Category: News

A Quiet Place Part II was one of many blockbusters bumped to a later date by to the still rampaging pandemic. In fact, when the horror/sci-fi sequel arrives, tentatively on April 23 of 2021, it will be over a year since its original release date. That hasn’t stopped industry execs from doing some world building. In fact, according to Deadline, they’re already planning a third A Quiet Place, and it won’t be directed by John Krasinski.

Having already transitioned into Michael Bay actioners, the onetime Jim Halpert flexed again, directing, co-writing, and starring in the 2018 hit, about a postapocalypse that finds humans trying to evade becoming alien chow to beings with super-sensitive hearing. While no details have been leaked about the threequel — wouldn’t want to spoil Part II — the major change will be the addition of Jeff Nichols, the director of soulful twists on genre movies, such as the doomsday drama Take Shelter, the sorta-thriller Mud, and the quasi-sci-fi Midnight Special. (He also made the quite good docudrama Loving.)

So what does that mean for the third A Quiet Place? Will the third one ditch the family lorded over by a shotgun-wielding Emily Blunt and focus on another group of panicked earthlings? Will Nichols shoehorn in his frequent collaborator, the great Michael Shannon? You’ll find out when it’s released sometime in 2022.

(Via Deadline)

You know when the White House says something that’s even too off the rails for Fox News to air, the Trump administration has flown way over the line.

Today, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany launched into a litany of conspiracy-laden allegations, accusing the Democrats of facilitating illegal voting and rigging the election to beat Donald Trump, a president that has never reached a 50% approval rating. A minute or so into her speech, Cavuto cut her off.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said. “I just think we have to be very clear…She’s charging the other side as welcoming fraud and illegal voting. Unless she has more details to back that up, I can’t in good countenance continue showing you this.”

“I want to make sure that—maybe they do have something to back that up, but that’s an explosive charge to make, that the other side is effectively rigging and cheating,” Cavuto added. “If she does bring proof of that, of course, we’ll take you back. So far, she started saying right at the outset, ‘welcoming fraud, welcoming illegal voting.'”

Then he took a deep breath before saying, “Not so fast.”

It’s a bit surprising that Cavuto seems so taken aback by what McEnany was saying, considering it’s the same evidence-free accusations we’ve been hearing from Trump for months. Only now it’s gone beyond Trump’s divisive and delusional pre-election rhetoric and turned into a right-wing conspiracy theory only bested by QAnon.

The one thing Trump is really good at is creating his own version of reality, and like anyone with a narcissistic personality disorder, he’s good at surrounding himself with people who enable him. Sycophants, loyalists, what have you.

We’ve seen this in the president’s criticisms of Fox News itself when it isn’t kowtowing to him and praising him. And where he goes, his followers follow. After Cavuto cut away from the press conference this afternoon, Trump supporters announced their departures en masse. If Fox News isn’t going to give them the highly biased version of the news that they crave, they’ll keep going farther and farther toward the fringes, to farther-right outlets like Breitbart and Newsmax and OANN, where objective truth goes to die.

Fox News lovers might still find what they’re looking for in the opinion shows, which still seem to be in the business of coddling the president. While Fox News does exhibit some integrity in its actual news shows, its talk host shows are something else entirely. Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham and Lou Dobbs will carry Trump’s water forever if they think it’ll keep viewers viewing.

But there’s something those folks really should watch. While Trump and much of the GOP are currently engaged in denying the results of a democratic election, alleging fraud and cheating, saying that Democrats are trying to rig and steal the election…they railed on the Democrats for doing the same thing in the 2018 midterms.

Kayleigh McEnany herself kicks off the video saying, “Democrats are being sore losers. They refuse to acknowledge they lost the election, so what do they do? They cry malfeasance, wrongdoing, criminality, fraud.”

Laura Ingraham comes next with, “Democrats, moreso than Republicans, seem to have a problem conceding defeat. Either the election system broke down, or some mystery votes are hiding somewhere…”

Oh. Huh.

Just watch and see who it sounds like they’re describing now:

Anyway, Fox News, like all media outlets, get to choose what they air and what they don’t. No one is entitled to a platform, not even the president of the United States, when they are lying, making things up, or talking about half of America of being complicit in committing fraud.

