Category: Viral

The Chris Pratt jokes can be retired.

Nintendo has found the new video game voice of Mario in Kevin Afghani, who will take over for Charles Martinet beginning with Super Mario Bros. Wonder . “Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo for inviting me into the Flower Kingdom!” Afghani wrote on X. The news was confirmed by Nintendo in an email which simply said, “The voice actor’s name is Kevin Afghani.”

Afghani has a short IMDb history with only six credits, including Genshin Impact, Dragon Ball R&R, and Anime Penguin: Red Snow, which I want to watch right now.

Martinet, who has been voicing Mario (and Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi) since the Super Mario 64 days, is still in the Nintendo family, but not as a “Mario Ambassador.” Nintendo explained, “With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all! It has been an honor working with Charles to help bring Mario to life for so many years and we want to thank and celebrate him.”

Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be available on the Nintendo Switch on October 20th.

When ōkta opened in McMinnville, Oregon in the summer of 2022, it instantly thrilled lovers of fine dining. Michelin-starred chef Matthew Lightner’s commitment to farming, foraging, and elevated culinary techniques have earned him widespread acclaim and his new restaurant was to be a love letter to his home state. So it’s no surprise that ōkta, based inside the Tributary Hotel, was a success out of the gate.

And yet… there were some critiques. Most notably by Karen Brooks of Portland Monthly who (with expertise and nuance) noted a lack of context and storytelling in Lightner’s early tasting menus. But unlike the era of chefs who never gave an inch (Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay, etc.), by the time Uproxx visited, it seemed like the chef had absorbed the most resonant notes from the restaurant’s early days. In July of 2023, ōkta was firing at a level that demanded national attention. Not surprisingly, it commanded a whole lot of it in short order — hitting the 2023 Uproxx Fall Travel Hot List and the New York Times list of the nation’s 50 best restaurants.

For the Summer ’23 Menu, Lightner (an excellent writer himself) offered an ode to the season’s ingredients and, tougher to pin down, the ineffable feelings it creates.

Brooks’ original reviews of ōkta noted that the service was a tad wobbly. That’s very common at new fine dining restaurants, where the dishes are often delicate and there are a lot of them. Still, it was another knock. But by the time I sat down to eat there, service was undoubtedly one of ōkta’s strong suits. Not only did the team offer valuable context about each dish (concise context, thankfully) but they also followed the rules of white tablecloth British-style service with military precision. I don’t necessarily need that level of formality but I have to admit, it certainly added a nice element to the whole experience. (Also, the GM had the guts to ask a woman who was Facetiming her mom from her table to… stop. doing. that — which was much needed and appreciated.)

When it comes to the dishes themselves, the 15-course tasting menu I tried was lively and full of two to three-bite entries that tasted exactly how a good novel is supposed to end: “surprising-yet-inevitable.” The meal opened with a tomato granita-gazpacho that managed to be both bright and a potent reminder of just how much umami tomatoes can deliver. “Pollinator” starred nasturtium petals cupping honeyed buckwheat puffs and hiding foie gras over an almond cracker. Discovering those elements was not just delicious, it was fun.

Other dishes showed a similar level of playfulness. But the whimsy was paired with deep thought, technical expertise, and clear, direct flavor profiles. In short: This wasn’t a cool chef having big ideas in service of style, it was a smart chef having big ideas in service of tasting good — that small tweak can make a big difference.

Though other dishes were perhaps more inventive or technical, my palate is quick to recall “soil” — which tasted “of the earth” in the very best ways. It was a little flavor bomb of a tartlet starring black truffles, currant tomatoes, and cheese from nearby Briar Rose Creamery. Never have I eaten something that risked being too lush, too unctuous so brazenly without ever veering into “so heavy it’s dull” territory.

If my job was to explain to visiting aliens what umami was, this is the dish I would give them. If my local bakery sold these for $30 a pop, I would probably cut a lot of expenses to be able to treat myself to one each Friday.

I won’t lay out the entire menu dish-by-dish (I did over on Instagram), but I will tell you that it was as perfectly composed and balanced as I’ve ever tasted. To put an even finer point on it, what I mean is that this was the best top-to-bottom restaurant meal I’ve ever had. Every time things threatened to veer too conceptual, Lightner seemed to offer up a dish that was direct and unbeguiling. Halfway through, he dropped a stellar bread interstitial. Dessert took the berries, ice cream, and chocolate concept and separated it into three courses — cherries three ways, a sort of sweet cream cloud, and chocolate cake with chicories. All were spectacular and not too high-minded to fail as confections.

