Category: Worldwide

With all of the hundreds of Star Wars shows and movies being released lately, it’s a little hard to keep up with the galaxy far far away. There are about seven thousand storylines currently being told (more like two or three but the point still stands) and it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle! Disney wants to help with that by encouraging fans to stand up at the Thanksgiving dinner table just moments after that last slice of pecan pie and insist that the entire family watch Andor, the latest show in the Star Wars universe. There is absolutely no reason for them to say no, either.

Disney is making it easy this year by airing the first two episodes of Andor on ABC, FX, Freeform, and Hulu over the Thanksgiving holiday. It will be just in time for your entire family to get into a civil and incredibly well-researched debate proving that Obi-Wan Kenobi was actually good and deserves another season.

The episodes will be available in a beautiful, waterfall-like succession: airing from 9-10:30 pm on ABC, Wednesday, November 23; Thursday, November 24 on FX and Friday, November 25th, on Freeform, which also coincides with the season finale on Disney+. The series, which stars Diego Luna, acts as a prequel to Rogue One.

The episodes will also be available on Hulu from November 23 through December 7 for the people who don’t want to commit to Disney+ but have Hulu already loaded into the Roku that they got their grandma for the holidays last year but she still doesn’t use. ‘Tis the season!

(Via Deadline)

Smashing a guitar on stage is about the most rock and roll thing a musician can do. And nobody did it quite as vigorously (and often) as Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. In fact, Cobain’s on-stage antics are so revered that what looks to be the oldest err…surviving, smashed guitar by the late guitarist just sold for almost $500K in an auction.

The smashed and autographed 1973 Fender Mustang was used by Cobain on Nirvana’s first-ever tour in 1989. It was one of the more than 1500 items available as part of Julien’s Auctions “Icons and Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll” lot that was up for sale. It was estimated at $200,000 but sold for $486,400. Who says you can’t put a price on rock and roll history?

Other items in the auction included a pair of shades that Michael Jackson wore on the 1984 Victory Tour, Amy Winehouse’s hoodie, a Nicki Minaj Stage stage-worn cage body suit from 2010, and even some of Elvis Presley’s rings. But those netted anywhere from $320 (the Winehouse hoodie) to $3,520 (an Elvis ring) and couldn’t hold a candle to the half a mil that the Cobain guitar sold for.

The guitar was smashed in Pennsylvania after Nirvana played “Blew.” The listing explains that Cobain traded it to Hullabaloo‘s Sluggo Cawley for a smashed Gibson SG. Cawley asked Cobain to sign the guitar, which he did and wrote, “Yo Sluggo, thank [sic] for the trade. If it’s illegal to Rock and Roll, then throw my a** in jail/Nirvana.”

Uber driver Ryan Long racked up 16 consecutive wins on Jeopardy! earlier this year, and his hometown is literally rolling out a tribute to the local champ. Over the weekend, a Philadelphia news station surprised Long and his nine-year-old son, Nathan, by letting him know that the Jeopardy! champ will have his very own float in the 6ABC Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade. The father and son were ecstatic at the news of getting to be a part of the beloved local tradition. (Also, yes, Philly has its own Thanksgiving parade. They’re a major metropolitan city too, pal.)

Via The Philadelphia Inquirer:

“Wait, we’re going to be in the parade on a float?” Nathan said. “Oh my goodness, this is my greatest childhood dream.”

Long, who attended the annual parade as a child, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in the event, and said he is looking forward to seeing Nathan’s reaction.

“I’ll be watching his face,” Long said. “It should be a good moment. I’ll be watching him and he’ll be watching Santa.”

After his impressive winning streak ended in June, Long tweeted out an inspirational message to all of the fans he gathered along the way and urged everyone to never give up on their dreams.

“For the longest time, I didn’t believe that a person could really break out of that box,” Long tweeted about making the surprising leap from Uber driver to Jeopardy! champ. “But I feel like this thing that just happened is proof that you can. Trust yourself, hold on to your dreams, you know who you really are. Take your shot, and don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do this or that, or you should be doing things a certain way. As my grandmom would’ve said, never let ANYBODY steal your shine.”

