netflix regular, co-starring with Randall Park in the popular Always Be My Maybe and appearing as one of the voices on Big Mouth.

As for Yeun, he’s one of the stars of a very good I Think You Should Leave sketch, and as of this writing, you can still watch the role that served as his major breakthrough to where he is now: the South Korean art film Burning, where he exudes haunting ambiguity as a rich guy who may or may not be a weirdo sociopath. And, of course, it yielded this incredible gif.

(Via Variety)

Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s Verzuz was a breakout hit last year, featuring performances from a plethora of big-name stars that made it must-see entertainment for folks stuck at home during the ongoing pandemic. The duo was even able to sell the show to Triller and offer their prior guests equity in the sale. However, despite scooping up some of hip-hop and R&B’s most iconic entertainers for the show, Swizz and Tim unfortunately missed out on securing one of their peers due to one of their shows turning out differently than expected.

Dropping by The Breakfast Club on Hot 97, Swizz and Tim revealed that Dr. Dre, who was in negotiations to participate in a Verzuz battle of his own, canceled on them after seeing the sound issues during the battle between Babyface and Teddy Riley. Swizz explained, “When Dr. Dre wasn’t feeling the sound from Teddy Riley and Babyface, that hurt our heart. I was like, ‘Oh my god.’ If you go back, Dr. Dre was at the Teddy Riley one. He came at the end, but he was supposed to come at the end and announce he was doing Verzuz that night.”

Unfortunately, seeing the shambles that became of the episode when the sound on Teddy’s elaborate at-home display cut-out, Dre decided that a similar fiasco would hurt him more than it helped. “He got on the phone and was like, ‘Man, I can’t be a part of nothing that look like or sound like that,’” Swizz explained. “‘My legacy is quality. My legacy is this, that.’ I was like, ‘Ohhhh we just lost Dre over that. That one felt pretty crazy but since then, the energy has been really good.”

Most recently, Wu-Tang Clan members Ghostface Killah and Raekwon The Chef engaged in a friendly tet-a-tet while the Verzuz heads announced Earth, Wind & Fire and The Isley Brothers would participate on Easter Sunday.

Watch the Verzuz collaborators’ interview with The Breakfast Club above.

The Toronto Raptors’ season has been difficult for a number of reasons, and earlier this week, a report indicated that this got to star forward Pascal Siakam. Per the report, Siakam blew up at head coach Nick Nurse following a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It was previously believed that the franchise fined Siakam $50,000, but the Raptors refuted this.

Blow-ups in NBA organizations are nothing new, even if it does sound like this one was a little more heated than normal. This was backed up by a report from Michael Grange of Sportsnet, who added some context to what was said in the tiff.

Siakam wasn’t happy and — according to multiple sources — let Nurse know about it, loudly and aggressively with words beyond standard cursing. It got personal, lines were crossed and teammates had to intervene, according to multiple sources.

It fits with a theme. Not surprisingly, with the way the season has gone and is going currently, Raptors island “is not a happy place,” as one source put it.

Grange went on to mention that Siakam has been generally dismayed this season, writing that Siakam, “feels like he’s been unfairly singled out for the Raptors’ poor season.” There have been a handful of moments this season where Nurse has relegated Siakam to the bench, and there was a game where he was held out of the lineup altogether in December following an off night in which he left the floor early.

Siakam has struggled this season relative to his recent exploits, averaging 19.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 steals in 35.3 minutes per game for the Raptors, which are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference at 17-26.

One of the most disturbing images of the recent scourge of racist attacks on elderly Asian-Americans was the aftermath of the attack on Xie Xiaozhen, 76, in San Francisco. Xiaozhen was punched out of nowhere by 39-year-old Steven Jenkins.

Xie suffered two black eyes in the attack but fought back with a wooden stick, leaving the much younger Jenkins with a bloody mouth.

Footage of the altercation taken by Dennis O’Donnell quickly went viral, making Xie the brave face of resistance to anti-Asian racism.

