Category: Worldwide

It has been seven years since Disney first announced its plans for a live-action version of “The Little Mermaid,” and four years since Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in the film.

Director Rob Marshall commented on her casting in a statement in 2019, saying in a statement, “After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role.”

He didn’t mention her race, but others did—for better and for worse.

While some celebrated the choice of a non-white actress, the hashtag #NotMyAriel revealed that a segment of the public took issue with the casting of a Black actress to play Ariel. Some claimed the character was supposed to be a fair-skinned redhead and making her Black wasn’t true to the Danish origins of the story. In a Variety profile, Bailey shared with Variety that she relied on the support and encouragement of her family members, including her grandparents, to handle the racist backlash directed her way.

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“It was an inspiring and beautiful thing to hear their words of encouragement, telling me, ‘You don’t understand what this is doing for us, for our community, for all the little Black and brown girls who are going to see themselves in you,’” Bailey told Variety.

As for the criticisms, as many have pointed out, Ariel is a fictional mermaid in a fantasy world in which race plays no part. Danish people can be Black, Black people can be redheads and the colors of Ariel’s features aren’t relevant to the storyline anyway.

Casting a Black actress does matter, though, especially for young Black viewers who rarely see themselves physically reflected in the world of Disney princesses. The first Disney princess, Snow White, was introduced in 1937 and we didn’t see a non-white princess until Jasmine in “Aladdin” in 1992. In the past 30 years, Disney has had some catching up to do to create a more diverse and representative offering of its iconic characters.

Parents have been sharing the reactions of their kids to seeing the new teaser trailer for the live-action “The Little Mermaid,” which show why that representation really does matter.

Here is a small handful of them:

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— Laiud83dudc94 (@Laiud83dudc94)
1662935462

@preciousavery

I love this for my 3 years old 🤎 #littlemermaid #toddlersoftiktok #hallebailey #girlpower

@workingmama

My daughter’s reaction 😭 to the little mermaid trailer. #littlemermaidtrailer #representationmatters

@nickyknackpaddywack

Mayas reaction to #thelittlemermaid trailer. #representationmatters #representationinthemediamatters #blackgirls

As an Upworthy commenter shared on Instagram, representation can be powerful for kids. “As a ginger who was little and getting teased relentlessly for the color of her hair and skin when little mermaid came out, I felt represented when the Disney princess looked like me and she was and is still my favorite. Ariel making a new generation of little girls feel seen and represented is beautiful. 😍😍”

For people worried about how this casting choice might impact representation for redheads, never fear. First of all, the live-action Ariel played by Halle Bailey actually does have red hair, so there’s that. Secondly, considering redheads only make up 1% to 2% of the population, they are already well-represented in the land of Disney princesses. Aside from Ariel, we have Merida (from “Brave”) and Anna (from “Frozen,” though she isn’t technically considered a princess) on the animated front, as well as Giselle from the live-action film “Enchanted,” (though she’s not considered an “official” princess, either). The only official animated Black princess has been Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog.” For a live-action Black princess, we had singer Brandy playing Cinderella in a 1997 live-action TV film.

Now we have Halle Bailey cast as Ariel, a welcome choice for Black Disney princess fans who have rarely gotten to see themselves as “part of that world.” And if this trailer is any indication, it’s going to be truly magical.

There are some shows you wish would go on forever, and other well-loved shows that do go on forever, despite losing momentum a few seasons back. Hey, if it happened to Lost, it can happen to anybody. But sometimes, actors are aware when their characters or storylines are starting to become stale, and Brian Cox seems to think that the story of Succession and the Roy family could come to a close.

The actor was interviewed by The Times ahead of the Emmys earlier this week when he said he was unsure about the future of the series, and if the show would continue after season four. When asked about a potential fifth season, he responded, “I don’t know. No one’s had their contracts renewed. Who knows how long it will go on?”

Despite not being contractually obligated, it’s still likely that HBO will order a new season after the fourth begins airing sometime next year. The show has been a massive hit for the network, and won multiple Emmys. Still, it seems like Cox thinks that the series could be on its way out.

Cox then threw a slight dig at Showtime’s Billions, which was just ordered for its seventh season. “We don’t want it to overstay its welcome, like Billions, that’s past its sell-by date. That will not happen with our show.” Sorry, Paul Giamatti, but your time seems to be up, according to Logan Roy.