(Via The Philadelphia Inquirer)

The Republican Party appears to be imploding in real-time thanks to its relatively disastrous performance in the 2022 Midterm Elections. And if you think any part of that sentence reads a bit hyperbolic then just hang on a sec.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene threatened today to “lean into” a GOP “civil war” should the deteriorating situation between hard right-wing representatives and more moderate members of the party call for it. We’ll say that again: these MAGA whackos are practically giddy over the fact that their political party is in shambles, so giddy in fact that they’re egging on this raging dumpster fire.

Here’s Greene’s latest appearance on Real America’s Voice where she seems surprisingly gung-ho about destroying her own people up there on Capitol Hill.

For some context, Greene and her fellow House Freedom Caucus members are riled up over how badly some Trump-backed MAGA candidates did in the recent midterms. Despite predictions of a “red wave,” Republicans will likely control the House with the bare minimum of members needed. Of course, that means that a vote on the majority speakership of the House still needs to take place and that’s where Greene and the rest of the Freedom Caucus are trying to make trouble now. Kevin McCarthy has held onto the role so far, but Greene and her cohorts are hoping to challenge his reign if he doesn’t agree to their terms — which basically amount to lessening the speaker’s power over the House and giving individual members more of a voice on the floor.

Greene’s latest comments prove just how dire things are in the GOP at the moment. Members are at each other’s throats, trying to place blame for their failure to grab power during the Midterms on anyone but themselves. Those who aren’t part of the MAGA cabal have already turned on Trump, but it sounds like the ones still banking on support from the MAGA crowd — and Greene is among that number — are trying to divide the Republican Party by clinging to their unpopular, uber-conservative platforms.

Rod Stewart — who was a damn good sport about a viral overgrown bunker that looms strikingly similar to him — has some strong opinions about the biggest sports tournament in the world. And he put his money where his mouth is, too. When asked about his rooting interest in the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, the typically soccer-loving Stewart revealed to The Times that he’s not as enthused about this year’s World Cup, and in fact, he turned down “over $1 million” to play at the event’s opening ceremony.

“I was actually offered a lot of money, over $1 million, to play there 15 months ago. I turned it down,” Stewart explained, saying, “It’s not right to go. And the Iranians should be out too for supplying arms.”

FIFA’s alleged human rights violations surrounding Qatar 2022 have been well-documented. Global watchdog Human Rights Watch says that “FIFA failed to impose strong conditions to protect workers and became a complacent enabler to the widespread abuse workers suffered, including illegal recruitment fees, wage theft, injuries, and deaths.” There’s even a new Netflix documentary series, FIFA Uncovered, currently streaming which exposes FIFA’s continued corruption.

So kudos to Sir Rod Stewart for taking a stand once again. The singer has been a consistent supporter of human rights, including once footing the bill for disabled children who sought to protest Medicaid cuts in Washington DC. Meanwhile, Jung Kook of BTS is slated to perform at the World Cup’s opening ceremony.

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

Only eight years ago, Brandon Fried found himself stepping into the shoes of former The Neighbourhood drummer Bryan Sammis after he departed in 2014 to pursue a solo career. The move seemed to work perfectly, but after allegations surfaced on Monday about Fried groping María Zardoya, frontwoman of the band the Marías, he was promptly given the boot.

Zardoya shared her experience via Instagram yesterday (November 13), writing, “i was at a bar last night, and i was groped under the table by brandon fried @brandonfried_, the drummer of the neighbourhood. it was one of the most uncomfortable things i’ve ever experienced. i felt an invasion of my space, privacy and body. @thenbhd ya’ll need a new drummer, this guy is a complete creep.”

After sharing her harrowing account, the “Sweater Weather” band quickly responded on their social media, making it clear they had “zero tolerance” for inappropriate behavior towards women.

The drummer didn’t deny the allegation and offered his own response to the recent incident: “I am so terribly sorry to Maria. My actions were inexcusable and intolerable. They are not reflective of who l am as a person, but clearly a reflection of who I become while under the influence,” he wrote in a now-deleted Instagram story post. “I want to apologize to women who have been victims of any behavior that has left them feeling uncomfortable or violated. I am also sorry to The Neighbourhood and our fans for letting them down.”

The Neighbourhood had been relatively quiet on social media before the recent controversy. This past February, the band revealed they would be going on hiatus.

This comes after the lead singer — and rumored beau of Billie Eilish — Jesse Rutherford posted snippets of what appears to be new music on his TikTok account around the same time the band announced they would be taking a break, Variety reports.