We knew 2020 was weird. Just didn’t know it would be Fox-News-cutting-off-the-president’s-spokesperson weird. Let’s just get this nightmare over with so we can move toward 2021 with our new, democratically elected president.

On a very busy Friday, when the nation’s attention was largely occupied on presidential election vote tallies, a little story about the still largely shuttered movie industry broke: Johnny Depp had been forced out of the Harry Potter spin-off/prequel series, Fantastic Beasts. The now controversial actor had played Gellert Grindelwald, the trilogy’s main baddie, and though the third installment was already being shot, his name had been yanked off the call sheet, soon after he lost a defamation suit against The Sun, who had dubbed him a “wife-beater” after his divorce from Amber Heard. Now were getting some details about what led to the decision and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, we’ve learned at least one person will make a lot of money off of this: Johnny Depp.

As per the report, Depp, like many Hollywood A-listers, signed a so-called pay-or-play contract, which meant he’d be compensated in full whether the film is completed or recast or what have you. That means he’ll received his full eight-figure salary, despite having only filmed one scene so far. Think of it the way Megyn Kelly received a full year’s salary from NBC even after they fired her for defending blackface.

That also means that, when the Fantastic Beasts threequel hits theaters in its final form, Depp will be the highest-paid performer involved with it, even though he’ll likely not be involved with it at all. (Who knows? He could always make a simple appearance, much as he did in the series’ maiden voyage, which ends with Colin Farrell’s Grindelwad revealing himself to actually be Depp.) Poor leads Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne, who were to share the same amount of screentime and will still wind up being paid less. And, for that matter, poor other Fantastic Beasts players Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, and more, who aren’t famous enough either to get that much dough, and while shooting a movie in the midst of a pandemic to boot.

(Via THR)

Nigerian superstar Davido is just a few days away from releasing his anticipated new album A Better Time. His 2019 effort, A Good Time, boasted appearances from cutting-edge artists like Summer Walker, Gunna, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. Now he offers a taste of what he has in store for his impending LP, tapping Lil Baby for an extravagant video alongside their thumping collaboration “So Crazy.”

Shot in LA, the video sees him linking up with Lil Baby at a sunny poolside party fit for the biggest stars. Celebrating the spoils of success, the two get down in their flashy visual. The song itself sees Lil Baby adopting Davido’s rhythmic style while also getting personal in his verse. “Heartbreak after heartbreak, my chest done got numb / I tried my best, gave you my all, now I’m done,” he raps.

Ahead of the video’s release, Davido spoke to Uproxx about his upcoming music and how surprised Lil Baby was when he recently gave him a tour of his hometown: “When Lil Baby came to Nigeria, he was with me the whole time,” he said. “When he got there, he was confused. I picked him up in my Bentley truck, took him, drove him around, took him to where the rich people stay at, took him to where the poor people stay at, took him on a yacht, took him to the island, boathouse, all of that. He wanted to actually send me some money to invest in an apartment because he was like, damn, these people didn’t explain like, ‘Oh this is really what Africa is like.’ Media puts out like dirt roads. They don’t show like the skyscrapers. I’ll show you my house. It’s crazy. The market is growing, they even do an Afrochella.”

Watch Davido and Lil Baby’s “So Crazy” video above.

A Better Time is out 11/13 via Davido Worldwide/RCA. Pre-order it here.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Jeopardy! paid tribute to the late Alex Trebek with a special message before Monday’s broadcast, a day after the legendary host died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 80. The show inserted a special cold open into the broadcast that shared memories about Trebek and a message from show executive producer Mike Richards.

While Jeopardy! often airs in markets in the 7 o’clock hour locally, there are several US markets that air the show earlier in the day. That’s how word of James Holzhauer’s historic run coming to an end hit social media in advance of most people seeing it air “live” in syndication.

And so video of the cold open hit Twitter well before many were able to see the tribute air before Monday’s episode.

