(WARNING: Spoilers for Netflix’s Extraction will be found below.)

Thanks to our ongoing self-isolating conditions, Netflix may have another hit on its hands with the Chris Hemsworth actioner Extraction. The high-octane film is also receiving a nice bump thanks to its Marvel connections that go beyond featuring Thor getting his John Wick on. Not only is Extraction directed by Marvel stuntman Sam Hargrave, but it’s from an original story by Joe Russo, who directed the epic, billion-dollar blockbuster Avengers: Endgame with his brother, Anthony. (The Russo Brothers are also producers on Extraction.)

With Extraction out in the wild, fans are already speculating about what the film’s ending means, and in a new interview with Collider, Hargrave provides a somewhat definitive answer and also reveals that a different ending was shot, but it left test audiences split down the middle.

In the film’s climactic battle, Hemsworth’s character Tyler Rake seemingly dies after completing his mission and getting Rudraksh Jaiswal’s Ovi to safety. But in the final moments of the film, Ovi emerges from a swimming pool to see a dark silhouette standing there waiting for him before the credits roll, which raises the question, is Tyler Rake alive? According to Hargrave, the answer is… maybe? “What would hopefully happen is people will be discussing that afterwards, and you get to say which one you feel is right for you,” he tells Collider.

If that seems frustratingly ambiguous, Hargrave explained the process behind the decision. Turns out, they originally shot an ending where Rake is unquestioningly dead. No questions asked. The problem is test audiences were divided on the outcome:

People were torn; it was almost down the middle. We want to appeal to as many people as possible without compromising the integrity of the story. And so, we think a pretty good compromise is to make an ambiguous ending. If people on one hand feel like the story is complete and is a story of redemption through sacrifice, then for them, it’ll be where the kid is imagining [Rake standing there], and then now you go, ‘Yes, I’m satisfied.’ If you feel like you love Tyler Rake, and you love Chris Hemsworth, and you want a sequel, and you’re like ‘There’s no way, you can’t kill him!’ then that’s Tyler Rake standing there looking at you. So we kind of purposefully did not pull focus to the character standing there.

Personally, Hargrave preferred the ending where Rake died and made the ultimate sacrifice to save Ovi. But there were also factions on the filmmaking side who wanted Rake to live, so he’s satisfied that the ending appealed to both camps. “We’ll give you the best of both worlds.” Hargrave said to Collider. “We’re gonna have this ambiguous ending where you can choose your own adventure.”

(Via Collider)

Billie Eilish’s music has clearly impacted millions of fans around the world, based on her millions of streams and her ever-growing trophy collection. Her fellow artists have been moved by Eilish’s music as well, including Selena Gomez, who says one of Eilish’s songs actually brought her to tears.

Gomez spoke with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about the “At Home” playlist she curated for the streaming service, and she discussed some of the tracks on her list, saying of Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted,” “I just sobbed because I’ve been doing this for so long and it’s like, damn, that’s so true. There’s so many moments where I was just like, ‘Oh, it doesn’t matter who you are.’ There’s moments in my life that’s like, ‘Is this it?’ She deserved every single thing that she got and has. She’s an amazing, amazing artist.”

She also spoke about the playlist more broadly, saying, “There’s so much storytelling in each of these songs. I sat back and I was like, ‘That’s so interesting,’ because I have these pivotal songs that leave me in this trance and inspire me to then listen to other type of music. It’s about lyrics, strong lyrics, a lot of love and pain and then there’s just some party songs that just make me feel like I’m a kid again.”

Watch the full interview here.

Kevin Parker was supposed to be touring arenas around the globe following the release of Tame Impala’s highly-anticipated fourth studio record. Instead, the singer is at home along with the rest of the world. While Parker pushed his touring dates back until December, the musician is still offering fans a taste of his live music, albeit with far less psychedelic light installations. To benefit relief funds, Parker performed acoustic renditions of his music for the Music From The Home Front livestream.

Parked joined 50 other Australian and New Zealand musicians like Tones And I and Courtney Barnett for the Music From The Home Front performance. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a vocal delay, Parker performed a stripped-down version of his The Slow Rush song “On Track.”

