Category: Viral

After unloading a massive amount of new Star Wars shows and movies during its Investor Day event, Disney turned things over to Marvel, which proceeded to drop an even bigger slew of announcements about its upcoming slate. Like Star Wars, Marvel is naturally going big on Disney+ series as the streaming platform continues to be a high priority for the House of Mouse. But unlike Star Wars, Marvel Studios still had a very strong showing for its theatrical releases and plenty of surprises to go around.

Here’s every announcement you might have missed during the tidal wave of news:

MOVIES

Fantastic Four: In one of the biggest surprises, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home director Jon Watts is attached to direct the first Fantastic Four movie for the MCU. There were no further details, but Marvel did tweet this sweet logo.

Black Panther 2: Marvel boss Kevin Feige confirmed that Chadwick Boseman will not be recast in the sequel that will “explore the world of Wakanda.”

Captain Marvel 2: Directed by Nia DaCosta, Captain Marvel 2 will star Brie Larson and feature Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) following her Disney+ debut along with Teyonnah Parris, who will make her debut as a grown-up Monica Rambeau in WandaVision. The sequel will hit theaters on November 11, 2022.

Thor: Love and Thunder: Christian Bale’s villainous role in Thor: Love and Thunder has been revealed. The Dark Knight actor will play Gorr the God Butcher, one of Thor’s deadliest villains from Jason Aaron’s epic comic book run.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: The Babysitter’s Club Xochitl Gomez was recently added to the cast, and now, Marvel has confirmed that she is playing Young Avengers hero America Chavez. The sequel directed by Sam Raimi will also star Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange helps her navigate the aftermath of WandaVision.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: The third installment from director Peyton Reed gets an official title as Jonathan Majors is confirmed to be playing the classic Marvel villain Kang the Conqueror. Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer will also return as Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: Production has officially wrapped for Marvel’s first stab into the martial arts world featuring a showdown between Simi Liu’s Shang-Chi and his father The Mandarin. The film hits theaters July 9, 2021.

DISNEY+ SERIES NEWS

She-Hulk: Despite her recent denial, Tatiana Maslany has been confirmed as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in the upcoming series, which will see Mark Ruffalo reprise his role as The Hulk and Tim Roth make a surprise return as The Abomination from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.

Hawkeye: Even though she’s been photographed filming the upcoming series with Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld has not been confirmed as Kate Bishop until now. Marvel locked down her casting and set a non-specific release date of late 2021.

Moon Knight: Outside of officially confirming the show, Marvel had little details except that the show would focus on Marc Spector and his disassociative identity disorder. There was no mention of the recent Oscar Isaac casting report.

Ironheart: Showing its commitment to featuring more diverse heroes, Marvel announced an Ironheart series is coming to Disney+ starring Dominque Thorne. Thorne will play young inventor and fan-favorite comic book character Riri Williams who created the most advanced Iron Man armor ever made. Even more powerful than Tony Stark’s.

Armor Wars: Speaking of Tony Stark, Don Cheadle will making his Disney+ debut in a series focused on his War Machine character as he goes on a mission to save his late friend’s tech.

Secret Invasion: A Disney+ series starring Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury was reported a few weeks back, and now we know what it’s about. Based on the epic comic event, Secret Invasion will see Fury team up with Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos as they attempt to fight off a Skrull invasion that has been infiltrating Earth for years.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: James Gunn will write and direct The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special that will drop in 2022 just before the third movie hits theater.

I Am Groot: And, finally, a new series of shorts featuring Groot “along with several new and unusual characters” will be hitting Disney+ soon. Whether these shorts will be live-action or animated has not been disclosed yet, but who doesn’t love more Groot in any form?

Here are some trailers from the Disney+ shows coming soon.

Loki:

WandaVision:

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier:

What If…?:

Ms. Marvel:

(Via Marvel)

The holiday season is officially upon us. It’s supposed to mark a time of yuletide cheer and gift giving but… Come on, as chaotic as this year has been, does anyone really have the mental capacity to play Santa’s little helper? No chance.

That’s why we’re here today. And we’re coming with a clear pitch for how you can usher in the spirit of the season and simplify your holiday shopping: Just stuff everyone’s stockings with wine. Seriously, a good bottle of vino just might be exactly what your introverted, cat lady of an aunt needs to lighten the mood during all those holiday Zoom calls.