Across the meal, Lightner nailed the piece of fine dining that so much of the discourse around the movie The Menu missed – how participatory it is. And, more importantly, how fun. The conceit of The Menu was that the sort of people fine dining attracts are ~generally speaking~ miserable dorks. As someone who loves fine dining, that’s not my experience. People who consistently spend their money in this way genuinely enjoy it as a recreation. It’s not like we’re sitting down to 20-course tasting meals with the same motivations we have when ordering a burger. We know it’s a game of sorts , just like someone wanting to cheer on a bunch of dudes they don’t know throwing a ball around.

At least during my preferred way to blow $600 the star (the chef) wants me there and appreciates me. And I get to leave full without having to consume a chili dog.

Lightner got the “fine dining is fun” concept perfectly. He enthralled me via the food, which was created for the enjoyment of diners not for the sake of his ego (as film and TV featuring fine dining would have you believe). It was spectacular to witness. Plus it all tasted amazing.

WHY NOW:

Two days after Uproxx’s July visit, Portland Monthy updated their review with a bombastic (but bang-on) headline – “ōkta Is Now Oregon Wine Country’s Greatest Restaurant, Ever.” They’re not wrong. To truly absorb and sit with ōkta’s concepts, I recommend an overnight at the adjoining Tributary Hotel – where the bathtubs are deep and the breakfast is more inventive (and sprawling) than anything you’ll find in the rest of the state.

“Say My Grace” rapper Offset’s year has been filled with heartbreaking lows, unnecessary conflicts, and short-lived marital tension. However, thanks to his sheer tenacity, he has managed to take back control of his life to steer it in a most positive direction. The result of tunnel vision is his highly-anticipated sophomore album, Set It Off.

The 21-track project features guest appearances from, of course, his wife, Cardi B, as well as Travis Scott, Future, Don Toliver, Yung Nudy, Mango Foo, and Uproxx cover stars Latto & Chlöe. But fans wondered what happened to his previously teased collaboration with Playboi Carti.

Why isn’t Playboi Carti on Offset’s new album, Set It Off?

Simply put, it isn’t because the track wasn’t ready to go. On September 28, during his private album listening party in London, the recording artist treated attendees to a snippet from the record. But, still, the song didn’t make the final tracklist.

Thanks to an interaction with a fan’s post online, Offset seemingly confirmed it was due to clearance issues. “What Carti at n****,” asked one of the rapper’s online followers. Another jokingly chimed in and wrote, “He definitely ain’t clear it [crying laughing emoji],” and Offset gave a like to that response.

With the rise of deluxe projects, fans might not want to give up just yet as the unreleased track could appear then.

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

With the writers strike officially over, Quinta Brunson is finally free to discuss Abbott Elementary Season 3 and when fans can expect to return to class with the award-winning sitcom.

Obviously, this season will arrive later than usual and not sync up with the real-life school year. According to Brunson, the Abbott Elementary‘s writers room was set to start on May 1, which is the exact date the WGA strike started. However, Brunson is embracing the “little bit of creativity” in finding a way to ease viewers back into the show.

“It’s not like coming back to a family show where you can pop in on that family on any sitcom-y thing,” Brunson told Deadline. “It’s really like, what’s going on in the school?”

Part of those changes will involve a shorter season “because of the strike, and because of the airing schedule, because of what ABC has room for on their schedule.” But, again, Brunson isn’t complaining and welcomes the change of pace.

“We did 22 last season, and that’s a lot of TV, in particular for me because I’m writing and producing and starring in it,” she said. “So for me, I welcomed a shorter season because it was tiring, exhausting work. Love it, but exhausting for me.”

That said, Brunson was “ready to go back” and found it “inspiring” to “build something that was both grounded, and for this premiere, splashy enough to bring people back at the same time.”

(Via Deadline)

James Harden’s trade request is still lingering, and the latest update indicates nothing is imminent regarding the former MVP being moved to the Clippers, as L.A. doesn’t want to bid against themselves and aren’t willing to part with a significant haul for Harden on an expiring contract.

As such, Harden is in Sixers training camp and seems ready to go into the season as a member of the team, working out and ramping up ahead of the regular season opener in two weeks. On Friday, Harden sat down with reporters and answered all the questions everyone has about his status with the team, his relationship with Daryl Morey, thoughts on Nick Nurse taking over as coach, and his pending trade request. The star made clear he wanted to be a Sixer long-term, but noted it “wasn’t in the front office’s plans” for that to happen, which has led to what we’ve seen this summer — Harden, who already has been fined $100,000 for a public trade request once, wisely did not confirm he still wanted out but pushed it over to the front office saying it was “out of my control.”

