After delivering thought-provoking and critically-acclaimed features like Ex Machina and Annihilation, Alex Garland is dropping a new kind of film in this month that could be his last directorial outing. In Civil War, America has become a modern-day warzone as the states of California and Texas join forces to fight the federal government.
Given the country’s increased politicization that’s already being heightened heading into the presidential election, Civil War is already embroiled in controversy, but that’s not why Garland has announced that he’s “not planning to direct again in the foreseeable future.”
While Garland still plans on writing — he’s returning to the 28 Days Later series he started with Danny Boyle — he has no interest in directing for quite some time, or ever again. However, his reasonings don’t have to do with his films often being misunderstood or the increased pressure of working with higher budgets. It comes from not wanting to disappoint his actors.
“The pressure doesn’t come from the money. It comes from the fact that you’re asking people to trust something that, on the face of it, doesn’t look very trustworthy.” He gives, as an example, sitting in a car park outside Atlanta, asking his Civil War cast to believe that one day the VFX blue screen behind them will be a night sky lit up by mortar fire. Or on Ex Machina where, “Alicia [Vikander] and Sonoya [Mizuno] are trusting that nudity is going to be dealt with thoughtfully and respectfully … [when] cinema leans towards not doing that.”
Heading into Civil War‘s theatrical release, Garland is increasingly zen that the film will generate a whole lot of weird reactions and that there’s not much anyone could do about it.
“It all could and will be misunderstood,” he told The Guardian. “It would be out of your control as it is out of mine.”
Keeping track of all the new albums coming out in a given month is a big job, but we’re up for it: Below is a comprehensive list of the major releases you can look forward to in April. If you’re not trying to potentially miss out on anything, it might be a good idea to keep reading.
Friday, April 5
A Lily — Saru l-Qamar (Kewn Records)
Annie-Claude Deschênes — Les Manières De Table (Italians Do It Better)
Azalia Snail — Powerlover (Cloud Recordings)
bad tuner — look at me through me EP (Foreign Family Collective)
Babebee — whatislove2u? EP (Epitaph)
Beatenberg — The Great Fire of Beatenberg (Leafy Outlook)
We’re now just days away from the 2024 edition of Dreamville Festival, which is set to go down on April 6 and 7 in Raleigh, North Carolina. Shortly before the event, though, there have been some significant lineup changes.
In a message shared on social media this morning (April 1), Dreamville organizers wrote, “We are excited to share that 50 Cent and Hunxho have been added to the lineup! See you this weekend! Due to unforeseen circumstances, Chris Brown and Muni Long are no longer performing at Dreamville Fest.”
Worth noting is that today is April Fools’ Day. However, it seems there’s nothing particularly funny or prank-like about the lineup change, so it would appear this news is legitimate.
Aside from 50 Cent and Hunxho, the Dreamville lineup features SZA headlining the first day alongside 50, while J. Cole and Nicki Minaj lead Day 2. Elsewhere on the poster are JID, Lil Yachty, Schoolboy Q, Sexyy Red, Jeremih, Rema, Jeezy, Monica, Rae Sremmurd, Key Glock, EarthGang, Teezo Touchdown, Amaarae, Lute, Luh Tyler, Domani, Bas, Cozz, Omen, TiaCorina, and Chase Shakur.
Check out the new lineup poster below.
We are excited to share that 50 Cent and Hunxho have been added to the lineup! See you this weekend!
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Chris Brown and Muni Long are no longer performing at Dreamville Fest. pic.twitter.com/U8n4cGco7N
In the latest episode of his inexplicably popular podcast, Joe Budden mused that Drake is being paid to hang out with St Louis rapper Sexyy Red, whose career has been booming since the release of her viral hit single “Pound Town.” “You think [Drake] just likes being around Sexyy Red?” he challenged.
Big Sexyy isn’t sweating Joe’s hater energy though (that man needs to take more naps). After seeing a clip of the episode on Twitter, she only had three words to respond: “They so dumb.”
She wasn’t the only one to point out the absurdity of Joe’s conspiracy theory. YesJulz of all people had a very reasonable take, writing, “Drake has always embraced rising talent organically. He probably does like being around her that much- she seems to be fun and have good energy. This perspective says more about the commentator than the subjects.”