“Over the weekend we lost our beloved host, Alex Trebek. This is an enormous loss for our staff and crew, for his family and for his millions of fans. He loved this show, and everything it stood for,” Richards said. “In fact, he taped his final episodes less than two weeks ago. He will forever be an inspiration for his constant desire to learn, his kindness, and for his love of his family.”

Getting emotional, Richards confirmed that those episodes will air as expected, though there was no official word about what will happen to the show next.

“We will air his final 35 episodes as they were shot. That’s what he wanted,” Richards said. “On behalf of everyone here at Jeopardy, thank you for everything Alex. This is Jeopardy!”

The official Jeopardy! account on Twitter posted a message about Trebek that linked to its website, also confirming that episodes with Trebek as host will run until December 25.

It’s an emotional message paying tribute to a man who meant so much to the people he worked with. Despite the fear many had about Trebek and his diagnosis, and the long battle had with pancreatic cancer, it’s still shocking that a central figure like Trebek is truly gone. Another fan-made video of great Trebek moments also circulated on Monday that got many people emotional.

Fans will get 35 more chances to see him at the helm of the show, but it will be an emotional next few weeks of watching to say the least.

While the fall season is more commonly associated with darker spirits, it’s also a great time to dive deeper into tequila. The subtlely smoky, vegetal notes of the spirit go down nicely with the slight chill in the air. While blanco tequila is perfectly suited for summer drinking and mixing, autumn is actually a pretty ideal time to step up to añejos and reposados.

Bill Whitlow, owner of Proper Food & Drink in Covington, Kentucky has clear fall tequila preferences.

“I tend to prefer barrel-aged stuff,” he says. “I’ve been digging on a new tequila — to me, at least — lately from Casa Maestri. Their añejo is super creamy and thick. Right up my alley.”

Instead of leaving you to wander the aisles of your local liquor store with your mask-covered mouth agape, wondering which bottle(s) you should buy, we turned to bartenders for guidance — asking ten well-known bartenders to share their favorite lesser-known tequilas for fall 2020.

Ocho Anejo

Frederic Yarm, USBG bartender in Boston

Ocho is an amazing tequila brand that sources from individual agave farms for each batch, such that the terroir of the plot shines through. Most tequila brands mix together agaves from all over the highlands and lowlands which makes the agricultural aspect less distinctive. Here, the fermentation and distillation techniques allow the agave itself to shine through beautifully, and it allows each batch to be compared in a horizontal flight or enjoyed on its own.

Riazul Anejo

Seth Falvo, bartender at The Hotel Zamora in St. Pete Beach, Florida

Riazul Anejo is a great sipping tequila for the fall and winter. It’s extremely smooth and has a great French oak-forward flavor. The cinnamon spice on the finish makes it a great after-dinner drink during the holiday season as well.

Don Fulano Fuerte

Christopher Chamberlain, national beverage development manager at E. & J. Gallo Winery in Modesto, California

It may not be a new tequila to many, but its broader availability on the national stage is — and that’s Don Fulano Tequila. This beautifully crafted estate-grown, ground-to glass-spirit truly embodies everything a sipping tequila should stand for. The bright bold flavors of its blanco tequila are intensified if you graduate to the 100 proof ‘Fuerte’ variation. If you prefer a wonderfully aged expression, Don Fulano offers both a dry-yet-fruity sipper with their reposado and a remarkable rich flavored añejo.

That said, for those willing to splurge, the Don Fulano Imperial Extra Anejo is the ultimate accompaniment to the cool crisp evenings that lie ahead.

123 Organic Añejo

Josh Curtis, bar director at Carbon Beach Club in Malibu, California

123 Organic Añejo may just be the best tequila on the market right now. It tastes like an agave plant… which is what tequila is supposed to taste like. It’s also not super sweet like many añejos are.

Una Vida Anejo

Andy Printy, beverage director at Chao Baan in St. Louis

My personal favorite tequila to sip in the colder months is Una Vida Añejo Tequila. A touch smoky, round from ex-bourbon cask barreling, and tons of buttered popcorn notes on the palate. Lots of room to play with various bitters and sugars to manipulate the profile in a cocktail or even just a few drops of water to release more of the barrel and subtle smokey tones.

Una Vida’s Añejo expression has a reasonable price point and acts even better as a fire pit companion.

