Category: News

If you’re anything like our style team, you’ve already burned through the six short episodes that make up Netflix’s Sneakerheads — a new sitcom that explores the modern culture of sneakers and follows one sneaker-buying squad’s quest to track down an elusive pair of Jordan Zeroes (they don’t actually exist, don’t worry). From the absurdity of ultra-exclusive drops and heated auctions to the terminology that can make outsiders feel like hypebeasts are speaking another language entirely, Sneakerheads does a great job of exploring sneaker culture while informing newcomers of its more obscure aspects. That move was very much by design according to Allen Maldonado, who plays the show’s lead.

“My character, Devin… he’s coming in as the person who takes all the shots when he doesn’t know what a ‘hyperstrike’ is or what these auctions are,” he explains. “So you live through Devin, as far as the sneaker culture aspect of it.”

Watching Maldonado as Devin fighting to keeps his life together when a passion he’s been trying to bury comes bubbling to the surface might leave you wondering if Sneakerheads is a reflection of the actor’s own life. The short answer is “no.” While Devin is straight-laced, Maldonado is unafraid to express his passion for kicks. He brims with energy when asked to share his real-life sneaker-buying experiences, from growing up in a single-parent home and forcing himself to ignore all-things Jordan to going HAM at the sneaker store when he finally made it.

We chopped it up with Maldonado this week about the wide appeal of Sneakerheads, the pivotal sneakers that shaped his tastes, the signature AJ-1 he dropped to coincide with the show, and the one sneaker trend he can’t get behind.

Near the end of Sneakerheads your character Devin exclaims, “Nobody wants to watch a tv show about shoes!” How did you react when you first saw the script?

I immediately loved the idea of doing a show about sneakers, because it’s never been done. This is the first scripted series about it and I was willing to take the risk just because I believe in the culture and I believe the culture would respond the way they have, and… it’s been incredible, man!

Sneaker culture has a lot of gatekeepers that can really alienate casual sneaker fans. What will non-sneakerheads find in the show that won’t make them feel left out?

I believe the show educates you about the sneaker culture and doesn’t make you feel bad for not knowing it. My character Devin, even though he was a sneakerhead in the past, in the past five years the game has totally changed and he’s coming in as the new person. He’s coming in as the person who takes all the shots when he doesn’t know what a “hyperstrike” is or what these auctions are. You live through Devin as far as the sneaker culture aspect of it.

But what I think people really enjoy — outside of the sneakers — is the self-improvement that Devin is going through. He’s going through a mid-life crisis, he’s at a point where his life in the present doesn’t really match his life in the past and he’s unsure of how he wants to have his life in the future. I feel like during this pandemic and during this time, a lot of people have been dealing with themselves in a similar way, and I think that’s an aspect of the story people are really gravitating too because we are all in that position.

The world is changing now — do I change with it or do I stay the same? Devin is going through that in the world of sneakers.

One of the best parts of the show is the dynamic between Devin and Bobby. I read that you hand-selected Andrew Bach (King Bach) for that role, what was your thinking behind that, why was it so important work alongside Andrew?

It was important for me because I was playing the straight character for the first time in a series. I’m known for playing the Bobby type characters, the high-energy funny man who energizes the scene comedically, so I knew I needed someone I could trust to stay as grounded as I need to be and not feel forced to bring up my comedy in order to get a laugh.

Having someone you could trust, that makes me feel like I don’t need to do anything funny — because he’s going to ignite that comedy in that scenario — is important. We worked together in a movie called Where’s The Money? a couple of years before, and I felt like we had amazing chemistry but I felt like we were in the wrong position. He was the straight man and I was the big comedy guy and I was like “man if we switch places, I think we can make magic,” and that’s basically what we did for Sneakerheads.

What’s the furthest you’ve ever gone to for a pair of sneakers?

I like to consider myself a novice sneakerhead. Because there are levels — there are gentlemen who have shoe collections worth millions, I’m not that and I’m not the guy who is heavily informed about when the next shoe is gonna drop. For me, it’s the special moment rather than the lengths of going to get the shoe.