The Saturday Night Live to commercial spokesperson pipeline is very real, as evidenced by the latest handful of commercials that have been making the rounds as of late. Of course, SNL‘s (former) golden child Pete Davidson had to get in on the marketing plan and sell some manscaping kits in a new ad.

While that sounds like any old weekend for Davidson, he’s actually promoting Manscaped, a grooming company that hired Davidson as a spokesperson over the summer, when he was newly unemployed and single. It was a rough year for him, but things are looking up!

In his new holiday ad, Davidson and his mom are seen celebrating Christmas morning, though his personal groomer seemed to have been stolen by Santa Claus himself, who leaves a disgusting trail of hair to the fireplace. Does this sound like a scrubbed SNL bit? Yeah! Are we also sick of talking about Davidson and his various bodily achievements? Also yes, but it is what it is.

Last month, Taylor Swift did something unprecedented: On the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of Midnights, every song in the top 10 spots was by Swift, a feat that no other artist had ever done before. Meanwhile, Drake and 21 Savage just had a massive album of their own, Her Loss, drop recently. With all the buzz around it, it looked like it had a shot of actually repeating Swift’s feat.

Now, though, the top 10 spots of the Hot 100 chart dated November 19 have been revealed, and Drake and 21 managed to get only eight of the top 10 songs. Songs from Her Loss occupy spots No. 2 through No. 9, with “Rich Flex” coming in at No. 2. Those tracks are sandwiched by Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” which stays at No. 1 for a third week, and Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ former chart-topper “Unholy” at No. 10.

This comes a little over a year after Drake occupied nine of the top 10 spots on the Hot 100 back in September 2021. So, Drake it now the only artist to simultaneously have at least eight top-10 songs on the chart on two different occasions. With the latest chart, Drake now has a total of 67 career top-10 songs, which extends his record for the most of all time.

So, while Drake didn’t get No. 1 this week, he still had one of the best frames in Hot 100 chart history. Also, he and 21 Savage did just knock Midnights off the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

The trailer for Netflix’s hit series Sky Rojo was released today (November 14). In the upcoming third and final season, Argentine pop star Lali is joined by Puerto Rican superstar Rauw Alejandro, who is a new addition to the cast.

The first season of Sky Rojo was released on Netflix in March 2021. A second season followed in later that year on July 23. The show was created by Álex Pina, who was the director and producer for hit series Money Heist. Sky Rojo follows three women who are escaping prostitution and on the run from their pimp. Lali plays the character of Wendy.

The third season of Sky Rojo will be released on January 13, 2023. In the trailer, Lali and her co-stars Verónica Sánchez and Yany Prado are shown fighting back against the people that once held them captive. Alejandro is also appears to get in on the gun-wielding action. It’s not yet known what character he plays in the series.

On Twitter, Alejandro reposted the trailer for Sky Rojo with three freezing emojis. On Friday, he released his new album Saturno. That same day, Lali released the music video for her new dance track “Motiveishon.” The song follows her string of single releases this year that includes “Diva” and “Disciplina.”

The entire first 20 minutes or so of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an extended tribute to Chadwick Boseman, beginning with a montage in the middle of the credits. Fair enough; the lead actor dying is sort of the elephant in the room here. It was nice that they didn’t recast it with a look-alike and just move on like it didn’t happen. Instead they gave us something surprisingly tasteful and undeniably affecting.

I knew Boseman hadn’t been replaced going in, but I was still curious to see how Marvel would balance the kind of typically tasteless expanded universe-pimping that usually bloats its films with a somber tribute to a beloved actor. Would Clark Gregg show up in a black SUV in the middle of funeral talking into an earpiece about some nonsense tie-in to Marvel TV show I didn’t watch? Thankfully, no.

For the most part, Wakanda Forever is one of the most tasteful movies Marvel has ever released. Partly because it avoids the obvious, most sacrilegious pitfalls, but also because of the exuberant production design. It’s full of visually impressive scenes that never feel utilitarian and that look better than just about anything Marvel has done before. Yet for as beautiful as it looked, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the story wasn’t worth an entire movie. The central conflict feels like something that could be resolved with one conversation, and eventually (after about two hours of screen time), it is. Wakanda Forever certainly isn’t crass but it’s not exactly a triumph, never quite doing justice to all the brilliant production design and inspired acting (Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o — they’re all killing it).

