The wait for a new season of HBO’s brilliantly toxic Succession will be longer than usual, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but here’s a treat for all you slime-puppies out there: the cast is virtually reuniting for a Q&A session today, June 10. I hope they spend 25 minutes on “my boy Squiggle” alone. The Hollywood Reporter also spoke to Kiernan Culkin (Roman Roy) during a roundtable with some of the finest working actors on TV, including Watchmen‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk, and Picard‘s Patrick Stewart, who gave the Succession star a one-of-a-kind compliment.

When asked by THR how Hollywood sees him, Culkin replied, “I pretty much just play one thing. I did a movie right before Succession called Infinity Baby. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s some similarities with these characters.’ And I did a play called This Is Our Youth, and I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s kind of like that, too.’ And I was trying to figure out what it was and, ‘Oh, I’m drawn to sociopaths.’ I don’t really want to explore why. It’s just something I connect with.” Once he was finished, Stewart said, “Kieran, you are now stuck with, and I mean this as the greatest possible compliment, the creepiest character that I have ever seen on TV. I’m not always sure I can stay in the room when you walk onto the screen.”

Is Patrick Stewart on Cameo? He should be. I would pay $500 to hear Jean-Luc Picard call me creepy, or, better yet, the Succession insult of his choosing. “Cover star for Toxic Male Monthly.” “The poorest rich person in America.” “A dildo dipped in beard trimmings.” There’s a lot to choose from. Some other Culkin gems from the chat:

“The pilot was sent to me to read for another character, Cousin Greg, and I immediately knew that I just wasn’t that guy. But I read on, and Roman walks into the room, and his first line is, ‘Hey, hey motherfuckers,’ and he just starts jabbing everybody. I’m like, ‘Well, this guy looks like fun.’ He’s the kind of guy who just has suffered no consequences ever in his life.”

I just have to say, I learned something from you about 15 years ago, Patrick. You were on Ellen, telling a story, and in the middle, you said, ‘I poured myself a nice glass of Tanqueray gin.’ Ellen said, ‘Well, you know, because of that, they’re going to send you a case of gin.’ And you went, ‘I’m no fool.’”

“I don’t get naked, but I have masturbated three or four times on my show, so there is that.”

I miss Succession.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

Our Longest Summer series will look at the eight teams whose seasons are now officially over, and will have to wait until mid-October to make decisions on what’s next and how to proceed after falling short of the cut-off for a continued 2019-20 campaign.

The 2019-20 season was always going to be a little strange for the Golden State Warriors. After the 2019 NBA Finals, Kevin Durant exited to Brooklyn and, with Klay Thompson suffering a long-term injury in the early summer, the Warriors simply couldn’t afford any additional injuries. Almost on cue, Stephen Curry missed the (vast) majority of the campaign and the offseason acquisition of D’Angelo Russell couldn’t stop the bleeding.

When the NBA’s hiatus arrived, the Warriors owned the league’s worst record and, while that does mean favorable odds in the draft lottery, no one saw this coming for Steve Kerr’s bunch. With that in mind, Golden State arrives at an interesting offseason with a number of balls in the air and avenues to pursue as they will have hopes of going from worst to first in 2021.

2020 Free Agents

None, though the Warriors do have several non-guaranteed contracts

2020 Projected salary cap space (assuming $115 million salary cap)

More than $44 million over the cap and $20 million over the luxury tax, per Early Bird Rights

Areas of Strength

This is pretty easy. Despite having the worst record in the league, the Warriors still employ an uber-elite player in Stephen Curry and two more All-Stars in Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Golden State’s depth has certainly taken a hit with defections but, if Andrew Wiggins makes the strides that many believe he can in a supporting role, that would unlock quite a bit for the Warriors. Finally, Golden State has an intriguing chess piece with a first-round pick guaranteed to land in the top five and, beyond that, the Warriors also own a valuable 2021 first-round selection from Minnesota.

Areas of Need

As noted previously, this isn’t a team with a ton of depth all the sudden, especially if Kevon Looney’s injury issues don’t improve. The Warriors did unearth a gem in Eric Paschall but, overall, Golden State is going to need to add a couple of rotation-quality players to pair with their star power. Of course, that all assumes health (Thompson) and high-end performance (Green) from their supporting stars, which is probably more important than anything short of Curry’s own availability.