To help you get a head start on your shopping, we’ve compiled a list of the eight best gifts to give the wine enthusiast in your life. These picks range in price, with the most expensive items reaching up to $100, just in case you want to ball out for someone near and dear to your heart. All of our picks are widely available across the U.S. and can be purchased online via the links in their prices.

Cheers and happy holidays!

Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Gift Set

ABV: 12%

Average Price: $99

The Wine:

One of the most recognized Champagne houses in the world is offering the gift of elegance during the holidays. Hand-blown, rounded wine bottles inspired by 17th-century decor keep the wine safe. The 100 percent Pinot Noir comes from 10 different crus—aka villages that make pristine wine—across the Champagne region of France. So you need something sturdy to keep that good juice secure.

In a nice flourish, the winery tacks on two luxury glasses to best enjoy your sparkling pink rosé.

Tasting Notes:

This is about as close to drinking pink diamonds as you’ll ever get. Glimmers of fruity fragrances dance delicately on the nose while the palate is drenched in flavors of cherry, strawberry, and raspberry. The wine is sharp and with bubbles surging late to round out to a supple and soft finish.

Bottom Line:

This elegantly fresh and fruity wine is just as beautiful on the sip as it is in the bottle, and it’s even prettier when poured in Laurent-Pierre flutes. While it can be enjoyed right away, this Champagne rosé has an aging potential of up to five years, which means your loved one can save it for a special occasion when you’re in person, together again.

Bollinger’s Special Cuvée

ABV: 12%

Average Price: $60

The Wine:

Here’s a wine for the stylish and refined person in your life. This blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Meunier is certainly that, not to mention it comes from a premiere Champagne estate that has produced sophisticated bubbly since 1829. What makes Bollinger’s Special Cuvée so iconic is that it’s comprised of grapes sourced from 300 crus, the majority being grand and premiers crus. We’re talking about the absolute best grapes from the most superior villages and plots in Champagne.

Tasting Notes:

This medium-bodied Champagne is truly triumphant. There’s a boisterous aroma of apple and toasted almonds but the palate is rich with notes of creme brûlée and lemon parfait and a melody of stone fruits. A touch of chalk in the finish balances out the sturdy, fine bubbles.

Bottom Line:

This is a wine that only gets better with time. The more it ages, the more dynamic it becomes—kinda like that special, relative you still need to get a holiday present for.

2018 Mayacamas Hill Block Chardonnay Holiday Special Release

ABV: 14.5%
Average Price: $85

The Wine:

This 100 percent Chardonnay isn’t like the others created by Mayacamas, which has been producing spectacular wine in the Napa Vally since 1889. The grapes used in the winery’s Special Bottling Series come from the most unique, small-lot vineyards with soils stocked with chalky, white volcanic ash. That alone gives the holiday bottle a little extra oomph that you likely won’t experience in other selections offered by the winery.

Tasting Notes:

This is a chardonnay with undeniable minerality, thanks to the volcanic soil the grapevines grew in. It opens up fresh and lively on the nose with aromas of flower blossoms and lemon zest. The sip is like a slice of rich lemon meringue pie and a side apple tart. The finish is long and interesting, with a flinty, briny undertone that only seems to elevate the palate.

Bottom Line:

This isn’t your butterscotch Chardonnay. This is an interesting wine with a lot of character, and it’s one that will likely be a great treat for a pal or relative who enjoys the funkier, eccentric things in life. Better still, aside from the holidays, Mayacamas only releases wine twice a year — the spring and fall — which makes this an exclusive gift.

Ehlers Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2019

ABV: 13.6%
Average Price: $32

The Wine:

The cooler nights and mild daytime temperatures in August 2019 helped the good folks at Ehlers Estate concoct the most expressive vintage of Sauvignon Blanc. The grape’s natural acidity, delicate flavors, and aromas are almost spilling out of the bottle.

Tasting Notes:

This full-bodied Sauvignon Blanc has a pleasing fragrance of orange blossoms, guava, and ripe pineapple, which lean into it’s acidic, silky mineral mouthfeel. On the palate, it’s zipping with citrus flavors like grapefruit and tangerine and subtle hints of lime that extend well after the long finish.