The first shoe I ever got that was expensive was in high school. My mom was a single mom raising three kids so buying expensive shoes was not an option, it was ludicrous, like, “No, we need to pay the bills.” But she bought me a pair of Crazy 8s. As I got older, I walked into a shoe store and they had the Crazy 8s in there, and I asked for every Crazy 8 in every colorway, I said “I want to buy them all.”

It meant something to me because I remember when I could barely afford one, and now I’m in a position where I can buy as many as I want. That’s a pat on my back, like “You did it, kid! You moved the chips forward and you deserve this!” that was a special moment for me.

So were the Crazy 8s that pivotal first pair of sneakers that made you realize you were a sneaker guy?

No. This is a story I haven’t shared, but early on because I couldn’t afford these shoes, I would basically make myself not like them. I was like “If I can’t have them I don’t like them. I don’t like those Jordans — cool whatever!” I had to really force myself to believe that I didn’t really care about these sneakers.

Coming from the situation of growing up in a single-parent home, we had a lot of struggling. I didn’t buy my first pair of Jordans until I was 25, 26, it wasn’t that I wasn’t making any money, it was just that I really tricked myself into not liking these shoes because I couldn’t afford it.

The first time I bought sneakers as a “sneaker guy,” I think I bought like seven pairs of Jordans. It was just excessive! But it was making up for the time when I had to dictate my decisions due to my situation rather than from my heart and that’s something I’ve continuously grown better at as I’ve grown successful. I’m kinda dealing with survivor’s remorse!

I went through a similar thing in my 20s, where I realized I didn’t need to keep wearing Vans Classics because my mom wasn’t buying my shoes anymore.

Right right, exactly man! “Yo give me that two for $89 man. Just run them, I don’t know what they are just run them. I know they some Nikes or something, run me those I’m good.” That’s how it had to be, it was cool, it was a school year, I got the two for $89!

Let’s talk about your sneakers The Wild Ms, what’s behind the name and what were you going for with that mixed animal print design? You’ve got zebra print, tiger, leopard…

Shout out to Katty Customs. I’ve said it before and I continue to say it, because I believe the world is going to realize that she is iconic. The type of creativity that she’s been able to execute with shoes is ridiculous. We began to talk as Sneakerheads was set to release and I wanted to do something special for the culture along with the drop of the series.

Look I’m not going to take any credit for the design, because all I said was, “AJ1s are the shoe, do your magic!” and that’s what Katty Customs came with man. She came with some fire, I love it.

I can guess where she got the motivation from as far as the animal print. The different things that I do as a person, how it represents me, not only am I an actor, writer, producer, I’m an entrepreneur, long-distance runner — I’m not one animal. I’m not one thing and at any moment I can be what I need to be and that’s what I feel she got the energy from to come up with that particular print for the shoe. Just because I am who I need to be when I need to be, that’s the gift that God gave me.

What is it about the AJ1s that you love?

Man, you can just wear the AJ1s with anything! They’re a universal shoe. I’m talking casual, formal, you can bust them with a suit you can wear them with sweats. They can be the only thing you’re wearing, you can be wearing a white t-shirt and some regular jeans but if your AJ1s are crisp you don’t need anything else. It’ll be the highlight of whatever ensemble you’re putting together.

I used to be about the 11s, but the AJ1s won me over just because they just go on and off so easy. I’m all about efficiency. I don’t want to touch my laces — I want to slide my shoes on and off and get to moving. It’s a no shoe in the house policy, so its just convenient to my lifestyle!

What’s your least favorite modern sneaker design trend?

Ahh man, what’s the shoes man — I gotta keep it all the way 100, what are those called? The Balenciagas…

Oh, you mean the Triple-S, the “ugly shoe?”

That’s what I’m saying, see?! You even gotta mention it’s the “ugly shoe.” I ain’t feeling that I feel like somebody lying to me like this is a joke. This is one big joke that someone is making.

“We are being laughed at, people!”

This is how I feel about that shoe. Respectfully of course…

Sneakerheads is all about celebrating the modern sneaker scene, but I think an important thing the scene needs to do is self-examine. I know you’re a novice — in terms of the sneaker world — but what is something about modern sneaker culture you wish was different?

Oh wow, that’s a very good question… I guess the exclusivity of it all. The idea of what makes sneaker culture great is that, but what also turns people off is that exclusivity. For a novice getting into the game, they’re going to get ridiculed for not knowing certain things, and sometimes that can discourage people from immersing themselves into that culture.