Biggest Decisions

As you can see above, the Warriors are way over the salary cap and luxury tax. Usually, teams in that situation don’t have much flexibility, but that isn’t necessarily true of Golden State. In addition to this year’s draft pick and Minnesota’s 2021 selection, the Warriors have the benefit of a $17.2 million trade exception created in the Andre Iguodala trade. In short, that means that the team can acquire another substantial salary, at least if ownership is willing to dig even deeper into the tax. As for the draft pick, it might make sense for Golden State to cash in the uncertainty (especially in a bad draft) for a player, but they might have salary-matching issues if that player doesn’t fit snugly into the Iguodala exception.

Overall Offseason Focus

The Warriors aren’t getting any younger, with all three stars now in their 30’s. The franchise’s window for title contention remains open given the genuinely special talent on the roster but, to put it bluntly, Golden State needs to get healthy and push even more of their chips into the middle to sincerely contend in 2020-21. Cashing in the Iguodala exception (and maybe setting up a run for a big-time trade piece using Wiggins’ contract) is a good start but, with Curry now up for an extension in his own right, this is a wildly expensive team and the results have to match that after a one-year blip. If they don’t, the entire enterprise could evaporate in a hurry. The good news is, they’re the non-bubble league team in the best position to take advantage of the quick turnaround that’s in store for teams that make a deep postseason run this season and will only have a month or so of a real offseason.

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Johnny Walker, best known to fans as the inimitable Mr. Wrestling II, has died at the age of 85. Bill Apter announced his passing on social media on Wednesday morning. At this time, the cause of death is unknown.

The original Johnny Wrestling was introduced as the tag team partner of the original Mr. Wrestling, Tim Woods, and was a popular star in Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship Wrestling throughout the 1970s and ’80s. Under the persona he was able to win and hold the NWA World Tag Team, NWA United States Junior Heavyweight, NWA National Heavyweight, and NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championships during an incredible 35+ years in the sport. Walker made his debut in 1955 and retired in 1990, but came out of retirement in 2007 at the age of 73 to win the HCW Kekaulike World Tag Team Championship with his rotégé, Steve Corino, also known as “Mr. Wrestling 3.”

Walker was also President Jimmy Carter’s favorite wrestler, and reportedly made Secret Service agents mad by hanging out with Carter and the First Lady, Lillian, at the White House in his full wrestling mask. He was supposed to attend Carter’s inauguration, but passed because he didn’t want to unmask. You don’t become Mr. Wrestling by letting everyone know your civilian identity.

If you aren’t familiar with his work, we’ve included some videos below to help familiarize you. Rest in peace to another wrestling legend.

Margo Price announced her triumphant third record That’s How Rumors Get Started back in March alongside a handful of tour dates. But after canceling her tour due to the pandemic, Price has elected to delay her album until July. However, the postponement has allowed Price to share another preview of the record. Following her singles “Stone Me” and “Twinkle Twinkle,” Price debuts “Letting Me Down,” which, along with the rest of the album, is produced by Sturgill Simpson.

Directed by Kimberly Stuckwisch, who drove a trailer from LA to Nashville to film in Margo’s home and an abandoned hospital, the track’s accompanying visual reflects the moodiness of Price’s lyricism. About the filming process, Stuckwisch said they were able to maintain social distancing: “We were able to abide by the 6-feet social distance CDC recommendation as we set up a remote head for the camera that we operated from a closet outside of the room. We wore masks the entire time and Margo supplied us with multiple bottles of hand sanitizer and spiked seltzers.”

Along with sharing “Letting Me Down,” Price addressed her album delay through heartfelt prose:

“Take me back to the day I started trying to paint my masterpiece so I could warn myself of what was ahead. Time has rearranged, it has slowed down, it has manipulated things like it always does…the words to some of these songs have changed meaning, they now carry heavier weight.

I’ve seen the streets set ablaze, the sky set on fire. I’ve been manic, heartbroken for the world, heartbroken for the country, heartbroken from being heartbroken again and again.

This album is a postcard of a landscape of a moment in time. It’s not political but maybe it will provide an escape or relief to someone who needs it. Sending love to everyone out there and hope I see you down the highway.”

Watch Price’s “Letting Me Down” video above.