Bottom Line:

Buy this for the white wine lover in your life. Maybe they’ll thank you for it with a seafood feast to pair the bottle with.

2016 Mi Sueño Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

ABV: 14.5
Average Price: $75

The Wine:

The deep, dark garnet hue of this sultry Napa Cabernet Sauvignon develops as it ages for 21 months in 65% new French oak. Then it sits another full year in the bottle before it’s packaged and sent off for retail. All that time aging results in a fine, layered wine that begs to be devoured during the holiday season.

Tasting Notes:

Sensual scents of dark plum, boysenberry, and molasses fill the nose upon opening this bottle, while notes of dark cherry and fig along with black pepper and cacao coat the palate. Silky smooth tannins—the natural polyphenol responsible for the wine’s bite—give the wine structure and body that accentuates the finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a grown-up wine that’s just begging your father to drink it with his hand-rolled cigar. Or maybe mom will share it with the whole family when she makes her famous casserole. Either way, you’re parents will love this gift.

2017 Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District

ABV: 14.9%
Average Price: $79

The Wine:

Yes, this is another Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Don’t you know it’s the gift that keeps on giving? That’s because Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world’s most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. No matter where you get it from, it’s bound to be compelling and charismatic — which makes it a high-impact varietal for gifting.

This dark ruby wine is produced in the Stag’s Leap District. The base is primarily cab sauv, however, it’s blended with five percent merlot, four percent petit verdot, and three percent cabernet franc to give the wine some depth and a splash of juiciness.

Tasting Notes:

This wine is like the Energizer Bunny. It just keeps going, and going, and going. It smells like a bouquet of violets and lavender sprayed with the juice of blackberry and huckleberry, all dressed up with black licorice. The deep flavor profile starts with notes of chocolate and blood orange peppered with cardamom and cassis.

All the supple tannins support the wine’s dense and luxurious structure, which gives it a rather long and opulent finish.

Bottom Line:

Everything about this wine screams special occasion. The chef in your family will love its propensity for pairing — it will go with any meat dish you can think of or a family feast of Mapo Tofu and spicy delicacies.

The Prisoner Wine Company Saldo 2018

ABV: 15.5%

Average Price: $32

The Wine:

There’s a reason why The Prisoner Wine Company is so good at creating interesting wines with such quality and character. They source grapes from some of the most esteemed vineyards in California. The Zinfandel grapes used in this robust showstopper come from plots in Dry Creek, Lodi, and Amador—all of which are areas with a penchant for growing some of the best Zin in the U.S.

Tasting Notes:

This is an experience in mouthwatering red wine. You wouldn’t initially guess it from its aroma of black licorice, cherry, baking spices, and hickory. But somehow, with all its curvaceous tannins and just the slightest hint of red berries, that’s the effect it delivers.

Try the drool test and see for yourself: Take a sip of this wine and leave your mouth slightly open once you swallow the last drop. You’ll be salivating for the extent of the lengthy finish.

Bottom Line:

Gift this wine to the pitmaster in your life. Grilled chops, grilled steak, grilled chicken, grilled vegetables—this wine will wash down almost anything that’s cooked on the barbecue.

Castello Banfi Brunello Di Montalcino DOCG

ABV: 13%
Average Price: $79

The Wine:

This 100 percent Sangiovese hails from Castello Banfi, one of the premier Italian estates in the Montalcino region of Tuscany. Its dazzling ruby red in color is attributed to the crushed grapes spending 10 to 12 days with skin contact during vilification, aka fermentation. Next, the juice spends four years aging—two of which are in oak barrels made from French and Slavonian oak casks—resulting in a soft and velvety, very fine wine.

Tasting notes:

You’ll notice the complexities of this wine just from the aromas of violet and vanilla that escape from the bottle as soon as you open it. A hint of licorice and cherry tarts sit at the front while touches of baking spice linger in the background. Its tannin profile is unbelievably soft and refined, and it cloaks the mouth like brand new suede throughout the long finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a wine for your friend who goes the extra mile to find the stinkiest and most decadent cheeses for the holiday spread. It’s just the right type of Sangiovese that will cut right through all that richness and give pasteurized dairy (or non-pasteurized if you’re about that life) a spiced-up kick. Banfi will even engrave the name of your beloved on the bottle for a few extra bucks, making this a gift option one that can sit on a holiday table with a sweet personal touch.