Allowing everybody to grow as a sneakerhead without any type of criticism — I wish the culture would embrace new sneakerheads to the culture rather than make people feel bad for not knowing everything.

The 1865 Lewis Carrol novel Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland is perhaps one of the most cinematically adapted books of all time. The 1951 animated Disney film Alice In Wonderland is probably the best-known one, but there have been other remakes or works based on the book in recent years, like Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland film from 2010 and the 2016 sequel Alice Through The Looking Glass. Now Netflix is having a crack at it, but they’re taking a decidedly different approach.

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Sabrina Carpenter will produce (under her newly launched At Last Productions banner) and star in Netflix’s upcoming remake, which is described as a “musical reimagining.” The publication also describes the film as “a contemporary take on the classic Lewis Carroll story” and notes that “the modern-day musical” will be set “against the backdrop of a music festival called ‘Wonderland.’”

Along with Carpenter, the film will also be produced by Leslie Morgenstein and Elysa Dutton’s Alloy Entertainment, who were also involved with the Carpenter-starring Netflix movie Work It, as well as movies and shows like You, Gossip Girl, and The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants. The screenplay will be written by Ross Evans.

The film does not currently have an announced title or release date.

In 2019, Chance The Rapper co-starred in a Super Bowl commercial for Doritos alongside the Backstreet Boys. At one point, he was apparently also supposed to be in another ad during the big game by a different food company: McDonald’s. Chance actually says he actually passed on the opportunity, however.

Designer JoeFreshGoods (with whom Chance has collaborated) responded to a tweet about J Balvin’s new McDonald’s menu item, and Chance took the opportunity to reveal a deal gone wrong with McDonald’s. He said he was supposed to be in a McD’s Super Bowl ad, but turned it down because he didn’t like the way negotiations were going. Chance wrote, “I was supposed to do a superbowl commercial with them. They played wit the money and when I said no, they hired a fake me.”

Chance has yet to clarify when these talks took place or what ad features the “fake me,” but it seems possible he’s referring to the McDonald’s 2017 Super Bowl commercial, which features a generic rapper rapping about the Big Mac while backed by a marching band. It’s also worth noting that in January 2014, Chance tweeted at the restaurant, “Let’s talk business.”

Speaking of talks Chance didn’t care for, he was critical of Donald Trump following the first presidential debate recently, writing, “The entire country has to make a decision as to whether it will continue to downplay the fact that our President is an openly racist White Supremacist and what that means for its citizens, or… VOTE HIM OUT.”

With season two of The Boys coming to an explosive close this week, showrunner Eric Kripke has started dropping more details on the recently announced spinoff that will take place at a superhero college. According to initial reports, the spinoff would focus on “America’s only college exclusively for young adult superheroes” that’s run by the “Supes” creators Vought International. But now Kripke has opened up on the comics inspiration for the new series.

“I would say it’s loosely inspired by an element of the comics, which is the G-Men,” Kripke told The Wrap. “Part of the G-Men is there’s sort of an educational, college experience.”

In The Boys comics, the G-Men were a “blatant parody” of the X-Men, and it appears that Kripke and The Boys co-creator Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg will be mining that storyline for the spinoff. Although, Kripke’s use of “loosely inspired” is notable because the G-Men parody went to some very dark and twisted places in the source material. Here’s a description of their origin story via Comic Vine:

John Godolkin initially kidnapped six children from different homes. They were taken to a secret training center in upstate New York and given weekly injections of Compound-V until they either developed super powers or died. After their powers activated, the children were raised with an unlimited bank account, as well as a not terribly strict system of discipline that followed only one rule, protect the secrets of the G-Men at all costs. Beyond that one unbreakable rule, every human inhibition and taboo was fair game. Godolkin further reinforced this by regularly sexually molesting the children, eventually allowing key officers in Vought-American to join in.

We’re guessing the spinoff will downplay the more controversial elements of the G-Men’s origin story, but then again, The Boys hasn’t exactly shied away from some of the more graphic elements from the comics such as Homelander’s assault of Butcher’s wife or The Deep sexually harassing Starlight. Not to mention, the penultimate episode of season two featured an entire subplot about superhero porn. So… yeah.