A cartoon of her courageously wielding a stick by a Chinese artist has gone viral and spread across the world.

On the day of the attack, Jenkins also assaulted Ngoc Pham an 83-year-old Vietnamese American man. Pham fell in the attack, broke his nose, and may have fractured some bones in his back.

Jenkins faces six charges, including two counts of elder abuse, according to a news release Heavy from the San Francisco Police Department and records on the San Francisco County Jail website.

Xie was understandably shaken up by the fight, initially saying that she’ll never leave her house again. Her grandson, John Chen, set up a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $50,000 for her, but the campaign took off, earning over $946,000 by Wednesday.

On Monday, Chen reported that his grandmother’s health and spirits were improving. “When we visited our grandma yesterday and today her overall mental and physical health has improved,” he wrote on the GoFundMePage. “Her eye is no longer swelled to the point of not being able to open it. She is now starting to feel optimistic again and is in better spirits.”

The grandmother has decided to donate all of the money that’s been raised for her to the Asian American community to fight back against racism.

“She said we must not summit [sic] to racism and we must fight to the death if necessary,” Chen wrote. “She also stated multiple times to donate all the funds generated in this GoFundMe back to the Asian American community to combat racism. She insists on making this decision saying this issue is bigger than Her.”

The grandmother’s generosity and commitment to fighting back against racism mirrors the courage she showed by standing up to her attacker.

The San Francisco attacks came the day after a gunman murdered eight people, six of which were Asian, on a shooting spree at massage parlors in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hate crimes against Asian-Americans were up 149% in 2020 according to The Centre for the Study of Hate and Extremism at the University of California, Berkeley. It’s believed that the crimes are a racist reaction to the COVID-19 virus which began in China.

In addition to being an art-rap pioneer and a fixture of the stand-up comedy circuit, Open Mike Eagle also records a podcast titled What Had Happened Was on his own podcast network. In its debut season last year, Mike interviewed guest Prince Paul for 12 episodes of the tales behind some of the legendary producers most storied works, including the Gravediggaz album, De La Soul’s Three Feet High And Rising, and more. Today, Mike announced that the show will return for a second season featuring another storied but sometimes overlooked producer: El-P.

While El-P has become something of an indie favorite in recent years due to his work with Adult Swim and Run The Jewels, his career spans all the way back to the mid-90s and includes underground rap staples like Company Flow’s debut album Funcrusher Plus, Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein, Cage’s Hell’s Winter, and his own string of widely-respected albums like Fantastic Damage and Cancer 4 Cure. El-P has plenty to talk about, and as Open Mike Eagle has proven to be an empathetic, enaging host, the second season of What Had Happened Was is sure to be a must-listen for indie rap fans.

The second season debuts 3/31 via Open Mike’s Stoney Island Audio network and continues weekly every Wednesday.

Spring is finally here but really, that’s no reason to venture outside. Especially when Hulu is gifting subscribers with a slate of original series and documentaries that make the air-conditioned indoors seem much more appealing.

Another season of The Handmaid’s Tale arrives at the end of the month with a couple of documentaries — about co-working spaces and Sasquatch murders — usher us into April. And, in case you forgot, the Oscars are coming.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Hulu this month.

The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 4 (Hulu original streaming 4/28)
After a two-year hiatus, The Handmaid’s Tale returns with June (Elisabeth Moss) serving as the relentless leader of Gilead’s pesky revolution. June dealt the empire a huge blow at the end of Season Three, but her plan to destroy Gilead from the inside will take its toll this season as she wades into darker and more dangerous territory.

WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn (Hulu doc streaming 4/2)
Hulu gives us a fascinating look inside the rise (and fall) of a billion-dollar venture capital experiment with this doc. Not only did WeWork usher in a new era of community co-working spaces, but the company also gained notoriety for the oddball antics of its leader — Adam Neumann, whose hippie philosophy both propelled and weighed down what his brainchild would ultimately become.

