After Knives Out fans enjoyed sequel-teasing, hopes were high for Chris Evans (and that sweater) to somehow make a return. Rian Johnson has since revealed that the followup will not, in fact, revolve around Ransom Drysdale, but instead, around Daniel Craig‘s Benoit Blanc and a mostly-new surrounding cast. Yet there’s simply no telling when Johnson will be able to lift-off on a sequel, since Hollywood productions have ground to a halt for the forseeable future due to you-know-what happening in this world.

If you are really needing a quick fix, though, and you also love trashy, soap-operatic takes, then Netflix might have an alternative for you very soon. Dangerous Lies doesn’t have sweater porn, but it does have Jessie T. Usher wearing tight Henley shirts. The theme looks awfully familiar, too, with Camila Mendes (Riverdale) being sucked into an intricate web of lies after “inheriting” an estate. From the synopsis:

Katie Franklin (Camila Mendes) takes a job as a caretaker to a wealthy elderly man in his sprawling, empty Chicago estate. The two grow close, but when he unexpectedly passes away and names Katie as his sole heir, she and her husband Adam (Jessie T. Usher) are pulled into a complex web of lies, deception, and murder. If she’s going to survive, Katie will have to question everyone’s motives — even the people she loves.

Admittedly, this doesn’t look like high-quality cinematic fare, but I don’t think that was the goal here, either. Some good news? Sasha Alexander also appears in this movie. I hope she’s the killer. The film also includes Jamie Chung, Cam Gigandet, and Elliott Gould. Look for this imitation Knives Out movie to arrive on April 30.

Disney‘s two biggest acquired properties are at a crossroads. Following the tepid (and billion-dollar grossing) reaction to The Rise of Skywalker, the Star Wars sequel trilogy is over, as is the decades-long Skywalker Saga as a whole, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe will release two new franchises next year (The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) for the first time since 2011. Underdog stories, these are not, but it will be interesting to see what comes next. Patton Oswalt has some ideas.

In an interview with the Observer celebrating the seven-year anniversary of his nerd favorite filibuster on Parks and Recreation, Oswalt was asked what he would like to see going forward from Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“I would like to see both of them do what they’ve done when they were at their best,” he replied. “After [Star Wars], George Lucas handed it over to different writers and directors to keep expanding on the world. Marvel, the best movies in their series were the ones where they went with the not-first choice directors. First out of the gate with Jon Favreau directing Iron Man made it such a unique film. He has a unique vision as a director. And then they kept doing that — picking people like Taika Waititi and Scott Derrickson. Keep doing that, keep taking chances on more idiosyncratic, visionary directors.”

Beyond the names Oswalt listed, there’s also Ryan Coogler and James Gunn for Marvel and Rian Johnson for Star Wars, as Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy and The Last Jedi are highlights for both franchises. Marvel is off to a good start in finding the next Taika, so to speak (an indie director making a four-quadrant blockbuster), with Cate Shortland (Black Widow), Chloé Zhao (The Eternals), and Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi) helming the next three installments. Hopefully Star Wars is paying attention.

Here’s Oswalt’s classic Parks and Rec filibuster.

(Via the Observer)

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With nearly every concert and festival becoming postponed or canceled amid the coronavirus, the live music industry has come to a screeching halt and left ticketholders with boundless disappointment… and less money. Some festivals and artists, like SXSW, are offering a full ticket exchange for an upcoming iteration of the event. But others don’t have a clear policy. Unfortunately, it looks as though some may never receive the money they purchased a ticket for before the onset of the pandemic. Ticketmaster has quietly changed its refund policy at the expense of buyers who are experiencing an event change due to the coronavirus.

Without warning, Ticketmaster updated the policy section of their website. As pointed out by the New York Times, the ticketing company had previously indicated that “refunds are available if your event is postponed, rescheduled or canceled, with the only exception reserved for MLB games and US Open events.” However, amid cancelations and postponements due to the pandemic, Ticketmaster changed their policy’s language. Now, refunds are no longer available for events that have been postponed, only canceled.

Ticketmaster addressed the policy change in a statement after facing backlash, saying they are taking the “evolving situation” of the pandemic into account: “In the past, with a routine volume of event interruptions, we and our event organizers have been able to consistently offer more flexibility with refunds for postponed and rescheduled events. However, considering the currently unprecedented volume of affected events, we are focused on supporting organizers as they work to determine venue availability, new dates and refund policies, while rescheduling thousands of events in what continues to be an evolving situation.”

Ticketholders and live music fans were outraged by the policy modification and took to Twitter to share their displeasure.

This wouldn’t be the first time Ticketmaster has found themselves in hot water. In 2018, a private investigation found Ticketmaster does nothing to stop the practice of ticket scalping. The investigation caused the ticketing giant to face several class-action lawsuits. Furthermore, at the end of last year, the Justice Department announced it would begin taking legal action against Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, over its practice of strong-arming venues into using their services.