Russ flat-out refuses to stop making new music and it’s kind of hard to argue that it’s not endearing. Just weeks after dropping his Chomp EP and rapping alongside legends like Black Thought and Busta Rhymes, the New Jersey-born rapper is back on his solo grind with the soulful “Hard For Me,” crooing his blues over a melancholy piano loop with a nifty guitar noodle in the background. It’s a return to the heartbroken, world-weary persona in the mode of early Drake that made him a fan-favorite capable of racking up platinum plaques independently.

Russ has had himself busy year, releasing not just one but two projects beginning with January’s Shake The Snow Globe. He followed up in May with the deluxe version, adding features from Ty Dolla Sign and Westside Boogie, all while pulling down a reported $100,000 a week from streaming. He also contributed verses to projects from the likes of Trippie Redd, made his television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and worked with Kehlani on “Take You Back.”

But his arguably most impactful move of the year wasn’t even a new music release, it was giving away $20,000 to his Twitter followers to boost their spirits during the rough early months of the pandemic. 2020 may have been trash for most of us but Russ turned that trash into treasure and in this process, may have changed some minds about him as well.

Listen to Russ’s “Hard For Me” above.

Sturgill Simpson meant to drop his latest album, Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions, as a surprise release, but his plans were foiled when word leaked out early. Now, though, he has gotten his surprise album: Today, with no forewarning, he released Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions.

Like Butcher Shoppe before it, Cowboy Arms features re-recorded versions of songs from throughout Simpson’s discography. He described his second Cuttin’ Grass release as bolder than its predecessor, saying in a statement:

“On Volume 2, we recorded everything I was too afraid to do on Volume 1. For that one, everything was more conventional bluegrass, sort of straight down the middle. But as a benefit of the musicians all getting to know each other and feeling more comfortable, we took more chances and felt more like a band. That gave me the confidence to come in with songs that I was a little more worried how they would translate to bluegrass — but weirdly, it just underscored that, in the end, I guess I’m just a bluegrass songwriter.”

Listen to Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions below. He also performed Vol. 1 cut “All The Pretty Colors” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night, so check that out below as well.

Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 2: The Cowboy Arms Sessions is out now via High Top Mountain Records. Get it here.

Singer-songwriter FKA twigs (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett) has accused ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf of an escalating pattern of abusive behavior in a lawsuit (filed with the Los Angeles Superior Court). The pair first met during the 2018 production of LaBeouf’s Honey Boy movie, and a report from the New York Times (which includes an interview with Barnett) details the musician’s allegations against the actor, who has a well-documented history of troubled behavior, including being caught on video stating he “would have killed” former girlfriend Mia Goth while the pair were spotted fighting in Germany in 2015.

At the centerpoint of Barnett’s allegations is a February 2019 incident, for which she reveals that LaBeouf threatened to crash a speeding vehicle after a tumultuous trip to the desert. She alleges that he choked her, raged, and threw her against the vehicle. This followed a nearly year-long relationship, which Barnett alleges was an isolating and abusive one that often left her with visible bruises on her body. She also alleges that LaBeouf knowingly infecting her with a sexually transmitted disease.

Barnett was aided in her lawsuit by Karolyn Pho, another previous ex-girlfriend of LaBeouf’s, who corroborated Barnett’s accounts of possessive behavior and “rules,” including how LaBeouf directed them to speak to male wait staff at restaurants, along with guidelines about enforced physical affection. Pho also stated that LaBeouf once “drunkenly pinned her to a bed and head-butted her, enough that she bled.” In the lawsuit, Barnett accuses LaBeouf of “relentless abuse” (including but not limited to sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress). The musician also detailed how LaBeouf convinced her to move away from her professional circle in London, which further contributed to how she felt trapped and struggled to exit the relationship:

As Ms. Barnett grew more isolated, she said she felt as though her safety nets were unraveling. The gas station incident had happened in public, she said, and no one stepped to her aid; an early attempt she made to tell a colleague was brushed off. “I just thought to myself, no one is ever going to believe me,” she said in an interview. “I’m unconventional. And I’m a person of color who is a female.”