Sitting on his home couch, Parker delivers the song’s lyrics. Though the musician penned the verses quite some time ago, they hold a striking relevance to what the world is currently facing. “But strictly speaking, I’m still on track / And all of my dreams are still intact / ‘Cause strictly speaking, I’ve got my whole life,” Parker sings.

Watch Parker perform a stripped-down version of “On Track” above.

The Slow Rush is out now via Modular. Get it here.

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

And here’s everything you need to know.

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Previously on Jesus Christ, Superstars: Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler made his WWE debut on commentary, Doink the Clown did an extended Harlem Globetrotters bit, and we said goodbye to Nailz, the ex-convict who just didn’t know how to integrate back into society.

If you’d like to watch this week’s episode, you can do that here, and you can support the column (so we’re allowed to keep writing it) by reading previous installments on our Jesus Christ, Superstars tag page.

If you like these, and our break from the normal Best and Worst format, make sure to share it around so it gets read and drop us a comment below.

Here’s what you missed 28 years ago on WWF Superstars for December 19, 1992.

Jobbers Of The Week

Meet my beautiful, twisted Dark Destiny. He’s a terrifying masked murderer tasked with getting his head crushed by Smush. Sorry, getting his head smushed by Crush.

In case you’re wondering, that’s Duane Gill under the mask. How do I know? Well, I was first tipped off when I noticed he’s wearing Gill’s gear with a long-sleeve black t-shirt under it, and when he forgot he was playing a mysterious masked man and did Duane Gill’s introduction pose.

I love jobber names like this, by the way. DARK DESTINY. THUNDERFOOT. THE EXECUTIONERS. The next time a 140 pound guy with a name like “TYLER STEVENS” shows up on Raw in bicycle shorts and kickpads to lose to Aleister Black or whoever, imagine how much cooler they’d be if they had a mask and cape, and were billed as the STAR BEAST.

No, this isn’t Barry Windham if he hadn’t made any money, it’s Richard Myers, seen here roughly 90 seconds before Yokozuna uses him as a bean bag chair. Yoko takes Dick to Suplex City while Vince McMahon incredulously shouts about the Royal Rumble and how impossible it would be to eliminate a 500-pounder who carries roughly 450 pounds of it in the ass. My words, not his, but he’s got a point.

RIP Rich Myers. Cause of death: too much booty in the pants. Heaven needed someone to bother them at a record store to explain why ‘Tales From Topographic Oceans’ is actually the best YES album.

Who has two things and remembered to look at the hard cam this time? THIS guy! He loses to Kamala the Ugandan Giant after getting hit with a Tamina Snuka superkick.

Lavern McGill (now without the “e” at the end of his name) is back, now teaming with Chris “Shirley” Hawn in a team I’m calling “MC Chris.” This is fitting, because they get their Christmas fucked up by Money Inc. The narrative of the match is that Jimmy Hart is bad at keeping his teams together and hasn’t signed up IRS for the Rumble yet, peppered with footage of one of Hart’s former teams, the Nasty Boys, talking about how they’re going to John the Baptist him for the holidays. Decollation is the reason for the season! Gilldy Hawn manage to escape with their heads intact, but just barely.

Infinity Mirror Of The Week

Here’s Damien Demento after his match with Reverse Richard Myers, posing in front of the video screen to show you that he’s [hits self in head with mallet, begins making cuckoo noises]. Demento is now hearing voices in his head. They talk to him, they understand. They talk to him. THEY TALK TO HIM. They tell him things that he will do (wear a Venus flytrap as shoulder pads), they tell him things he’ll do to you. A knee drop. A normal knee drop, as a finisher.

The only other characters I can think of who “hear voices” are Randy Orton, who’s all slow stomps and even slower chinlocks, and The Ultimate Warrior, who made Steve McMichael look like Dean Malenko. Maybe WWE’s version of God hates wrestling? It would explain why he no-showed that tag match at Backlash 2006.