Drake has always embraced rising talent organically & yeah, he probably does like being around her that much- she seems to be fun and have good energy
This perspective says more about the commentator than the subjects imo https://t.co/wfjsAdhTHk
Meanwhile, another fan’s take was a bit more acidic but cut right to the bone of how goofy Budden’s reaches have gotten. “two rappers doing one song together plus a few concerts and a video cameo is now suspicious activity we need to analyze with great scrutiny…everything is so stupid and corny,” he wrote.
two rappers doing one song together plus a few concerts and a video cameo is now suspicious activity we need to analyze with great scrutiny…everything is so stupid and corny https://t.co/cBMnp9igRc
And while Drake’s ongoing friendship with Sexyy Red could have any number of motivations, Budden’s beef with Drake is probably a lot easier to figure out.
Sunday (March 31) was a good day for Metro Boomin. His and Future’s collaborative album We Don’t Trust Youdebuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — Metro’s fourth-career No. 1 album and Future’s ninth, according to Billboard. The album earned 2024’s largest week by any album, with 251,000 equivalent US album units, as per Luminate.
Hours later, ESPN’s Omar Raja recorded LeBron James rapping Kendrick Lamar’s verse on “Like That” during the Los Angeles Lakers’ warmups ahead of their game at the Brooklyn Nets. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, proceeded to do what he does in the Lakers’ 116-104 win. The 39-year-old logged 40 points on 13-of-17 from the field with nine three-pointers. Per ESPN, James tied his career high for threes in a game and joined Michael Jordan “as the only players in NBA history with multiple games of 40 points or more after turning 39.”
Metro Boomin was delighted, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “bro was warming up to Like That then went 9/10 from 3 and 13/17 for 40 points [exploding head emoji, three steam-from-nose emojis, flexing emoji] #WEDONTTRUSTYOU.”
By the time James was spotted spitting “Like That,” he and the Lakers had already run onto the court to “Ya Ya” from Beyoncé’s newly released Cowboy Carter, as seen in a video posted by Jasmine (@hausofJazzy) on X.
LEBRON JAMES AND THE LAKERS CAME OUT TO “YA YA” BY BEYONCÉ FROM #COWBOYCARTER
Cowboy Carter debuting at anything lower than No. 1 next week would be a bigger upset than James’ Lakers winning the West, and then it can almost already be penciled in that Metro and Future’s We Don’t Trust You sequel album will recapture No. 1 after its April 12 release date.
Jackass legend Steve-O was all set to guest on Bill Maher‘s Club Random podcast, until the host refused to stop smoking weed.
During a recent episode of Wild Ride! with Steve-O, host Steve-O told his guest, political commentator Patrick Bet-David, that he watched him on Club Random and found the way that Maher spoke to him to be “rather insulting.” The conversation then turned to marijuana, which Maher frequently smokes because he thinks it makes him look like the coolest guy in the world. It’s also the reason Steve-O didn’t appear on his show.
“I’m a clean and sober guy,” Steve-O said. “It’s very important that I maintain my sobriety.” He’s been sober for nearly 16 years (the before-and-after pic is striking) and “there’s nothing that I value more than my sobriety,” so he found it “upsetting” that when he agreed to appear on Club Random as a guest but only if Maher didn’t smoke, the host declined. “I said I’d happily go on there, but while I’m on, out of respect for my sobriety, could you refrain from smoking pot? And he said, no. That’s a deal-breaker,” Steve-O explained.
You can watch Wild Ride! with Steve-O above (the Maher talk begins around 41 minutes into the video).
In a video that made the rounds online over the weekend, Yachty says, “I personally think that rap n****s are so angry and so mad and so ‘grr’ all the time because they ugly… as f*ck. A lot of rappers don’t like what they see when they wake up, and they realize they probably only get women because they have money. Me, on the other hand, am gorgeous. And it’s like, I’m happy, you know? Life’s great. I got some money, decent looking, I smell great.”
Yachty, of course, has a strong sense of humor, so he’s likely joking around, at least a little bit, here.