Harden conveniently leaves out his push for a max contract that not many teams would likely be putting up for his services, but went on to detail why his relationship with Daryl Morey (who he wouldn’t call by name, but instead just said “front office”) was unsalvageable.

Harden also wanted to make sure it was clear who is issue was with, as he was asked about new coach Nick Nurse and had nothing but praise for the new man in charge of the Sixers on the court, via Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philly.

“Great,” Harden said of Nurse. “Nick is very versatile. He’s a players’ coach. He understands it. I’ve known him a little bit; he was the G League coach in Houston. He’s obviously won a championship. He just sees the game different and I’m a fan of him.”

Harden also said he was planning to “play basketball” this year, so there won’t be any holding out once the season starts from his end. He seems to recognize he has to rebuild his value going into a free agency summer, and the biggest part of doing that is playing and not being too much of a distraction amid a trade request. For the Sixers, that’s about the best they could hope for right now. We’ll see how long that tone lasts, but it buys them time and, just maybe, they could get through this year and just hit next summer with cap space to try and replace him.

We can probably all agree that Jeopardy! is not for everyone. It can be for your local schoolteachers and IT nerds and people who love pressing buttons (literally) but it’s not really for people who just wanna have a good time. That’s what The Price Is Right is for.

But Celebrity Jeopardy! is different. It brings on a handful of celebs who compete for charity and subsequently get very confused as if they have never even seen the show before. Unfortunately, talk show host Sherri Shepherd had high hopes going into the event, before walking away with just $75, which is probably not even enough to cover the Uber ride to the hotel.

“I got $75 and I don’t care. I don’t care! Because this is my year of not overthinking everything. I am not beating myself up,” the Sherri host explained to her audience. “There are [game] shows that look easy when you are sitting there, and there are shows that you would never do if you had the opportunity. Jeopardy!, for me, is one of those shows. I will destroy on $100,000 Pyramid. I eked out a win on Family Feud. … I love game shows, but Celebrity Jeopardy! is a show I should not have done at all,” she told her audience.

“With Celebrity Jeopardy!, you gotta know a little bit about a lot of stuff. I know a lot of stuff about a little bit,” she laughed, before admitting that she thought it would be a little bit easier for the celeb crowd since they were playing for charity. “When I got on the show, I thought they were going to make it a little bit easier for the celebrities. When I saw the categories, I was like, ‘Wait a minute, hold on, what is this?’” Some of Shepherd’s categories included “Demonyms,” “EZ Geography” and “You’re A Homophone, Diane.”

When Shepherd tried for an “easier” category called “Hi, I’m J.Lo” she was horrified to learn that it was not about pop icon and Ben Affleck’s wife Jennifer Lopez. “My inside voice in my head, I was like ‘What the hell is this?’” she explained.

It was Christopher Meloni who ended up answering the clue, which was about boxer Joe Lewis. There is a reason this man has been working for The Law for so long.

(Via People)

Yesterday (October 12) was a huge day for PinkPantheress as she announced her debut album, Heaven Knows. She also has a new single, “Capable Of Love,” and she shared a video for it today. In the black-and-white visual, PinkPantheress throws a bunch of stuff into an outdoor pit before taking the plunge and jumping in herself, and that’s when everything changes.

The song is one that superfans are surely already familiar with: unfinished versions of the track have been floating around online since 2021.

PinkPantheress previously wrote of the new album, “this album is an accumulation of music i’ve made over the last two years, with some beloved tunes that might sound familiar and some cutie features who i can’t wait to announce. i love everyone here, i cried the other day thinking of how lucky i am to have people willing to listen to me, you are never taken in vain. to my fanpages, i love you, you’re always there for me and i will never forget about how safe you make me feel. it’s been a long time comin from pain to capable of love, i hope you love each song you hear from me!”

Watch the “Capable Of Love” video above.

Heaven Knows is out 11/10 via Warner Records UK. Find more information here.

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

Kid Cudi’s entire artistic ethos is exploring the world beyond bounds. If aliens were ever to show their faces on Earth, it would be safe to assume the “Guitar In My Room” rapper would be the first human they’d want to chat with. Through his collaboration with Star Trek, Cudi can further explore his obsession with what exists beyond this world. As part of a new installment for the “Boldy Be” campaign, Cudi shared a thunderous new song, “Heaven’s Galaxy.”