Slowly, with the help of a therapist, she began to strategize her exit. While she was packing to leave in spring 2019, Mr. LaBeouf turned up unannounced and terrorized her, according to a sworn statement from a witness, her housekeeper, in the lawsuit. When Ms. Barnett wouldn’t leave with him, the statement says, he “violently grabbed” her, picked her up and locked her in another room, where he yelled at her.

The New York Times attempted to contact LaBeouf for a statement about the lawsuit, for which his rep did not respond. However, the actor did send a return email that addressed his behavior in very general terms:

“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel. I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say.”

While speaking to the NYT, Barnett explained that she filed the lawsuit to show the public that abusive and isolating relationships “can happen to anybody.” She also explained her desire “to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency” while calling her experience with Shia “the worst thing that I’ve ever been through in the whole of my life.” As of now, news of any future proceedings by the Los Angeles Superior Court has not been detailed to the public.

(Via New York Times)

Dune director Denis Villeneuve fired off a scathing essay Thursday night that blasted Warner Bros. decision to stream its entire 2021 film slate on HBO Max, and two major stars are already backing him. In the op-ed, Villeneuve doesn’t hold back his anger and frustration at the studio for making the decision without even consulting him, and at one point suggests that “Warner Bros. might just have killed the Dune franchise.” Calling the HBO Max move a “hijacking,” Villeneuve echoed Christopher Nolan‘s earlier criticisms that Warner Bros. switched overnight from a studio that champions filmmakers to a lackluster streaming service. The Arrival director laid the blame at AT&T’s feet. Via Variety:

With this decision AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history. There is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here. It is all about the survival of a telecom mammoth, one that is currently bearing an astronomical debt of more than $150 billion. Therefore, even though “Dune” is about cinema and audiences, AT&T is about its own survival on Wall Street.

While Villeneuve doesn’t deny that public safety comes first, he says he readily made the concession to delay Dune up to a year so that it can be viewed safely in theaters where it is meant to be seen. The director also said that “no matter what any Wall Street dilettante says,” the future of films will be the big screen. “That is my strong belief. Not because the movie industry needs it,” Villeneuve wrote, “but because we humans need cinema, as a collective experience.”

Shortly after his op-ed was published, Villeneuve received support from Dune stars Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa who both shared his essay on Instagram with the message “Long live the theater experience!”

(Via Variety)

The American military is central to David Robinson’s identity. It’s why we call him “The Admiral,” a nickname that took root during his time at the Naval Academy and has followed him ever since. It was at the Naval Academy that Robinson blossomed into a force on the basketball court, winning the Naismith College Player of the Year Award, the Wooden Award, and being named a consensus first-team All-American, giving us the first tantalizing hints of his future Hall of Fame career.

But his time at the Academy wasn’t just about basketball. Robinson took his military obligation seriously. When the Spurs drafted him in 1987, they had to wait two years while he fulfilled his active duty requirements. Because of height restrictions, Robinson was prevented from serving at sea, but eventually became a commissioned officer in the Naval Reserve — despite the nickname, Robinson’s rank topped out at lieutenant.

Today, Robinson still keeps close ties with his fellow service members. He’s partnering with the USAA to promote one of college football’s biggest annual rivalries, the Army-Navy game that is set to kick off on Saturday, Dec. 12 at West Point. Though civilians won’t be able to attend because of COVID, the Army-Navy House promotion is giving fans an opportunity to win a trip to next year’s contest and offering an interactive way for fans to join the fun from home.

We caught up with Robinson this week to talk about the game and what it means to be able to help bring sports to the masses amid the turmoil around the country and restore some semblance of normalcy as we wrap up a year that has been anything but.

Obviously, it will be a different atmosphere without having fans in attendance on Saturday, so what’s the key to maintaining that fan engagement from afar?

Yeah, with the limited attendance at the game this year, just the Midshipmen and the Cadets will be able to go, but we know a lot of people want to be connected to the game. It’s such a big event for our nation and always a timely event when everyone needs encouragement. So we have ArmyNavyHouse.com, so people can come in and still feel connected to the game. They can send pictures of themselves celebrating, and someone’s going to win a trip to the next year’s game. So it should be an exciting way for people to be connected and enjoy the celebration together.