That’s How Rumors Get Started is out 7/10 via Loma Vista. Pre-order it here.

Today is an unexpectedly big day for changes in the music industry. This morning, the Recording Academy announced some major Grammy rule changes, which include the renaming of the Best Urban Contemporary Album category, which is now known as Best Progressive R&B Album. Now, another storied musical institution is also shaking things up: Billboard is making some alterations to their alternative and rock charts, and Billie Eilish is part of the reason for it.

The chart purveyors have announced that their Hot Rock Songs chart has been renamed to Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. Additionally, they have also debuted a pair of new charts stemming from that one: Hot Alternative Songs and Hot Hard Rock Songs. Billboard notes that these changes reflect “the rise of artists making music that is often considered alternative, but does not fit within the commonly held boundaries of rock,” going on to cite Eilish, Powfu, and Benee as examples.

The new Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart “will house songs deemed either rock or alternative, or both, as it expands beyond a listing of core rock titles, including those with an alternative bent, to include songs considered a hybrid of pop and alternative, rap and alternative and more.” Meanwhile, Hot Alternative Songs “will include only songs categorized as alternative in any way,” and Hot Hard Rock Songs “will feature only guitar-based rock songs with a heavier edge.”

The inaugural Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart is led by Powfu’s Beabadoobee-featuring “Death Bed,” followed by Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted,” Benee’s “Supalonely” (featuring Gus Dapperton), Tones And I’s “Dance Monkey,” and Twenty One Pilots’ “Level Of Concern.” The new Hot Alternative Songs chart has the same top five.

Aside from the aforementioned, Billboard is also launching the following new charts: Alternative Streaming Songs, Alternative Digital Song Sales, Alternative Songwriters, Alternative Producers, Hard Rock Streaming Songs, Hard Rock Digital Song Sales, Hard Rock Songwriters, and Hard Rock Producers.

This news appropriately comes shortly after Eilish discussed the ways her music is categorized, telling GQ in a recent interview, “The world wants to put you into a box; I’ve had it my whole career. Just because I am a white teenage female, I am pop. Where am I pop? What part of my music sounds like pop?”

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

Tyson Fury is the current undisputed king of the heavyweight division in boxing after he dominated Deontay Wilder back in February to win the WBC crown and remain the undefeated, lineal champ. Fury and Wilder will meet for a trilogy fight at some point in the future as Wilder exercised his rematch clause, but that date, initially set for July, remains up in the air amid the COVID-19 pandemic as the two sides hope to fight in front of a full house to maximize revenue.

While Fury is in a holding pattern for a third Wilder fight, he’s already getting ready for what’s next and ensuring that he lines up a fight with the next biggest name in the division, Anthony Joshua. Joshua, a fellow Brit, was likewise once an undefeated champ before being stunned by Andy Ruiz last year in a knockout loss, the first of his career. Joshua would go on to avenge that loss with a unanimous decision victory over Ruiz back in December, and has not fought since reclaiming the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO titles.

Joshua’s immediate future remains murky, but in 2021 he and Fury will meet in the ring, pending everything going right for both in upcoming fights, after agreeing to a two-fight deal, per Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

Now, Hearn notes there are no contracts signed, but that the two have verbally agreed to financial terms of a deal, which is always the biggest stumbling block in these negotiations. Distribution will be the other hurdle to be worked out down the road, as Fury is a Top Rank fighter, who has a deal with ESPN, while Joshua has a DAZN deal stateside. However, as we’ve seen with Wilder-Fury (PBC/Top Rank), it has become easier to get cross-promotion worked out now compared to the past when HBO and Showtime were the two top dogs in U.S. boxing distribution and rarely liked to work together, barring a superfight like Mayweather-Pacquiao (and even that took years to figure out).

One would expect these bouts to take place in one of the massive arenas or stadiums in the UK, as it would be a huge fight there that could pack out the O2 or Wembley. It would be a very interesting litmus test for Joshua, who’s best win remains his star-making performance against Wladimir Klitschko back in 2017, but has not faced either of the elite level heavyweights — Wilder or Fury — yet. That knockout of Klitschko pushed him into that class, but the loss to Ruiz knocked some of the shine off of the young Brit that he needs to regain, and knows the only way to do so is by challenging the best in Fury.