(Via The Wrap)

If you weren’t a big fan of Colin Quinn has anchor on “Weekend Update,” you might have that in common with Colin Quinn himself. Indeed, excluding the Dick Ebersol years — when SNL’s “Weekend Update” operated under different titles, like SNL NewsBreak and Saturday Night News and was hosted by the likes of Brian Doyle-Murray, Brad Hall, Charles Rocket, Mary Gross, and Christine Ebersole — many folks agree that Colin Quinn is one of the least successful “Update” anchors in the modern era, beginning with Dennis Miller. (On the other hand, Quinn was a terrific contributor to MTV’s Remote Control, along with Dennis Leary and Adam Sandler).

Quinn, known for better or worse as a “comedian’s comedian,” would not take offense to that characterization. The comic — who has also written and starred in seven stage shows — has a book out now called Overstated: A Coast-to-Coast Roast of the 50 States, and he appeared on Conan O’Brien’s podcast to promote it. The conversation naturally turned toward Quinn’s time on the “Update” desk.

“In retrospect, it was not really for me,” Quinn told Conan when asked if he liked doing “Weekend Update.” “Lorne knew it, too. He wouldn’t yank me, but it was not a good fit. I was much happier doing ‘Update’ segments. Those were my happiest days at SNL.”

Why did Lorne Michaels let Quinn flail on the “Update” desk for a full two and a half years? Quinn and Conan both explained it as a “strange soft spot for Irish comedians and writers,” but also because Michaels is known for being loyal, perhaps to a fault. “I mean, look, even the fact that he lets people work there for 50 years,” Quinn continued, illustrating Michaels’ misguided loyalty. “There’s people that have been there since 1975 … that’s the soft side of him that many people don’t realize. He would never get rid of people. He’s loyal to his employees until the end.”

That, however, is not always true. Just ask Adam Sandler and Chris Farley (RIP), who were fired after their incredibly successful run on the show. (Sandler didn’t return to SNL for 24 years). Conversely, rather than twist in the wind in a gig that she did not enjoy, Cecily Strong successfully extracted herself from the “Update” desk a few years ago and has gone on to become one of the more popular cast members ever on the long-running comedy series.

Source: Conan Needs a Friend

If 2020, melting now into its final few months, has left you feeling disoriented and adrift, without a clear sense of which tangible or theoretical direction to take, why not accept some sensible advice from Josh Hart?

“All roads lead to Burgundy.”

Granted, in the context of this particular conversation the Pelicans guard was noting the way his palate has shifted, but the advice, as a matter of his broadening tastes and the aspirational moves they’ve inclined him to make, is sound.

For someone who has been in the wine world a relatively short while in the grand scheme of a hobby or lifestyle — depending on how you approach it — that is synonymous with careful cultivation over slow, intricate spans of time, Hart is a quick study. His wine cellar is extensive, boasting bottles older than him from regions all over the world, and he’s become a go-to guy in a league already brimming with connoisseurs. Still, it’s a love affair so fresh he can easily remember how it started.

“I got into wine several years ago and really got attached to it and loved it. I tried it earlier, three or four years [before], and I didn’t like it. I hated it,” Hart laughs, “I tried it again, I feel like my tastebuds kind of changed a little bit, I really liked it and kind of went all-in on it.”

Hart, just over a month clear of his first and prolonged season in New Orleans, is warm and relaxed over the phone, unguarded and happy to ramble down the roads he’s traveled with wine.

“When I first got into wine I was drinking American wine — Napa, Sonoma Coast, Alexander Valley, then I got into Bordeaux,” Hart explains. “I’m big into Bordeaux. And then, probably two or three months ago, I started really getting into Burgundy. I love Burgundies. I love Cab but Burgundy’s kinda making me a bit of a Pinot guy. My palate’s definitely changed since I first started drinking wine. There’s some wines that I first started drinking that I’m like, ‘Yo, this shit is terrible, why was I drinking this? Lord.’”

It’s no stretch to say that same easygoing approachability has been a factor in creating what Hart called in a post-practice interview from the Orlando Bubble a “close-knit” team with the Pelicans.

“We bond off the court,” Hart says. “There’s no drama within our team, no one doesn’t like each other. It’s all love with all of us.”