Have A Nice Trip Of The Week

After the Big Boss Man defeats Dark Destiny’s friend “Light Competition,” Doink The Clown eschews his normal routine of low quality magic tricks and Curly Neal homage to hilariously interrupt a cop’s post-brutality jog.

Welcome to the resistance, Doink.

Holiday Wishes Of The Week

Here’s former beloved American institution Integrated Conditioning Program wishes everyone a “happy, healthy, holiday season” instead of wishing them a Merry Christmas, because of Vince McMahon’s liberal agenda. If you can’t trust the bonemeal and drywall dust the World Bodybuilding Federation tried to sell to children between Tatanka matches, what CAN you trust??

In all seriousness, this is the final episode of Superstars before Christmas, which means the graphics all have wreaths around them, and two incestuous, sheep-fucking cousins are promising to break into your home in the middle of the night and lick your children.

Please enjoy the Bushwhackers singing Christmas carols with Shane McMahon’s real father:

You better not shout
you better not pick your bloody nose
oh and you better make sure you eat all your bloody sardines
and if you’re very very good
oh you’ll get a bloody
big
licking

I want to go back and try to submit that as a poem to my college literary journal.

Finally, the New Generation gets together in GLOW formation to wish me and mine a merry Christmas. Damn, Tatanka, you couldn’t have put on some clothes for this?

Next Week Of The Week

What did you get for Christmas? I got WWF SLAM, featuring the hit song ‘WWF SLAM,’ from Arista Records®. We’ll listen to it next week!

A focal point of Sunday night’s episodes of The Last Dance was the rivalry between the Pistons and the Bulls. Michael Jordan said he still hates the Bad Boys Pistons to this day, and the player that draws the most of his ire is Isiah Thomas.

There is still some very clear, deep-seeded anger Jordan feels towards Thomas and the Pistons for walking off the floor without so much as acknowledging the Bulls in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals. Thomas explained the decision and why they’d do it differently now in the documentary, but Jordan wasn’t buying it and insisted there was nothing you could show him to convince him Isiah “wasn’t an asshole.”

For Thomas, the ramifications of that decision lingered beyond just the end of the Bad Boys run, but to him not getting an invite onto the Dream Team — something he seems to have just figured out, even though it’s been the general assumption of most for decades.

Thomas made the rounds on ESPN on Monday, speaking with First Take and Get Up!, and on the latter, he discussed what he learned from last night’s episodes — and also couldn’t help but jab at the Bulls for finally doing what they were supposed to and realizing they needed to lift weights and get tougher.

Now, Thomas is not exactly an objective party to all of this, but he’s right in this situation that it’s pretty wild that Jordan and the Bulls didn’t really commit to weight training until they’d lost twice to the Pistons and realized they needed more physical and mental toughness. That’s a part of the game that’s taken for granted as the expectation now that wasn’t necessarily as big a part of the game in the 1980s, but it’s still incredible that they hadn’t taken getting strong that seriously until then.

Newly-minted Philadelphia power-pop group 2nd Grade introduced themselves with the singles “Velodrome” and “My Bike.” Composed of members from Friendship, Remember Sports, and Free Cake For Every Creature, the group aims to make breezy pop-adjacent tunes. Further previewing the upcoming record Hit To Hit, 2nd Grade releases the carefree track “Dennis Hopper In Easy Rider.”

It’s not too hard to pick up on what exactly inspired the sound of “Dennis Hopper In Easy Rider.” A catchy guitar riff provides an open space for lead singer Peter Gill’s lighthearted musings where he recites his ABC’s and lists off the cast members in the 1969 cult classic film.

In a statement, Gill said the band has no ulterior motive with their debut record other than to make fun pop songs. “That’s one way I can see this whole thing now,” Gill said. “I wanted to write a bunch of really catchy songs and at the end of the day that would have been enough for me, just to put out an album with a bunch of great pop songs that doesn’t have to have some sort of deeper meaning.”

Listen to “Dennis Hopper In Easy Rider” above.

Hit To Hit is out 5/29 via Double Double Whammy. Pre-order it here.