DaBaby revealed the release date of his next project on Instagram with a post also revealing the title and cover artwork. It’s called Blame It On Baby and it’s dropping this Friday, April 17. The cover jabs lightly at the unusual context for the project’s release, with an image of DaBaby wearing a protective mask and looking away from the camera, his head covered by a camouflage print durag (a nod to our collective inability to get to the barber — a lot of us are wearing our durags a lot more lately).

DaBaby has been teasing the new project since early this year, when he recapped his wild 2019 with the documentary-style music video for “Shut Up.” Although his promotional run was nearly derailed by yet another “fighting in the club” controversy in which he struck a woman who got too close seeking a photo, he quickly got back to business in the wake of his subsequent apology.

He previewed his first single “My Way” showing off a new flow on Instagram before releasing the cinematic video for the song while helping Lil Yachty promote his own comeback project with the flippant video for “Oprah’s Bank Account.” Now, it appears the fast-churning precedent he set by releasing two full-length projects in 2019 continues with his new project.

Blame It On Baby is due 4/17 on Interscope.

This week in pop music, artists continued to bring cheer to ease quarantine blues with upbeat anthems. Selena Gomez debuted three new tracks from her deluxe album, Charli XCX began working on an at-home album, and Alesso teamed up with Liam Payne for a buoyant number.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new releases. Listen up.

Selena Gomez — “Boyfriend”

Selena Gomez debuted three new tracks from a deluxe version of her album Rare this week. With the deluxe edition came her anticipated track “Boyfriend.” A deep bass provides the backbeat for Gomez’s auto-tuned vocals. While the singer is comfortable being single, she sings about missing having another in her life.

Charli XCX — “Forever”

Last week, Charli XCX announced she would be making an album from home entirely from scratch with the input of her fans. After asking her followers for feedback on an instrumental track, Charli released “Forever” as an anthem for navigating a relationship in quarantine. The revved-up track features an eclectic mix of noisy instrumentals smoothed over by Charli’s heartfelt lyrics.

Alesso — “Midnight” Feat. Liam Payne

Grammy-nominated producer Alesso teamed up with ex-One Direction member Liam Payne for the transcendent single “Midnight.” A vivacious melody is uplifted by Payne’s earnest musings. “During these difficult times Liam and I hope this song can bring some light,” Alesso said in a statement about the track.

Omar Apollo — “Imagine U”

Burgeoning Indiana songwriter Omar Apollo returns after a prolific 2019 with “Imagine U,” his first new track of the year. In a statement, Apollo described how the song came to be: “I’m all about the feeling when it comes to music. The lyrics and melody came to me so naturally and I feel like free thinking is what’s missing in a lot of music nowadays… I was listening to a lot of daft punk at the time so I was really inspired by those themes.”

Mxmtoon — “Lessons”

After sharing a handful of singles the last few months, Mxmtoon has announced her forthcoming EP Dawn with her latest track “Lessons.” Mxmtoon described how the song is a reminder to be kind to oneself in a statement: “Life is full of teachable moments, and allowing yourself the space to make mistakes and to become better from those is vital. ‘Lessons’ serves as a reminder to be kind to yourself, to trust your instincts, and live life with purpose.”

Alec Benjamin — “Six Feet Apart”

Singer/songwriter Alec Benjamin has had a prolific quarantine. The singer wrote and released “Six Feet Apart” as an anthem for social-distancing. The emotionally-charged track reminisces on loved ones. “They say distance is relative and relative to relatives I have / I’d say I’m relatively close to breaking down / Because right now I feel so alone,” Benjamin croons.

Alina Baraz — “Endlessly”

Though she’s been making a name for herself through a handful of EPs and singles, Alina Baraz is gearing up for the release of her debut album. It Was Divine arrives in early May and Baraz has been teasing its release through singles. “Endlessly” is her latest, slow-burning number with Baraz’s velvety cadence dripping over a washed-out beat.

Shy Martin — “Can I Call You Back?”

Swedish pop artist Shy Martin returns with the honest track “Can I Call You Back?” Delving into her mental health history through a poetic stream of consciousness, Martin examines her struggles on the sincere track. “I remember first experiencing anxiety when I was turning 13,” she said in a statement. “At the time I didn’t know what that feeling was, only that it made me very sad, and extremely lonely. Last year I decided to finally share my struggles with anxiety with the people who listen to my music.”

Dove Cameron — “Remember Me” Feat. BIA

Following two singles that marked her new era, Disney star Dove Cameron has returned with “Remember Me.” A collaboration with rapper BIA, the single touts a deep bassline under Cameron’s high-reaching vocals. Speaking about the track, Cameron expressed her excitement about the collaboration: “I also couldn’t be happier to be working with an artist like BIA, I’m such a fan and the tone and energy she brought to the track is magic.”