At least some of that off-court bonding has included wine.

“Some of those guys have talked to me about it, talked to J.J. [Reddick],” Hart says when asked whether his teammates have started to come to him for wine advice, “J.J. is a big wine guy so me and him share bottles all the time. Guys like E’Twaun Moore kinda wanted to learn a little more about it, kinda dabbled into it a little bit more recently. If we’re on a flight, you know, Lonzo [Ball] would have a little bit, Brandon [Ingram] would have a little bit. Jrue [Holiday] would have some, Frank [Jackson] would have some. It’s definitely something that’s growing more and more in the NBA, and I think it’s definitely getting to younger players, they’re getting that exposure.”

While Hart credits the time he spent in L.A. alongside the league’s quintessential vintages veteran of LeBron James, plus the sprits-savvy Rajon Rondo, who both frequently brought bottles to share on team flights, as being his enthusiastic guides into wine, he quickly realized that the real world did not provide as many welcoming avenues into a complex and occasionally overwhelming world.

As Hart’s initial interest turned into an engaging hobby, taking him to vineyards, meeting producers and leaders within the wine space, that realization grew notably starker, and distinctly homogenous.

“There’s that stereotype,” he pauses, “it’s like old, white men. Old white wealthy men, who drink wine.”

He laughs (well, we both laugh) before his voice turns serious, sincere.

“The biggest thing for me was, okay, there’s obviously a lot of division in our country right now, and in the wine world there’s not too many minorities,” Hart opines. “And obviously it’s getting bigger and bigger in the NBA, and bigger and bigger with this generation now, so my thought process was ok, how can I help minorities get into the wine space?”

To distill his passion into something tangible, Hart turned to the industry experts at Wine Access, one of the largest online wine retailers, headquartered in Napa, Calif., and the Diversity In Wine Scholarship was launched.

The initiative aims to address racial representation gaps in the industry, from the production of wine to the selling and service of it, by offering 100 scholarships to BIPOC working in or aspiring to pursue a career in wine. The scholarships will cover the cost of Level 1 certification through global certification and awarding body, the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET). The top five scorers from that initial pool will have their Level 2 certification sponsored, and the top three scorers from that group will spend three days in Napa Valley with Hart literally wining and dining, as well as meeting experts and pairing with potential mentors in the industry.

“I went to Napa and met some different people and different winers in Napa, so I had a leg up those times getting into the wine world just because I had those connections,” Hart says, “For a minority who doesn’t have those connections, it’s almost impossible to get into. So my thought process was ok, let’s lend a hand to those people and if this is something they really want to pursue as a career, let’s give them the opportunity to do that.”

Applications for the initial scholarship close at the end of October, but Hart is already thinking longterm. When asked if he’d like to offer something like this again he affirms enthusiastically, “I think it’d be really dope. It’s definitely something I would like to do again. It would be an amazing opportunity to get into the world of wine and see if it’s something you really liked and want to have a career in, it’s a good start for it.”

In talking about his own prospective plans in the wide, growing world of wine, Hart’s voice shifts gears, no less driven, but casual, cruising through the future and its potential.

“Maybe a little bit in education, but not too much, I’m not trying to be a master somm [sommelier] or anything like that.” Hart laughs. “It’s nice to have more of an understanding for wine and what I’m drinking,” he pauses, loops back, “Maybe I’d like to do the first level of somm, the WSET, but I think five, ten years down the line maybe trying to come out with my own wine. I don’t think I’m going to go out there and buy a vineyard and retire and do that, but doing something like how D Wade [Dwyane Wade] is, or Channing [Frye] is doing it, and partnering with a vineyard and going out there and tasting the grapes. They’re doing their own tastings and all that kind of stuff.”

He pauses again, this time his voice turning almost dreamy.

“That’s something that I definitely want to do, that’s probably the next step,” Hart says. “Who knows? Maybe if I’m great at that I could go get my own vineyard, but I think baby steps. Baby steps.”

For the rest of us, we can lift another lesson from wine. One bad year really only adds to life’s overall vintage. For Hart, whether taking strides to reform the structure of the very industry his hobby has matured in, building a contender with the Pelicans, or in the small, aspirational steps on his own road leading to (or beyond) Burgundy, he’s sure to get there.