Sasquatch (Hulu docuseries streaming 4/20)
The Duplass Brothers give us one of the weirdest docuseries we’ve seen in a while with this investigation into a reported Big Foot sighting that happened 25 years ago in Northern California. Murder, a pot farm, and one man’s dogged attempts to uncover the truth fuel the action.

Avail. 4/1
Amy Schumer Learns to Cook: Complete Season 1
Caribbean Life: Complete Seasons 18 & 19
Chopped: Complete Season 44
Chopped Sweets: Complete Season 1
Christina On The Coast: Complete Season 2
Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: Complete Seasons 34 & 35
Doubling Down with the Derricos: Complete Season 1
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Complete Season 1
Guy’s Grocery Games: Complete Season 22
Naked and Afraid XL: Complete Season 6
Say Yes to the Dress: Complete Season 19
Tournament of Champions: Complete Season 1
Undercover Billionaire: Complete Season 1
UniKitty: Complete Season 3
Vegas Chef Prizefight: Complete Season 1
Worst Cooks in America: Complete Season 18
Higurashi: When They Cry: Season 1, Epsiodes 1-12 (DUBBED)
2012 (2009)
28 Days Later (2003)
A Hologram for the King (2016)
A Low Down Dirty Shame (1994)
A Simple Plan (1998)
The Abyss (1989)
Before We Go (2015)
Bug (2007)
Bulworth (1998)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)
Changing Lanes (2002)
Chappaquiddick (2017)
Chato’s Land (1972)
Cheech & Chong’s Still Smokin’ (1983)
Cohen and Tate (1989)
The Color Purple (1985)
The Dead Zone (1983)
The Devil’s Double (2011)
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Frankie & Alice (2014)
Friends With Benefits (2011)
Garden State (2004)
The Gift (2000)
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
Guess Who (2005)
Hancock (2008)
The Hunting Party (1971)
In The Mix (2005)
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)
Lady in a Cage (1964)
Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006)
Life Of Crime (2014)
Live Free Or Die Hard (2007)
Mad Max (1980)
Madea Goes To Jail (Theatrical Feature) (2009)
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2004)
Monster’s Ball (2001)
Motel Hell (1980)
Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
Never Back Down (2008)
New in Town (2009)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
The Out-Of-Towners (1999)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
Platoon (1986)
The Polar Express (2004)
The Preacher’s Wife (1996)
The Program (1993)
Ramona and Beezus (2009)
The Replacement Killers (1998)
Rio (2011)
The Sandlot (1993)
Scary Movie 4 (2006)
Sex And The City (2008)
Sex And The City 2 (2010)
Shaft (2000)
Shrek 2 (2002)
The Skull (1965)
Sleeping With The Enemy (1991)
Sliver (1993)
So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Step Up Revolution (2012)
The Sum of All Fears (2002)
That Thing You Do! (1996)
The Upside (2017)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Virtuosity (1995)
Waiting to Exhale (1995)
War (2007)
Warriors of Virtue (1997)
What About Bob? (1991)
Where the Heart Is (2000)
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Avail. 4/2
WeWork: Or The Making And Breaking Of A $47 Billion Unicorn
Law & Order: Organized Crime: Series Premiere
Manifest: Season 3 Premiere
The Moody’s: Season 2 Finale
Real Housewives of New York City: Complete Season 12

Avail. 4/3
Hysterical: Series Premiere
Blair Witch (2016)

Avail. 4/5
Girl (2020)

Avail. 4/7
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World: Season 1, Epsiodes 1-12 (DUBBED)

Avail. 4/8
Home Economics: Series Premiere

Avail. 4/9
Everything’s Gonna Be Okay: Season 2 Premiere
Rebel: Series Premiere
The Standard (2020)
Stars Fell on Alabama (2021)

Avail. 4/10
The Day I Became a God: Season 1, Episodes 1-12 (DUBBED)
Desierto (2015)
Knuckledust (2020)

Avail. 4/12
Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
Spontaneous (2020)