Kudi teamed up with his longtime producer and friend Dot Da Genius to revisit the melodic sound he made popular. As Cudi harmonized the stanza, “Through the galaxies, don’t ask why / Take the journey, y’all, you will find / In the darkest times, look for light / See my strength, I’m strong / Ain’t no fear in me / Nevеr say I can’t survive / These worlds through space and time / I’ll see you, no goodbyes / I got hope, and we fly / The sun will always shine / Goin’ high-high-high / These worlds are yours and mine,” you can’t help but think back on his popular tracks like “Enter Galactic.”

Other parts of the partnership include the Star Trek x Kid Cudi: Mirror Mayhem world exclusively accessible in Fortnite and custom-curated merchandise. Yesterday (October 12), the virtual experience was showcased at the 2023 New York Comic Con, which will remain on display until October 15. The collection of tees, crewnecks, hoodies, button-up t-shirts, and leather varsity jackets is also on sale at the convention. But on October 16, the line will be made available online. Find more information here.

With each of Cudi’s Star Trek releases, fans’ anticipation for his forthcoming album, Insano, grows.

Listen to “Heaven’s Galaxy” above.

It’s not controversial to say the ladies on The View and Lauren Boebert have very different politics. Even the show’s resident conservatives, Ana Navarro and Alyssa Farah Griffin, are not devoted to all things Donald Trump like Boebert. However, the panel had a surprising amount of sympathy for the Colorado congresswoman as she finalized her divorce this week.

Boebert and her now ex-husband, Jayson, appeared in court this week where the couple were reportedly heard shouting at each other behind closed doors, according to The Colorado Sun. The chaos began as they arrived separately at the courthouse, and Jayson could be seen getting confrontational with reporters. Later, in the public hearing, emotions were on full display as their marriage was officially dissolved.

While Joy Behar cracked Beetlejuice jokes about the situation, Navarro surprised herself by actually feeling sorry for Boebert.

Via Entertainment Weekly:

“I was with my ex for 15 years, and I never thought these words would come out of my mouth, but, I related to Lauren Boebert here. Somebody please bring me two aspirin, I’m going to lay down,” Navarro said. “I think, once it’s finally over and signed with, you have that sense of closure, but you also have other emotions. It’s bittersweet, there’s nostalgia, there’s 15, 17 years of lived experiences, there’s children, there’s so much that you had together, and I think you do have these feelings. Once the legal aspect is over, those things kind of come out.”

Co-host Sunny Hostin, who’s been a fierce critic of the Republican party, also found herself sympathizing with Boebert.

“I think that she’s not someone I believe in politically, but 18 years of marriage is a really long time. That’s a life built together and a lot of chapters,” Hostin said. “I don’t want to celebrate the demise of anyone’s marriage, and, if he’s grabbing her butt, which is what he was doing, after their divorce, more power to them.”

Behar, on the other hand, did not share those sympathies and zinged Boebert by noting Beetlejuice is going on the road, “so there’s plenty to do.”

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Jack Nicholson played a small part in the creation of some of the best Seinfeld episodes ever.

Before getting hired on Seinfeld, where he wrote “The Library” and “The Outing,” Larry Charles worked on The Arsenio Hall Show. He told the Hollywood Reporter that his time on the late-night talk show was “rock bottom for me. Arsenio was a great guy, and he loved my jokes. But, being a Black man on TV, people do not realize the pressure he was under. The death threats! No one was online yet, so it was stacks and stacks of violent hate mail. My jokes were hard-edged — and, after a while, he retreated to safer material.”

Months would go by without any of Charles’ jokes making it to air, and he was convinced he was “about to get fired and would never work again, so I went outside at Paramount and looked up at the sky.” That’s when Jack Nicholson “drove by very slowly in his Mercedes convertible, wearing the Lakers hat and the sunglasses, and we look at each other and just start laughing,” the Dicks: The Musical director recalled. Charles remembers thinking, “[Jack] knows this is all just a game. Don’t take it so seriously.” The next day, Charles was fired.

The day after? “I got offered the job on Seinfeld.” So the next time you need spiritual guidance, step outside and hope Jack Nicholson drives by. But only if he’s wearing a Lakers cap. If he’s hat-less, it’s bad luck.

A24’s Dicks: The Musical is out in select theaters now.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)