Appearance aside, Yachty certainly has a lot to be happy about at the moment. A few days ago, it was announced that he teamed with Quality Control and HYBE to start his own record label, Concrete Rekordz.
As Donald Trump continues to drown in multi-million dollar judgments and legal fees, the former president has become increasingly aggressive in finding new ways to fleece the MAGA faithful. Trump has been selling everything from Bibles to mini speakers that look like him.
“I assume it’s way too loud and never dies,” John Oliver quipped during the latest episode of Last Week Tonight. “You know how you can never tell which Airpods are yours and which are your friends, because all the cases look the same? Well, if you get these, you lose all your friends instantly — problem solved.”
The late night comedian did not hold back as he walked through the most recent examples of Trump using his legal troubles to whip up donations.
Oliver then showed a video, which appeared to have low production value, of Trump saying to his supporters: “We’re fighting. We’re winning. You see what’s going on. So whatever you can do to help financially would be fantastic, because we have to beat it if it’s $5 or $10 or $100, whatever you can do.”
Replied Oliver: “That is a man who talks nonstop about how he’s one of the richest men on Earth, begging strangers for money in a hostage video that looks like it was filmed in a house haunted by the world’s tackiest ghosts.”
However, what Oliver found most baffling is that Trump may have found a way out of his money problems thanks to Truth Social receiving an $8 billion valuation that the late night host says is “utterly divorced from the underlying business, which is a mess.”
“Its stock is trading incredibly high because Trump supporters believe buying it is a way to simultaneously own the libs, give Trump money and, they’d argue, make a profit themselves,” Oliver explained before comparing the Truth Social situation to a more popular meme stock. “The GameStop movement was at least nominally about wresting financial power away from sh*tty rich a**holes and restoring it to the little guy, whereas this movement is about funneling the little guy’s money directly to the sh*ttiest rich a**hole there is.”
Even with the arrival or spring, the lure of the television remains strong. Not only will Amazon finish an Invincible season, but the streamer will start churning towards The Boys‘ return. This month, however, a different crop of show are preparing to thrill and chill viewers from several angles.
Gamers will receive starring turns from both Walton Goggins and Idris Elba. True crime addicts will see more of the Robert Durst downfall and a series that will also appeal to fans of the most recent True Detective season. Then there are grifters and spies, a new sci-fi adventure, and an interlude from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman universe. Here are the must-see shows for April.
Ripley (Netflix series streaming 4/4)
Everyone remembers Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Andrew Scott is fully shaking off his “Hot Priest” days to don Tom Ripley’s grifter duds. This limited series is, of course, based upon Patricia Highsmith’s series of novels, and Scott’s incarnation of the character takes a job in the 1960s that sets him on the deceit-filled path to murder.
Parasyte: The Grey: Season 1 (Netflix series streaming 4/5)
Netflix has cranked up their South Korean production following the Squid Game phenomenon, and this live-action manga adaptation — which differs starkly from its source material although it appears to remain loyal to the same universe — pulls out the sci-fi stops as well. The series follows mysterious parasites who begin falling from the sky to inhabit hosts and start rampantly committing murder, yet the potentially greater threat to humanity is whether they can come together to react.
Sugar: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series streaming 4/5)
Colin Farrell is gearing up to appear in Max’s Penguin series, but for the moment, he’s starring as private detective John Sugar, who must track the disappearance of a powerful Hollywood producer’s granddaughter. In the process, Sugar also digs up family secrets that were buried for major reasons.
Fallout: Season 1 (Amazon Prime Video series streaming 4/11)
Walton Goggins portrays The Ghoul in this series that he was very excited to join until he learned about the no-nose thing. Still, he persisted in this live-action adaptation of the wildly successful video game series that takes place two centuries following the apocalypse, in which coming home doesn’t exactly happen as expected for the wealthy who have been hanging out in their shelters. The entire season will drop at once, for the binging.
Franklin: Season 1 (Apple TV+ series streaming 4/12)
Apple TV+ continues hitting the history books hard (after Masters of the Air and Manhunt), and here, Michael Douglas puts on the duds to portray Ben Franklin. In this series, however, the focus isn’t upon Franklin’s legacy as the father of electricity but in his journey to France on a secret mission. The show adapts A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, the Pulitzer Prize winning book from Stacy Schiff.