You’re talking about an Army-Navy game, so the energy is going to be there. No one wants to lose this game. There’s a lot at stake. The Midshipmen, students at both of the schools are counting on trying to get some extra days off or some kind of liberties or something. So there’s going to be some intensity there one way or the other. But it’s also a great feeling knowing that the whole country pays attention to it and it means something to others. So in that sense, it’s going to be a little disappointing that fans can’t be there, but certainly the intensity is going to be there. I think these guys know how to compete. They want bragging rights and they’re going to go out and play for it.

Your military service has always been a big part of your identity, so what are you personally most excited about for this game?

Well, I think for me just…I wasn’t able to really go to any games when I was there. So these last few years, about four years ago, I was able to go to my first game, and now, I just enjoy the pageantry of it. So to me, now that I know what it feels like to be in the stadium when all of this stuff is happening and the planes are flying over and just all this, it’s an amazing game and an incredible intensity. So I look forward to just seeing that and seeing how the guys are going to respond. You never know what’s going to happen in a game like this.

This is truly the heart of college sports, or what you kind of hope college sports is. There’s two teams. Either one of them can walk away with this win. And they’re going to play hard, and they’re going to play fair, and at the end of the day, they’re going to shake hands and work together to save the world. Yeah, it’s kind of the ultimate of what sports is about to me.

The game is typically held at a neutral site, but because of COVID, this will be the first time since 1943 that it’s going to be held at West Point. Is there a little bit of a home field advantage there?

[Laughs] A little bit. It’s all right. Without the full crowd there, maybe it’s not as intense as it would be, but it is what it is. I love it at the bigger venues. It means so much to the country, I think it’s nice to see them at those bigger venues. But certainly it’s not going to take away anything from this game.

It’s been such a challenging year, in so many ways, as we all try to navigate the pandemic. What does it mean for college sports, in general, to be able to move forward amid all these challenges and still host these major annual competitions that are such a huge part of the tradition?

I think it’s very meaningful. I know just personally, my wife and I were just sitting around when sports was kind of not happening. And we were looking at each other like, my goodness. We didn’t even realize how much it really meant to us day by day, just to have something to watch and something to cheer for. And you’ve always got a lot of things happening, but I think it means a lot to everyone to have some of these rivalries happening, just to show that life is going to get back to normal at some point.

You have three sons who are all athletes and have competed at the college level, so what does that mean to you just in terms of being able to come out and support all these young people, whose futures have really been put on hold and thrown into uncertainty this past year?

I love being able to support these kids because they’re our future. I know what it’s like when we’re there. We all feel like we’re young. We don’t know what we’re doing. But we’ve been trained as leaders. We’ve been trained in probably the best place on the planet to be trained as a leader. And so we know we got a lot of responsibility, and we know that we got to go, hey, if we got to lay down our lives for our country, that’s what we’re going to do. These are the most exciting kids to support.

They’re going to take on tremendous responsibility. They call me The Admiral, but nobody’s life is in my hands. The real admiral’s out there; they’re making decisions that impact people’s futures. And so it’s a big deal for these young guys because they know they’re going to be in that role of leadership soon.

You played in the basketball version of the Army-Navy game. What are some of your fondest memories from that experience?

I think part of it was just no matter how good we were, we never felt safe. We were ranked, I think we were 8th or 10th in the country at the time. And I think we beat them by one point. We went into West Point and you just never know what you’re going to get in a game like this. And I guess that’s part of what’s exciting about it.

To switch gears a little bit, what are you looking forward to most with the Spurs in the coming season?

Just kind of getting back at it. We have a lot of really good, young, talented guys, and it’s hard to keep a culture that you built for so many years. Obviously, our young guys want to maintain it and build upon it. But they really have to build their own culture. They have to figure out what being a part of the Spurs means to them. There’s not a Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker around anymore. So how do you maintain and build upon that and really take it to the next level? This is not their team anymore. This team belongs to these young guys, this young team.

And so, I just want to see our guys embrace it and accept the responsibility and enjoy the challenge of being Spurs. It’s what we’ve been able to do over the last 25 years that has been incredible from a worldwide standpoint, and in a small market, too. And so is it easy? No. No, it’s not. But it’s a great challenge for these guys to step up to it and say, look, we want to keep this excellence going. Can we do it? And my answer is, yeah, I think you can. But that’s not easy.

With Cyberpunk 2077 finally soldered into our membranes, we thought it’d be a fantastic opportunity to make an entire episode dedicated to one of our favorite genres: open-world.