It doesn’t take a lot for a celebrity to make a young fan’s day, especially now when modern technology allows them to reach out very easily. That’s just what Drake did for a young supporter recently, by recording a video message for Zelek Murray, a 14-year-old who had to spend his birthday in the hospital.

On a GoFundMe page for Murray, his mother Temeka notes that he has been battling a rare form of brain cancer since he was nine years old. In the video from Drake (which Temeka shared on Instagram), the rapper addresses the situation and gives the kid his full support, saying, “Zelek, what’s up? My brother [Mustafa The Poet] hit me the other day and informed me of the extremely tough situation that you’re fighting through, and we both thought it would be a great thing if I got send you some love and some admiration and some respect. I can’t imagine how tough you have to be, and Mustafa let me know how you’re a fan of mine. Well, I’m a fan of you. I’m a fan of people with heart, and I can tell that you have a lot of heart. I just wanna tell you, stay strong, I love you, and I appreciate you.”

Temeka later posted a video of Murray reacting to the message from Drake. From the moment he heard Drake say his name, he hung his mouth open in shock, looking back and forth at the tablet screen and his mother.

Temeka showed her appreciation for Drake, writing in the description of the reaction post, “You don’t even know how much this ment for US but most importantly ‘HIM’. His strength is like no other and yes he has his good days and bad days, BUT THIS is exactly what he needed to lift up his Spirit.. to never give up. Because you took time out of your day to put a smile on a 14yr old boys face (ZELEK MURRAY) @wxvy.zk06 you are my hero.”

Watch the videos above.

Travis Scott may have taken a break from strangling the Billboard Hot 100 over the past year, but now that the first-week numbers are in, it looks like his time away hasn’t reduced his grip strength much, if at all. Travis’ new single “Franchise” featuring Young Thug and M.I.A. debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week, beating international superstars BTS and the juggernaut that is Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” on the chart dated October 10, 2020.

“Franchise,” which pays homage to the 2004 Dem Franchise Boyz single “White Tee” and was previewed during Travis’ McDonald’s promo campaign, premiered with a short film ahead of select IMAX viewings of Tenet. The video eventually made its way online, while Travis delivered a cheeky performance of the track on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, all of which added up to a buzz that buoyed the new single to similar heights as Travis’ last No. 1 single, “The Scotts,” with Kid Cudi. It’s Travis’ fourth chart-topping single after “Highest In The Room” and “Sicko Mode” with Drake.

To beat BTS’ “Dynamite” and Cardi’s “WAP,” “Franchise” racked up 19.4 million U.S. streams and 98,000 units sold. It’s M.I.A.’s first No. 1 and Young Thug’s second. Check out more info on Billboard.com.

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

There’s nothing funny about Proud Boys, a white nationalist group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has referred to as an “alt-right fight club,” but it is objectively hilarious that the organization is named after a cut song from Disney’s Aladdin. And that the organization is furious that the #ProudBoys hashtag is being co-opted by gay men.

#ProudBoys was trending on Twitter over the weekend, days after Donald Trump refused to condemn the group during a presidential debate with Joe Biden (instead, he told them to “stand back and stand by”). That’s not why the hashtag was being used, however. “The hashtag trended in North America throughout Sunday with gay Twitter users sharing images of themselves, their spouses and other gay people,” according to Forbes.

Star Trek actor George Takei wrote, “Brad and I are #ProudBoys, legally married for 12 years now. And we’re proud of all of the gay folks who have stepped up to reclaim our pride in this campaign. Our community and allies answered hate with love, and what could be better than that,” while Queer Eye‘s Bobby Berk shared a picture with his husband, adding, “Look at these cute lil #ProudBoys (#retweet and make this hashtag about love, not hate).” Even the Canadian Armed Forces in the U.S. got involved.

Naturally, and hilariously, the Proud Boys are not pleased.