With everyone stuck inside under stay-at-home orders of varying severity around the country, video games have become a common escape for many looking to pass the hours and maybe forget about, well, everything happening in the real world.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Doom: Eternal both had release dates right as people were beginning to go a bit stir crazy, and as such it boosted their profile even more. The pandemic has also created problems for games that were nearing their completion, as developers and teams were separated and forced to work from home, pushing back some key release dates. The biggest of those was The Last of Us Part II, which was officially pushed back for a second time on April 2, with no firm date announced at that time.

On Monday, fans that were anticipating the game’s release were given a new date to patiently wait for, as PlayStation announced the game will hit the market on June 19, in a statement from Hermen Hulst, Head of Worldwide Studios.

As we begin to see an ease in the global distribution environment, I am pleased to confirm that The Last of Us Part II will arrive on June 19. And Ghost of Tsushima will follow on July 17.

I want to personally congratulate and thank both the teams at Naughty Dog and Sucker Punch Productions on their achievements, as we know it’s not an easy feat to reach the finish line under these circumstances. Both teams have worked hard to deliver world-class experiences, and we can’t wait to see what you think of them when they release in just a few short months.

It’s some good news for TLOU fans that have seen the highly anticipated release pushed back twice, but now they’ll (hopefully) only have another month and a half to wait before they get their hands on the game and can dive in.

It’s easy to forget, but we’re right in the midst of spring. The weather is warming up all around the country, flowers are blooming, the sky is beautiful, gas is cheap, and… we’re all still inside. Roughly a month and a half into the COVID-19 shutdown, the evidence is mounting that the curve has been flattened — but we’re not out of the woods yet. Sure, things are beginning to feel a little less scary and people are becoming braver about walking through a market and not totally freaking out, but even as parts of the country begins to open up, many of us are still going to be living in this lockdown life for a while longer.

And we’re getting increasingly stir crazy. Often to our collective detriment. It’s important we not jump the gun, but once it’s deemed safe, rest assured we’ll be out there in the world again the second we can manage — eating at restaurants, hanging out at beaches and parks, and, if we’re really lucky, seeing the world beyond our borders.

With visions of future travel dancing in our heads, we linked up with travel photographer Eduardo Gato, who spent much of 2019 and early 2020 capturing photos of life on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao. Gato provided us with enough photos to offer a visual tour of the island and advice for how to ensure our (eventual) trips there look just as beautiful as his did. Follow along below and imagine what it would be like to chill on the beach of Cas Abao, to stroll the art-filled streets of Punda, and to get out into the crystalline sea. Instead of, you know, listening to podcasts with no pants on like you’re probably doing right now.

Gato: Curaçao measures 172 square-miles but boasts more than 35 cove-like beaches. Cas Abao Beach, one of Caraçao’s widest, softest, and most famed shorelines, is dotted with palaces and edged by rocky limestone cliffs and graduated levels of cacti.

Gato: Chef Helmi Smolders is a modern expert in Caribbean culinary cuisine. She shares her passion for the kitchen by creating unique culinary experiences like six-course chefs table dinners prepared with locally sourced ingredients.

Gato: Curaçao’s vibrant colorful culture is captured everywhere on the island; even on buses. Dushi Yu means sweet son/daughter.

Gato: This iconic waterfront strip of colorful buildings in Punda is one of the most photographed places in Curaçao and speaks to the Dutch heritage of the island. From sunrise to sunset, the beautiful pastels serve as the perfect backdrop. At night, the illuminated storefronts and rainbow of colors beaming from the floating Queen Emma Bridge create another stunning view.

Gato: The trendy Pietermaii district has blossomed over the last five years with boutique hotels, trendy cafés, and an eclectic lineup of bars and restaurants popping up onto the scene. Mundo Bizarro, an iconic Cuban restaurant in the area, transcends decades, taking diners back to old-time Havana.

Gato: Curaçao’s 83-degree year-round temperatures create the perfect environment for sunbathing iguanas seen all around the island. The cold-blooded reptiles are also said to be a delicacy…. and an aphrodisiac.