Cybernetic fashion icon, SushiBAE, and card-carrying Maxxinista, me, AJ Lodge, aren’t afraid to prey on your nostalgia during this trip down open-world memory lane. We’re talking about great games in the genre that paved the way to today like SuperMario 64, spinning a yarn about our time wasted spinning webs in Spider-Man 2, and trying not to get in trouble with our stories about Grand Theft Auto driving school.

But it’s not just two millennials reminiscing about the good ol’ days of gaming! We’re deep-diving into the sCiEncE of what makes an open-world game so successful in the modern era and all the things that excite us (and scare us) about where the genre is headed. What makes an open-world game iconic? What can developers do to extend the longevity of an open-world game past its story campaign? What even is open-world anyway?! Big questions and entertaining (we hope) answers. If nothing else, it’ll be a nice break from your efforts to become best friends with pixel Keanu.

So take a break from Night City because UPROXX Recon is here to remind you about the fantastic world of open-world and that when it comes to these games map size doesn’t matter.

Griselda Records’ debut feature film Conflicted, which they announced in June this year, now has an official release date. With theaters shut down due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the title will come to Pay Per View, January 15, 2021. The announcement also features expanded cast information, identifying roles for Benny The Butcher, who leads as Hunter — basically, he’s playing himself — as well as R&B singer J Holiday, veteran actor Michael Rapaport, and Griselda godfather Westside Gunn.

The Buffalo-based label also announced the film’s soundtrack release date, January 8. Naturally, it’ll feature the Griselda core: Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, and Westside Gunn, as well as new signees Armani Caesar and Boldy James. In addition, Dave East, Lloyd Banks, Ransom, and more will appear, with production coming from late Griselda mentor DJ Shay, their in-house beatmaker Daringer, 808 Mafia, and more. The lead track, Benny’s “3:30 In Houston” has already been made available; you can check that out below.

The announcement caps one of the busiest years for the burgeoning indie label — actually, for possibly any indie label anywhere — as each member of the crew dropped multiple projects, from Pray For Paris to The Liz to Burden Of Proof. The sheer volume of releases has established Griselda as one of the most prolific rap groups in a long time, but their consistency has won them an ever-loyal fanbase who will undoubtedly be pressing play when the label’s film Conflicted hits next year.

Check out the trailer for Conflicted above.

The first time Margret Aldrich saw a Little Free Library she didn’t know what to think.

“I think I saw my first one back in 2010, 2011. And I’m a book person, my background is in publishing, so I immediately loved it. But, probably being Midwestern, I was like, ‘Is it really okay to take a book? Is this really free?’”

She’s not alone in that reaction. So much of our lives involves trading money for goods and services it’s disarming to encounter an unattended box — sometimes plainly decorated, sometimes whimsically designed — that simply gives away value items asking only that anyone taking a book also consider leaving a book. (If it’s convenient. No big deal if not. Please enjoy your book.) The idea takes some getting used to. But with 100,000 Little Free Libraries now spread around the globe, it’s starting to seem less shocking — and this year has made it seem more welcome than ever.

Aldrich was immediately drawn to the project. She wrote a book about it published in 2015 and joined the non-profit Little Free Library organization as its director of communications in 2016. By then, an idea that had begun in a garage in Hudson, WI — a small, riverside city not far from Minneapolis — had long since outgrown its humble origins, which can be traced back to a handful of wood from an old door.

A teacher who later shifted into arranging nursing fellowships, Todd Bol built the first Little Free Library in 2009. It was almost an afterthought, an attempt to pay tribute to his late mother, a teacher and avid reader, using materials left over from a home renovation project. Bol built a small box in the shape of a one-room schoolhouse and placed it atop a post. And that might have been the end of it. Except, the idea caught on.

With the help of Rick Brooks, outreach program manager at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Little Free Libraries started to spread. A second Little Free Library placed on a Madison bike trail led to others, and the Little Free Library began issuing charters to keep track of what libraries existed where. Beyond that, they kept the project simple, and easily replicable: a weather-proof box with a hinged door, some books, and a spirit of sharing and goodwill. Positive press inspired more libraries and the project spread beyond the Midwest, quickly surpassing the organization’s goal of outnumbering the 2508 libraries opened by Andrew Carnegie in the early years of the 20th century.