The Proud Boys took none too kindly to this, filling up [social media network used by the alt-right] Parler with the type of hateful messages that got them kicked off Twitter in the first place. Much of the action was carried out by the Proud Boys’ official account on the app, which has 60,000 followers. Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys’ chairman, said in a separate Parler post that the left was attempting to turn the group’s name into “a slur” and that the gay pride campaign with #proudboys was an attempt “to drown out the voices of our supporters.” In an effort to ridicule Takei, another Parler post was a meme of the actor holding up the OK sign, a gesture white supremacists use to identify themselves to each other. The image isn’t meant to suggest Takei is a white supremacist. (He’s not.) It’s a statement that the Proud Boys can — and will — use his image to carry out their own propaganda.

Oh my.

Also, the song the “western chauvinists” are named after? It was written by a gay man.

(Via Forbes)

Remember growing up playing Mario Bros. with your friends and having debates over who was the best at the game? Maybe you had competitions to figure it out, racing to see who got through the most levels in a single life, etc. Of course, there was only so much you could do with the original Mario and it’s four levels in eight worlds. All the same every time, with no real way to mix it up.

It is now 2020 and as such, that means there needs to be a Battle Royale for everything. Clearly inspired by the popularity of Tetris 99, Nintendo has taken their first major hit, Super Mario Bros. and turned it into a non-traditional Battle Royale called Mario 35. The concept is, like every Battle Royale, very simple. Whoever is the last one standing wins. If this had been released four years ago it may have been met with greater fanfare, but with a Battle Royale for everything, it’s hard to feel more than just curiosity about the title. It also doesn’t help that someone beat Nintendo to the punch here about a year ago when someone created this exact concept in a web browser game. They were met with a DMCA takedown notice.

That odd backstory aside, there is a definite curiosity here. What happens when you stick 35 people into a Mario style Battle Royale to see who comes out on top? While you might hope for lightning in a bottle, in reality, you get a lot of missed potential.

Mario 35 is a lot like Tetris 99. You go through a pre-determined set of Mario levels stomping on goombas, kicking turtle shells, getting power up Mushrooms, and shooting fireballs until you’re the last Mario standing. The way it’s similar to Tetris 99 is that as you play you are surrounded by the other 35 Marios and you can “attack” them. You do this by defeating enemies on your screen which will then send them all to the screens you have targeted. You can send just about any kind of enemy to your opponents from Goombas, to Pirannah Plants, and Bowser himself.

This does create some fun opportunities to gang up on a single person and send a bunch of enemies their way all at once, but be careful doing that cause they can destroy them all and send them right back at you. Unfortunately, while this is one of Mario 35‘s best aspects, it’s also one of the less interesting ones. It is funny when you send a Bowser at someone, and the thought of them having to work their way through three Bowsers is a funny one, but it can at times feel largely ineffective.

In Tetris 99 when you sent junk to someone else’s screen you were messing up their builds they were working with. They were having to change strategies on the fly and quickly. In Mario 35 it’s just another enemy that you can power through with a fireball and you can take your time doing so. This doesn’t mean that an overwhelming amount of enemies can’t lead to your death, they did so plenty for me, but more often than not I personally ended up dying due to my own mistakes rather than ones caused by other players.

This also made matches feel a little too long. When you reach the final 10 players it becomes a war of attrition as there are fewer enemies to send after one another. It just kinda turns into everyone playing standard Mario. Not a bad thing, but a little less exciting without the chaos of the earlier portions of the round.

To Nintendo’s credit, they seem to acknowledge that matches can grow stale and have a “Special Battle” section that offers unique circumstances to try and keep things fresh. Players can start off with a mushroom or have less clock on their timer than usual in this. It’s a nice mix up and should keep bringing players back. There are of course daily challenges as well so even after you’ve unlocked every level, all the icons, and become the best Mario 35 player in the world there will always be something to keep you coming back. As long as you still have an interest in the game.

Length of interest will be what decides just how popular Mario 35 becomes. The idea isn’t particularly new and outside of the Battle Royale modes, there isn’t much to offer players to keep coming back. If they lose interest they’re going to fall off fast. Nintendo will need to provide a lot of support for this game to avoid it quickly falling out of the collective consciousness of gamers.

At the end of the day, Mario 35 is a fairly entertaining game but it needs more to really push it over the top. It is free on the Nintendo eShop so there’s nothing to stop you from trying it out. Give it a go, especially if you’re a Mario fan. Maybe you’ll fall in love with it. There’s just no guarantee the good times will last longer than a week.