Avail. 4/15
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills: Complete Season 10

Avail. 4/16
Fly Like A Girl (2020)
Songbird (2020)

Avail. 4/17
Modern Persuasion (2020)
Thelma (2017)

Avail. 4/20
Sasquatch: Documentary Series Premiere

Avail. 4/21
Cruel Summer: Series Premiere

Avail. 4/22
Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World: Documentary Premiere

Avail. 4/23
The Place of No Words (2020)

Avail. 4/25
Wild Mountain Thyme (2021)

Avail. 4/26
The Oscars Red Carpet Show
The 93rd Oscars

Avail. 4/28
The Handmaid’s Tale: Season 4 Premiere
Arrival (2016)

Avail. 4/30
The Judge (2014)

leaving 4/27
Our Idiot Brother (2011)

Leaving 4/30
50/50 (2011)
9 to 5 (1980)
Affliction (1998)
Article 99 (1992)
Beloved (1998)
Bloody Sunday (2002)
Blow (2001)
Body of Evidence (1993)
Changing Lanes (2002)
Chato’s Land (1972)
Cocktail (1988)
Cohen and Tate (1989)
Crimes of the Heart (1987)
Damien — Omen II (1978)
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
Everything Must Go (2011)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
From Hell (2001)
G.I. Jane (1997)
Garfield (2004)
Gargoyles: Wings of Darkness (2004)
Happy Tears (2010)
The Haunting In Connecticut (2009)
The Haunting In Connecticut 2: Ghosts Of Georgia (2013)
Hitman’s Run (1999)
How Do You Know (2010)
The Hunting Party (1971)
The January Man (1989)
Jennifer 8 (1992)
Jumping The Broom (2011)
The Last Waltz (1978)
Mad Max (1980)
Madea Goes To Jail (Theatrical Feature) (2009)
Mafia! (Jane Austen’s) (1998)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2004)
Motel Hell (1980)
Mousehunt (1997)
My Best Friend’s Girl (2008)
Never Back Down (2008)
Ninja Assassin (2009)
The Omen (1976)
Only God Forgives (2013)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2009)
Platoon (1986)
Pretty Woman (1990)
The Prince of Tides (1991)
The Replacement Killers (1998)
Sands of Iwo Jima (1950)
Shaft (2000)
The Shootist (1976)
Sideways (2004)
Strategic Air Command (1955)
The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
Teresa’s Tattoo (1994)
That Thing You Do! (1996)
Two Weeks (2006)
Waking Ned Devine (1998)
Walking Tall (1973)
Warriors of Virtue (1997)
What About Bob? (1991)
The Whole Nine Yards (2000)
Wonder Boys (2000)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Young Adult (2011)

The Day Sports Stood Still (HBO, 8:00pm) — As sports fans will never forget, March 2020 saw the unprecedented shutdown of their world due to the COVID-19 pandemic taking root. Director Antoine Fuqua helms this glimpse behind the curtain of the abrupt stoppage, which also includes an exploration of the cultural reckoning happening through protests against racial injustice. Slowly but surely, the NBA bubble brought sports back to life amid quarantine life. Expect to see interviews from everyone from team owner Mark Cuban to the NBA’s Donovan Mitchell, Danilo Gallinari, and Karl-Anthony Towns, along with the NHL’s Ryan Reaves, the NFL’s Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, and Olympians Daryl Homer and Laurie Hernandez.

Seaspiracy (Netflix film) — This documentary (from the co-creator of Cowspiracy) hopes to illuminate how human behavior inflicts alarming and widespread harm upon the seas. From pollution caused by fishing gear and plastics to all of the damage caused by fishing itself (both illegal and otherwise), humans are taking a toll on the planet that could jeopardize its future (and mankind’s future as well).

Riverdale (CW, 8:00pm) — The Bulldogs can’t get it together over several football games, so Archie and Veronica work hard to try and boost spirit while Jughead’s feeling like paying it forward.