Gato: Explore all four of Willemstad’s districts, including this one of Scharloo, on a tuk tuk. It’s the fastest way to see the sights including the historic Governor’s Mansion and Wilhelmina Plaza.

Gato: Float along the turquoise waters, breathe in the salty air, and get a natural dose of Vitamin D with Curaçao’s resident yogi, Liberty Suares of Dushi SUP. She leads an ongoing series of SUP yoga classes on the east side of the island at Fort Bekenburg in Caracasbaai.

Gato: Liberty Suares is an island native and owner of the island’s first floating yoga studio Dushi SUP, utilizing Curaçao’s natural beauty as the backdrop to an unforgettable centering experience on the sea for locals and tourists alike.

Gato: Pull up a barstool and sink your toes into the sand at Mambo Beach. This central hangout spot, just five minutes from downtown Willemstad, is the capital of daytime and nighttime entertainment, best know for its lively bars, shopping, and restaurants.

Gato: Caña Bar and Kitchen is Curaçao’s first gastropub that serves up Latin-Caribbean small plates like tacos and local fish ceviches. Featuring a cocktail menu heavy on Pisco, rum, and tequila, it also provides suggestions on which complement each dish, and the option to craft your own highball with one of the bar’s homemade sodas.

Gato: One of the many murals in Otrobanda created by street artist Sander Van Beusekom of Blend Curaçao. ‘Bida ta un bunita lucha’ translates to ‘life is a beautiful struggle’ in the island’s local language, Papiamentu.

Gato: This piece by Venezuelan artist Jhomar Loaiza showcases the traditional head wraps worn by women in Curaçao. The style was said to signify modest and also protect their hair against the sun.

Gato: On the southeast side of the island lies Jan Thiel Beach where trendy beach clubs, boutique shops and international restaurants beg you to spend a day and night. On Wednesdays, locals descend on this popular spot for acoustic, “Unplugged” musical performances by local artists.

Gato: The Blue Room is a natural wonder where the water and its reflection within the cave are an impossible blue. Bring your sense of adventure, snorkel gear, and an underwater camera.

Gato: The Blue Room tops many snorkelers must-do lists as this mostly underwater cave is known for its beautiful, deep blue hue and school of fish that hover inside it. Best on days where the sun is bright outside creating an even stronger reflection.

Gato: At night, truk di pans (food trucks) open after 9 p.m., providing night owls with late-night eats after conquering Curaçao’s bustling nightlife scene. This one, in particular, is known for grilling and makes the popular Kapsalon, meat, fries, and cheese. What’s not to love about that?

In February, the Los Angeles Lakers were among three teams in the NBA valued at over $4 billion on the Forbes franchise valuation list, ranking second, only behind the Knicks, at $4.4 billion. While franchise valuation isn’t necessarily representative of the cash flow ownership has at any given time, the Lakers are always near the top of the most profitable franchises in the league and few would think of them as a business getting hit the hardest by the current pandemic.

There is no doubt that sports franchises are feeling the effects and hurting like so many others, but when the federal government launched the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, no one would have thought of the Los Angeles Lakers as an organization worthy of a cut. As it turns out, the Lakers did indeed apply and were granted $4.6 million by the PPP, but have since given the funds back after the coffers went dry amid various reports that large corporations and companies had received loans while many actual small businesses around the country struggled to get through the process, as they told ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz in a statement.

“The Lakers qualified for and received a loan under the Payroll Protection Program,” the Lakers said in a statement to ESPN. “Once we found out the funds from the program had been depleted, we repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need. The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and our community.”

The Lakers qualified as they are a business with 300 or so employees, but they certainly don’t operate or bring in revenue like what you would think of when you think of a small business. It’s not surprising that the Lakers and others looked into PPP funding and applied, and truthfully, it’s an indictment of the federal government’s planning and processing of the fund that they were given a loan while others were denied — and that there wasn’t enough set aside to help more businesses in need. Still, it’s the right move to give the money back, as many other larger businesses have, even if it shouldn’t have had to be their decision in the first place. The Lakers are surely being impacted tremendously by the current situation, but there are thousands upon thousands of businesses around the country that find themselves in far worse situations.