The project has outlived Bol, who died in 2018. It’s also run into some problems here and there, from occasional acts of vandalism, to permit issues to a trademark dispute involving another member of the Bol family. But the fundamental idea has prevailed, thanks to enthusiasts like Grant and Ashlyn, who serve as stewards (the organization’s preferred term) of a Little Free Library in Mid-City Los Angeles.

“As the daughter of a librarian, I’ve been kind of obsessed with Little Free Libraries for a long time,” Ashlyn says. “The idea of having your own place to help give books to others just seemed like the dream. I wondered if our neighborhood had enough foot traffic to justify it, but when the opportunity presented itself, we set it up and I was honestly so pleasantly surprised! We wish we’d done it sooner.”

Setting up a Little Free Library is just the beginning of a steward’s job. “I think it’s important that the Little Free Library is a source of recommended titles, as opposed to a dump pile of unwanted books,” Grant adds. “That can be a challenging ideal to live up to because it means you literally have to get rid of some of your favorite books! But it’s also a great way to pass things forward. We take the ‘curator’ role seriously. Whether it’s our addition or not, if something’s been in there for two weeks, we pull it and replace it with something else.”

Grant and Ashlyn try to maintain a diverse selection of titles, aiming for a mix of “kids books, YA, comics, non-fiction, genre fiction, self-help, memoir, and so on.” Of course, what gets dropped off remains beyond their control. The first book someone donated, From Scrawny to Brawny, got the hook after two weeks of sitting there without a taker and, as Grant notes, “There have been a few more kids’ books about the dogs who served in the Iraq War than we expected.”

The Little Free Library served as a welcome pandemic project for the couple, as it has for British artist and filmmaker Jeanie Finlay, who found herself stuck in her Nottingham home after spending 2017 and 2018 making the acclaimed documentaries Seahorse and Game of Thrones: The Last Watch then much of 2019 touring with her work. She sees her Little Free Library as an extension of the spirit of support and sharing necessitated by the pandemic. “There was a lot of sharing of plants, tools, food, etc.,” Finlay says via email. “People would leave things on their wall so they could be shared in a covid safe way. It got me thinking that it would be good to have a place for sharing books.”

To do so, she started from scratch. “I am a newcomer to carpentry but I thought I’d give it a go — making the library out of reclaimed wood and donated materials,” she writes. “I learned how to make it, designed and printed signage, created bookplates, and set up social media. I decided to launch on my birthday in August, my gift to the community.” That social media element is no small part of the project; Finlay regularly updates her library’s Instagram and Twitter accounts to shine a light on new arrivals and titles of particular interest. The library has also introduced her to some new acquaintances. “I was woken up a few weeks ago by one of the bin men,” she recalls. “His colleague had borrowed a book the week before so he’d brought me a bag full of crime novels to put on the shelves.”

Finlay’s not alone in using a Little Free Library as a way to foster community spirit in the midst of the pandemic. “This year of course is a year like no other,” Aldrich says, “We’ve really seen little free libraries both being established faster. And we’re hearing from [our stewards] their libraries are getting visited more than ever. More books are coming and going out of their Little Free Libraries.” The organization has found other ways to respond to the events of 2020 as well. Little Free Library’s Read In Color encourages the reading of diverse books by asking stewards to share books by Black, indigenous, people of color, and LGBTQ writers and by supplying some free books that fit that description free of charge.

Whether growth will continue at this pace post-pandemic remains to be seen. But then unpredictability is hardwired into the project itself. It’s flourished thanks to both stewards and visitors seeing the value in sharing books with no strings attached. And from there it’s taken on different permutations depending on each neighborhood and the stewards in charge. “Our goal with the little free library is to make sure that people who walk by always see something new,” Ashlyn says. (They’ve gotten good feedback, including a note reading, “Most Little Free Libraries have a garbage selection but this one is great!”) But the libraries also have a way of taking on a life of their own.

“One night, I noticed a strange light near the library at 11:30 p.m. one night and realized it was two very drunk women, with a torch, giggling and browsing the titles,” Finlay recalls. But she also feels like that’s as it should be. “It’s similar to when a film I’ve made is released: it’s not mine anymore. The library is now owned by the community. I am just a librarian.”