Almondmilkhunni — “Bandana”

The first release off her self-titled debut EP, “Bandana” melts Almondmilkhunni’s dreamy vocals over a sample of Usher’s 2001 hit “U Remind Me.” In a statement to Billboard, the singer offered insight into the song’s meaning. “I had just been told about a girl my ex started dating like around the same time we were talking. [I wanted to] address the fact that this guy clearly has a type, because his new girl looks so much like me,” she said.

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

Radiohead’s latest album was 2016’s A Moon Shaped Pool, and there’s no real word on when the group’s next output will come. A recent Ed O’Brien interview suggests that it might be a significant wait for a new Radiohead album, though.

Speaking with NME, O’Brien said Radiohead’s members are prioritizing solo projects at the moment:

“We’re an ongoing band and have online meetings — there was a Zoom call recently. We’re talking about stuff, but for the foreseeable future everyone is doing their own thing. When it feels right to plug back into Radiohead, then we will. […] We’ve had different chapters in Radiohead life. Up until the end of OK Computer was one chapter; Kid A through to A Moon Shaped Pool was another chapter. We’ve sort of drawn a line now and are wondering what the next chapter will be. That’s what we’ll figure out next.”

O’Brien did reveal, however, that the band has discussed the upcoming 20th anniversaries of Kid A and Amnesiac, saying, “Due to the nature of it, I can’t fully reveal anything — but there have been talks about ways of doing something. Everything gets thrown up in the air with coronavirus, so a lot of ideas are being mooted. It would be nice to honor it, but then there’s the struggle — how can you get that excited about an album that came out 20 years ago? I can’t. I’m thankful it was a moment and know that it means a lot to people, but it was a long time ago.”

Read the full interview here, and read our recent interview with O’Brien here.

It seems there’s one person who just can’t be bored in self-quarantine: 50 Cent. As long as he has someone to troll on social media, he’ll be fine — and fortunately for him, one of his longtime favorite targets just made himself incredibly convenient. When Ja Rule said he’d be open to a Verzuz battle between himself and 50, he sparked a debate on social media about which of the two could conceivably topple the other if they could keep it clean enough to just play their hits and “behave” as Ja put it. But 50 swiftly put an end to the chatter in his usual way — with a pointed set of Instagram posts letting his feelings be known.

In the first, the Power producer posted a reaction .gif of himself. You know the one: 50 pulls his convertible up alongside Turtle’s car in Entourage, makes a snarky comment, and drives off laughing. In this case, 50 captioned the .gif, “Who want to battle?” and sniped at Ja with, “Here’s a moment of silence for the still sick and suffering.” Just for good measure, he threw in a few plugs for his ABC show For Life, for Power, and his liquor line, Branson Cognac, and gibed, “Need attention, call 50,” although he did misuse the hashtags — he is 44, after all.

In the next one, he outright blew up Ja’s spot, posting a pic of his Queens rival’s face photo shopped onto a homeless person holding a sign. The sign itself was also altered to read, “I will battle 50 Cent for attention,” and the photo is captioned simply: “Stupid” with a reference to Fyre Festival, Ja’s failed endeavor that became the subject of two different documentaries. Ouch.

It appears there’s a couple of things for sure: One, there is still no love lost between the two antagonists, and two, that battle is probably never going to happen.

There’s only one Matthew McConaughey, but within Matthew McConaughey lies many personalities. There’s rom-com McConaughey, poetic-sounding nonsense McConaughey, McConaissance McConaughey (you can tell it’s him when he’s thumping his chest or singing about the ladies of Tampa), and naked McConaughey, of course. On Monday, we were introduced to a new McConaughey: “Bobby Bandito” McConaughey.

The Oscar winner adopted a cowboy persona to teach people how to build masks, which are now mandatory in public places in many cities in his native Texas. “You can call me Bobby B,” he says in the video above, adding that “it’s high time to catch this killer [coronavirus], ’cause we got more livin’ to do.” Is there a “WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE” poster for the coronavirus? You better believe it. McConaughey explained (kind of) where the idea for Bobby Bandito came from on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

“He’s gotta be a bandit to beat a bandit. He’s gotta be a little shady to beat this shady guy,” he said. “I was out hiking on our property and came across this guy nailin’ a Most Wanted sign into my tree. I said, ‘What are you doin’ on my property?’ He turned around and said, ‘I’m Bobby B. You never see me coming.’” McConaughey, who also recently hosted a virtual bingo game for senior citizens, then made a bandana mask with Colbert.

Finally, The Dark Tower sequel we were promised.

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