Corralejo Reposado

Jenny Harris, bar manager at Point Loma Fish Shop in San Diego

Corralejo Reposado Tequila was my first choice in our November cocktail called “Autumn Harvest Sipper.” Corralejo’s Reposado has warm notes of rhubarb, oakwood, vanilla, and orange and will put you in the mood for fall.

It also pairs nicely with fish tacos.

Los Arango Anejo

Joan Villanueva, beverage director at Galaxy Taco in La Jolla, California

Los Arango Anejo Tequila brings delicate notes of spice and vanilla that allow for it to take over in a Manhattan or an old fashioned variation. My first go-to for a fall/winter drink.

El Tesoro Reposado

Crystal Chasse, beverage director at Talk Story Rooftop in Brooklyn

Once the chilliness settles into the air I reach for a bottle of El Tesoro Reposado. It is tahona-milled which allows the earthy qualities of the agaves to showcase themselves in the final product. Black pepper, oak, and citrus round out the flavor profile — creating a delicious juice to drink neat or to stir into an Oaxacan Old Fashioned for blustery nights.

Tears of Llorona

Mario Latona, manager at STK Steak House in San Diego

It always brings a tear of happiness to my eye when I get to taste Tears of Llorona, especially when you pair it with a Dry-Aged Delmonico from STK. This five year Extra Añejo is a perfect choice for the fall with notes of cinnamon, chocolate, and light notes of roasted agave.

Penta Anejo

Vincent Sol Campos, bartender at Hearsay – Market Square in Houston

Penta Tequila is an easy spirit to get behind, especially regarding its añejo. Penta is the tequila that every agave spirit wants to be and is the first tequila to blend 100% blue agave sourced from all five of Mexico’s legally protected “designation of origin” states. Every fall and winter, I gravitate towards whiskey, but once I was introduced to the Penta line I immediately worked it into my rotation. There is no other tequila to drink during the winter. T

he sweetness from the caramel and vanilla, little hints of spice and orange, and the extra maturation (an average of 14 months) in oak barrels is perfection.

Pour out some of that 40oz out for an icon. Legendary streetwear brand and coveted symbol of fashion-obsessed hypebeasts everywhere, Supreme, has officially sold out for a cool $2.1 billion. The New York Times reports that the brand was bought by VF Corp, which is set to acquire 100 percent of the company and already owns several brands including The North Face, Dickies, and Vans. Label founder James Jebbia as well as senior leadership will remain with the company, which is expected to score VF Corp $500 million in revenue by 2022 alone.

“This partnership will maintain our unique culture and independence while allowing us to grow on the same path we’ve been on since 1994,” Jebbia said in a statement announcing the acquisition.

The move comes at a time of uncertainty for streetwear brands as the pandemic has affected every label from the smallest and least visible to seemingly too-big-to-fail brands like Supreme, as more and more shoppers turn to e-commerce platforms for their fits. According to The New York Times, 60% of Supreme’s sales already come from their virtual webstore so we shouldn’t see too much of a change in the way the company currently operates, but the move begs the question: When the pandemic is over, will the brand still attract around the block lines?

Sure, Supreme already collaborates with mega-brands like The North Face, Vans, and Nike. And it’s cool that the label’s current leadership is staying on board. But the brand is cashing out some of its cultural cool for visibility, and that’s the kind of thing that seems at odds with Supreme’s audience. If they notice and turn on the company or if the market gets saturated, it could be trouble on the scale of Stussy’s collapse.

Check out some of the reactions on Twitter to the news below.

Given the amount of attention being taken up by the global pandemic and recent election, it’s easy to forget the holiday season is upon us. Although this season looks to be a lot different than previous years, a new ad from Disney shows the magic isn’t completely gone.

Disney’s 2020 Christmas ad tells the story of a woman named Lola who received a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy as a young girl. Sixty-five years later, she’s able to share the vintage toy with her granddaughter who cuddles the plush mouse while making Christmas decorations.

As the years ago by, Lola’s granddaughter becomes less interested in family holiday traditions. But one magical night she reminds her grandmother how important they are to her in the most beautiful way.