Under the Bridge: Season 1 (FX on Hulu series streaming 4/17)
Lily Gladstone is following up her arresting Killers of the Flower Moon performance in this true-crime series adaptation of the late Rebecca Godfrey’s same-named book that dives tail first into 14-year-old Reena Virk’s murder after it flipped a Canadian town on its head. The story carries some Sharp Objects flavor with True Detective vibes alongside its real-life origins. Riley Keough portrays Godfrey, and Gladstone suits up as a cop as the two women take different approaches to the pursuit of justice.
Conan O’Brien Must Go: Season 1 (Max series streaming 4/18)
If you adore Conan O’Brien — and who doesn’t? — and especially if you enjoy his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, you’ll want to fall in-like all over again as Conan visit those friends. What follows will be a globetrotting extravaganza, surely of the self-deprecating variety.
The Jinx — Part Two (HBO series streaming on Max 4/21)
Robert Durst didn’t know what hit him, but it was always (surprise) Robert Durst hitting himself. He hot-mic’d his way into a followup investigation following 2015’s first season finale, in which he confessed (to himself but inadvertently to the world), “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” At that point, a long wait for a followup season began, and Durst ended in behind bars after an extended run of dodging prosecution for repeated murder allegations due to insufficient evidence. Finally HBO the Max will take us behind the scenes as director Andrew Jarecki continued digging into the most bizarre of cases with interviews from witnesses who didn’t come forward until after that Durst slip-up.
Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix series streaming 4/25)
Welcome to another side of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman Universe, in which two young detectives discover each other while dead after being born decades apart. They’re BFF ghosts who also happen to have a knock for solving mysteries, particularly when something paranormal is afoot. That’s precisely what they encounter, including witches and the depths of Hell while aiming to help the mortal realm find closure through their investigations.
Knuckles: Season 1 (Paramount+ series streaming 4/26)
In the midst of runaway successful Sonic The Hedgehog movies, Jim Carrey and James Marsden’s voices are taking a break and yielding to Idris Elba, who stars here in the live-action series where his character fashions Adam Palley’s Wade into his protégé because someone needs to continue in the fine tradition of being an Echidna warrior. The film fills some gaps before the third Sonic movie, and the biggest attraction is (of course) the voice of Elba as an incorrigible grump.
The Veil: Season 1 (FX on Hulu series streaming 4/30)
Because there’s no such thing as too many spy series, Elisabeth Moss stars in this thriller series that brings two women together in an intricate game while they leap across Europe to save thousands of innocents from perishing. Secrets, lies, and ass-kicking moves swirl with international agencies coming together, possibly begrudgingly, to ward off mayhem.
J.K. Rowling could be arrested in Scotland for deliberately misgendering transgender people under a new hate crime law, a politician warns.
On April 1, the day Scotland implemented a new law to tackle hate crime, the Harry Potter author tweeted, “In passing the Scottish Hate Crime Act, Scottish lawmakers seem to have placed higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of femaleness, however misogynistically or opportunistically, than on the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls.” She added, “I’m currently out of the country, but if what I’ve written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment.”
In response to her latest comments (which is part of an exhausting 11 tweet thread), Scottish National Party’s community safety minister Siobhian Brown warned the Telegraph that Rowling could be in legal trouble. Her “completely deranged” posts where she misgenders trans women “could be reported and it could be investigated,” Brown said. “Whether or not the police would think it was criminal is up to Police Scotland for that.”
The law creates a criminal offense of “stirring up of hatred”, expanding on a similar offence based on racist abuse that has been on the statute book for decades. The new legislation covers hatred on the basis of age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity. Someone convicted of stirring up hate could face a fine and a prison term of up to seven years.
It will be tough to make a case against Rowling, however.
As the Telegraph notes, women were omitted from “the list of protected groups included in the legislation,” which means that “threats made against Rowling and other feminists critical of trans ideology could not be investigated under the Bill.” Rowling is daring the authorities to “#ArrestMe” because she knows it likely won’t happen.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
(@hausofJazzy) 