The story takes place in the aftermath of the death of T’Challa (Bosman) who was not only a man, but the Black Panther, champion of Wakanda. T’Challa’s mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett) is ruling Wakanda now, but she has yet to crown a new Black Panther. Since Wakanda is the Earth’s only known source of the magic metal Vibranium, the lack of a champion is making them appear weaker, and the world’s other nations, like the US and France for some reason, can barely keep their holsters in their pants over it. (I imagine picking on France is an easy sell to investors, and so France gets to be the only other acknowledged example of a colonial power here).

Queen Ramonda gives the other superpowers a verbal stiff arm at the UN, and so they go off searching for alternate sources of Vibranium. Just when it seems like the Americans have found it underneath the ocean, their CIA/Navy SEAL mining vessel gets attacked by some underwater blue dudes, who not only seem to possess Aquaman-like capabilities (which can’t be acknowledged as such without copyright infringement), but also the power of mind control. The sailors dive off the decks of their ships like lemmings, apparently to save them from getting their asses kicked anyway by an obviously technologically superior force.

The blue dudes turn out to be the Talokan, a previously unknown civilization of indigenous pre-Columbian Mesoamericans (think Aztec/Mayan styling) who also have Vibranium. Basically the underwater Wakanda. The leader of the Talokan turns out to be Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta, who’s really having fun with it in another notably great performance. Namor, who has even more powers than the rank-and-file Talokanians for reasons both asinine and too complicated to explain, reveals himself to Ramonda and T’Challa’s scientist sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright), simultaneously proposing an alliance and demanding that the Wakandans deliver to him the scientist responsible for creating the Vibranium-detecting machine.

That scientist isn’t actually a Wakandan, but a precocious MIT student named Riri (Dominique Thorn), whom the Wakandans soon discover and take back to Wakanda (she’s forced into the annoying “superhero fanboy” role these movies always seem to require these days). This is the entire source of the conflict between the kingdoms of Wakanda and Talokan, a conflict that takes up the bulk of this nearly three-hour movie: Talokan is angry at having been exposed to the Earth colonizers and blames Wakanda for it. Martin Freeman (Everett K. Ross) and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss (Valentina Fontaine) are the respective good cop/bad cop figures of the CIA who get mixed up in there; not quite as out of place and sitcommy as Clark Gregg has been in past Marvel movies, but certainly in the same vein.

The Talokanians are a lot of fun, and Namor (who can fly with shoes made of flying fish!) makes for a solid Killmonger 2.0. And yet it seems obvious that this uncolonized Magic Africa and the underwater Magic Mesoamerica are destined to become allies. The movie sort of flails at excuses for why these two nations need to fight, and the fight scenes themselves are visually exciting and much more compelling to look at than anything Marvel has done in at least five or six movies, but they never quite make us forget the obvious. These guys should probably just team up already, why aren’t they teaming up??

To some extent, Wakanda Forever just does a much more visually appealing version of what Black Adam did: present an obvious conflict between superpowered indigenous peoples and predatorial colonizers, and then spend almost an entire movie doing wilder and wilder mental gymnastics to justify why the big baddy is someone else. Black Adam goes to hell to fight Sabbac, the Wakandans go underwater to fight Namor. At least Black Panther and the X-Men gave us a compelling Martin vs. Malcolm dynamic (reductive and somewhat unfair to the actual Malcolm but at least compelling), Wakanda Forever and Black Adam just feel like they’re avoiding the obvious.

What is stopping these movies from making the actual CIA and the military-industrial complex the actual villain? (I mean I could speculate here, but I’ll keep the question rhetorical in the context of an arts review). This is precisely the kind of conflict superhero narratives have traditionally been great at exploring (see: The Boys, Watchmen) so seeing them delay it feels at best like an unsatisfying sacrifice to an episodic structure, and at worst like conceptual cowardice.

Either they’re afraid of having Americans be the villains or they’re saving it for later and wasting our time with a three-hour movie that merely postpones it. Wakanda Forever does a great job memorializing Chadwick Boseman but a poor job justifying its own existence as a narrative.

‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ is in theaters now. Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can read more of his reviews here.