Grab a tissue.

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS | Disney Christmas Advert 2020 | Official Disney UK

www.youtube.com

The song playing behind the video is “Love Is A Compass” by 19-year-old British musician Griff.

“Right now, at this time, it feels very timely and people are going to watch it and crave to be together and want to be together,” she told PA News Agency. “It’s so important to give a message of hope and realize that we will all reconnect at some point. When I watched it I just loved it.”

“Love Is A Compass” is available now with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish.

In one of the least shocking developments in recent political history, Donald Trump is claiming the reason he lost the election to Joe Biden is because of widespread voter fraud.

This move has been a part of his election playbook for the entire campaign. He was screaming about the likelihood of fraud for months before Election Day.

For Trump, it appears he figured the only way to win the election is by taking it out of the hands of voters and handing it to the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.

His campaign hopes that its fraud claims will ignite a legal battle that sets the plan in motion.

Even though Biden’s victory is all but assured, Trump has yet to admit defeat because of his conspiratorial claims. “We’re hearing stories that are horror stories,” Trump said. “We think there is going to be a lot of litigation because we have so much evidence and so much proof.”

“Democrat officials never believed they could win this election honestly,” Trump said in a press conference Thursday. “That’s why they did the mail-in ballots, where there’s tremendous corruption and fraud going on.”

The only problem is, according to independent fact-checkers, there is zero evidence of voter fraud.

“Trump has produced no evidence of systemic problems in voting or counting,” an Associated Press fact-check states. “In fact, the ballot-counting process across the country has been running smoothly for the most part, even with the U.S. in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic.”

To whip up some evidence for Trump’s unfounded claims, his campaign created a hotline for people to report voter suppression, irregularities, or fraud. “Tell us what you are seeing,” a tweet promoting the hotline reads.

Since the hotline launched it has been inundated with calls. However, unfortunately for Trump, they are mostly prank calls. The hotline has been so overwhelmed by jokesters the phone number has been changed three times.

According to ABC News, the hotline has become a “nightmare” for some staffers.

Comedian James Mwaura called the line to report something seriously troubling he witnessed at his polling site.

This guy proves the oft-repeated conspiracy theory that countless dead people voted for Biden.

She saw something truly frightening when she voted down in Georgia.

This voter recalled one of the most epic sagas of the ’80s.

This guy found over 100,000 ballots burned in his firepit. But that’s not his biggest concern.

The bees don’t care about Trump’s hotline.

Some people used the hotline to engage in some glorious schadenfreude.

This woman called in quoting Anderson Cooper.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump had very different weekends. One was deemed President-Elect; the other was relentlessly mocked online for a gaffe that was surreal even for him. Shortly before major news outlets called one of the most intense presidential races in U.S. history for Biden, Trump bungled an announcement for an upcoming press conference. First he said it was to appear at the swanky Four Seasons hotel in downtown Philadelphia. He amended that to be Four Seasons Total Landscaping, a random business in a rundown part of town. And ever since, people have been alternately celebrating a Biden win while making fun of his soon-to-be-predecessor latest screw-up.

Now the furries are getting involved. According to The Verge, the site of what could go down in history as Trump’s Waterloo has been rereated in virtual reality form. A group of furries — aka people who dress up in animal costumes, or at least creates an avatar of same online — have created their own Four Seasons Total Landscaping analogue with VRChat, the massive VR simulator that allows people to hang out online.

And so users posing as foxes, cats, even dog policemen have been hanging out in the same place that Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani — who’s partially responsible for the whole Four Seasons Total Landscaping debacle — spewed baseless conspiracy theories on Saturday morning, mere minutes after the race was called for Biden. There’s even been calls to expand this VR enclave, adding other notable businesses in the area, including the sex shop and crematorium that sandwich the now internationally famous landscaping company.

It’s not clear how long Trump will spend trying to flip the election to a re-win, how long he’ll file lawsuit after lawsuit, arguing voter fraud with flimsy to non-existent evidence. But there’s every possibility the internet will be talking about Four Seasons Total Landscaping long after he’s been perhaps forcibly removed from office.

(Via The Verge)