Just in case the message of PartyNextDoor’s PartyMobile standout “Savage Anthem” wasn’t entirely clear, the Toronto crooner has released his animated video for the song to clarify a few points — mainly, that you really, really should not, under any circumstances, fall in love with him. The PIX3LFACE-directed video tracks Party through his nights of debauchery, occasionally juxtaposing his hedonism with scenes of a would-be paramour crying her eyes out after failing to heed his warning, “don’t wait on my love.”

Party’s other videos for PartyMobile have used similar innovative techniques to avoid going the traditional route. His video for “Loyal” with Drake utilized Claymation and premiered on Adult Swim. Other singles from the album include the Rihanna-featuring “Believe It,” “Split Decision,” and a remix of “Loyal” that included international superstar Bad Bunny.

Since then, Party has popped up as a featured artist on a number of releases from others. He appears on the new DVSN album, A Muse In Her Feelings, as well as on Trippie Redd’s new single, “Excitement.” Clearly, he’s staying busy despite coronavirus lockdown — just don’t think that’ll make him finally slow down for love.

Watch PartyNextDoor’s “Savage Anthem” video above.

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

The MLS announced its plan for what it’s calling the MLS is Back Tournament — a very matter of fact name — that will take place in July and August in Orlando at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex.

All 26 teams will participate in the tournament that features six groups, one of six teams and the rest made up of four, and each team will play three games in pool play before the top two teams from each group, plus the four best third-place teams, move on to a knockout round. Games will be played from July 8 through August 11, with the top seeds in the six groups being host Orlando City SC, Atlanta United, LAFC, Seattle Sounders FC, Toronto FC, and Real Salt Lake. Teams must arrive in Orlando seven days before their first game, but can go as early as June 24.

For the purposes of making the groups work, Nashville SC will operate as an Eastern Conference team for the rest of the season. The group stage games will count towards each team’s regular season record, and the winner of the tournament will get a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League. The tournament will span 54 games in total, with players eligible to earn bonuses from a $1.1 million prize pool, and games will be played at 9 a.m., 8 p.m., and 10:30 p.m. ET during group stage play.

There will be 1,200 people in total entering the Orlando bubble, including 750 players, and the MLS has worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci to craft a testing and antibody testing plan for all of its members — they will also contribute antibody testing to the central Florida community in a gesture of goodwill as well.

Once the tournament ends, the plan is for the MLS to return to an adapted regular season schedule with teams playing in their home markets, with the full schedule still to be announced.

One of the bigger Hollywood-focused questions during the pandemic is whether Christopher Nolan’s Tenet (starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and an actual plane crash) will actually make its summer release date of July 17. Even as other tentpoles have pushed back titles for as much as a year, Nolan and Warner Bros. have stood firm in hoping to make theatergoing a national pastime again, sooner rather than later. California has officially given the greenlight for theaters to reopen on June 12 with restrictions, and now, the another studio release (from TriStar) has stepped ahead in line for a July 10 opening.

Granted, there’s also a Russell Crowe indie movie (a road rage story called Unhinged) from Solstace Studios that’s appeared on the schedule for July 1, but TriStar Pictures/Sony is throwing its hat in the game with The Broken Hearts Gallery, which is executive produced by Selena Gomez. Gomez made the following statement about the Natalie Krisnsky-directed film and why it’s being released so quickly. Via Deadline:

“Hearing from more female writers and directors is very much needed. Natalie is a wonderful talent, and I am happy to be a part of her debut film. I understand people’s concerns regarding returning to activities we all loved prior to COVID-19. I hope everyone will listen to scientists’ recommendations and consider others’ health and safety while enjoying the movie theater experience.”

The romcom, which sounds typically romcom-my, will star Geraldine Viswanathan (Bad Education) as and Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) in a story about making fresh starts in life after breakups. It’s an unusual choice these days for a romcom to land in theaters at all, especially in a time generally reserved for blockbusters. Still, Sony Josh Motion Picture Group President Greenstein declared the studio’s belief that there will be a theatrical rebound, “and we look forward to being there right out of the gate with our exhibition partners’ anticipated reemergence.” Perhaps after considering safety measures, a feel-good movie could really help Hollywood get back into multiplexes? If not, there’s always the drive-in route.

(Via Deadline & Hollywood Reporter)