Nancy Drew (CW, 9:00pm) — A deal is on the table for Nancy and the Drew Crew in their deal with Gil Bobbsey, as a distraught Bess slams into Carson.

Snowfall (FX, 10:00pm) — The John Singleton-co-created series sees Franklin feeling consequences of his decisions while Teddy is reeling, Irene is in ultimatum mode, and Jerome is expanding the business with Louie.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Sharon Stone, Ken Burns

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Alexander Skarsgård, Karol G

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Minnie Driver, Benny Blanco and Gracie

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Kevin Bacon, Retta, Ash Soan

In case you missed this pick last Wednesday:

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal (Netflix film) — Matthew Modine stars as Rick Singer, the man standing at the center of the enormous storm cloud that rocked the Ivy League world. Once all was said and done, Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman received prison sentences for their participation in an elaborate scheme to get children of wealthy parents into elite colleges, and yes, there’s still plenty of scandal left in this saga to entertain.

“Diamonds” has proven to be one of the biggest hits of Rihanna’s career, but it almost wasn’t her song at all. In fact, Eminem actually recorded a version of it before she did, according to the song’s co-producer, Benny Blanco.

Speaking about the track with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Blanco revealed that he originally intended the song to be for Kanye West or Lana Del Rey:

“We wanted it to be a Kanye song or a Lana Del Ray song, I remember, at first. And we were like, ‘OK, yeah, cool, let’s do that.’ And then, I remember [song co-writer] Sia, just writing. Sia, being Sia, she can write like 700 songs in one second. This was before Uber and she was like, ‘ I just called the car. It says it’s going to be 15 minutes. Pull up a beat.’ Pull up a beat…. melody, lyrics, everything. Done, OK. Then, we’re listening to it a few days later, and [song co-producer] Stargate’s like, ‘Yo, we’re giving this song to Rihanna. It’s going to go.’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, man. Should we keep the beat for Kanye? I don’t know about it. I don’t know if it’s… I don’t know.’

He then went on to discuss how he learned that Eminem had actually recorded a version of the track before Rihanna did:

“Then I remember I had given a beat CD like a month earlier to Paul Rosenberg to give to Eminem. And apparently, Eminem had done a song to it, too, and I didn’t even know. […] Paul was like, ‘Man, Em had that beat on hold.’ I was like, ‘What? I didn’t even know.’ So, I’m sitting there, and then I finally am like, ‘You know what, Stargate?’ I let go. I said, ‘You guys know better. Let’s do it.’ She cut the song. First of all, the second she cut the song, they were completely right. I was like, ‘This is the best song I’ve ever done.’ And then, this is how life works, full circle: Kanye West does a remix to the song.”

Check out more from Blanco’s interview with Lowe below.

Dana Carvey stopped by The Late Show on Tuesday night where he busted out an impression of Joe Biden that was so spot on that it left Stephen Colbert in tears from laughing so hard. Of course, Carvey absolutely nailing Biden shouldn’t be a total surprise given the Saturday Night Live alum’s solid track record when it comes to presidential impressions. He famously parodied George H.W. Bush and eccentric third party candidate Ross Perot during his classic SNL run in the ’90s.

As Carvey notes between his Biden routine complete with running gags about crumbling cookies and growing up in Scranton, he’s definitely not making fun of the 46th president. He’s simply highlighting the fact that the guy is 78-years-old and has a distinct style of talking that’s pretty fun to imitate. In fact, Carvey refers to Biden as sort of “the father of the country,” who likes to list things and occasionally stumbles over a gaffe here and there, but it’s no big deal.

You can watch Carvey cracking Colbert up with his Biden impression below:

Carvey’s talents aren’t just confined to presidents and/or presidential hopefuls. The comedian was so good at impersonating his SNL boss Lorne Michaels that it reportedly caused a rift with his Wayne’s World co-star Mike Myers who allegedly stole the Michaels impression and used it for Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers film. The two have since made amends and recently appeared as Wayne and Garth in an Uber Eats Super Bowl ad together.