(Via Variety)

The Kansas City Chiefs found themselves in a pretty unenviable position on Sunday afternoon against the Arizona Cardinals. The team scored a touchdown late in the first quarter to make the game 13-0, but their ultra-reliable kicker, Harrison Butker, suffered an ankle injury that caused him to leave the game and miss out on the extra point.

The catch: Kansas City has one hell of a backup plan, and it’s not someone who normally is involved in kicking the football in any capacity. Justin Reid, the former Houston Texans safety who joined in free agency this summer, grew up playing soccer and is known for having one heck of a leg, so he tagged in, nailed the extra point, and handled kicking duties until Butker returned later in the game — he ended up going 1-for-2 on PATs.

Some behind-the-scenes footage gave a glimpse into the series of events leading up to Reid’s first two kicks, from the moment he learned he might have to go in to Patrick Mahomes’ reaction to his handling of kickoff duties. It is a delight.

No one has ever been cooler than Reid when he learned that he’d have to go in to kick. But the best part is Mahomes, who is in total awe of the fact that a safety kicked a football out of the end zone in spot duty for one of the best kickers of all time.

Michelle Branch and Patrick Carney have been through a lot lately. To summarize: in mid-August, Branch accused husband Carney of infidelity, Branch was arrested for hitting Carney shortly after, Branch filed for divorce, and the domestic assault case against Branch was dismissed. That brings us to the latest development: The two are apparently calling off the divorce (at least for now) and are going to try to make their marriage work, as TMZ and Us Weekly report.

According to legal documents, the two are pausing divorce proceedings for at least six months, during which time they will live together in Nashville and go to counseling. After the six-month period, the two will then decide if they would like to continue with their divorce.

Branch and Carney have two children together: son Rhys, 4, and daughter Willa, 6 months.

Branch previously said in a statement, “To say that I am totally devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how I feel for myself and for my family. The rug has been completely pulled from underneath me and now I must figure out how to move forward. With such small children, I ask for privacy and kindness.”

Meanwhile, Branch has a new album, The Trouble With Fever, on the way, which Carney co-produced and performed on. In a recent interview, Branch called the album “the best distraction ever” from her current situation.

Angel Olsen’s Big Time is firmly entrenched on Uproxx’s list of Best Indie Albums Of 2022 So Far. It sees Olsen leaning deeper into her country music influences for an album filled with woozy strings and heartfelt songwriting. It’s an album about picking up the pieces of her life after both of her parents passed away and embracing her ability to love again after coming out as queer. She addresses the latter on the album’s title track and now, has released a new duet version of “Big Time” featuring eclectic outlaw country leading man Sturgill Simpson, and gosh darn it, it’s gorgeous.

Olsen opens up singing on the pedal steel-studded tune, before Simpson joins in giving new life to her lyrics. It builds masterfully into a downtrodden tale of the power of love, and they sweetly wrap up the tune singing together, “And I’m living, I’m loving, I’ve loved long before. And I’m loving you big time, I’m loving you more.”

“It’s crazy to write a song and then watch someone else you really admire sing your words; kinda turns the whole thing on its head,” Olsen said in a statement. “I loved the song already, but hearing Sturgill’s take on ‘Big Time’ made me smile ear to ear, he made it come alive on a different level.”

Listen to “Big Time” above.

As The View kicks off its new season with Alyssa Farah Griffith locked in as Meghan McCain’s replacement, the fiery talk show host turned Daily Mail columnist is opening up about the year-long process to find a worthy Republican to fill her old seat. Needless to say, McCain couldn’t be more pleased that she was so hard to replace, and she bragged about that fact during a recent interview with her old pal Andy Cohen.

“It took a year and two people to replace me, which makes me feel good. I get to take that.” McCain said while apparently taking credit for Ana Navarro getting bumped up to permanent host even though she still won’t appear daily. A move that had nothing to do with Meghan’s departure.

What McCain left out is that The View struggled for a year to find a conservative co-host who was vaccinated and wouldn’t devolve the show into shouting matches like McCain often did. In other words, the issue wasn’t that McCain was so irreplaceable, but the bench for Republican TV hosts who aren’t MAGA reactionaries is exceedingly thin.

When asked about her thoughts on Griffith, McCain attacked her for having a controversial right-wing father, which is very rich for a person who routinely shouted at her co-hosts that her father is John McCain.

“I don’t know her at all. The only thing I know about her is her family. She comes from an extremely, extremely controversial background,” McCain told Cohen via The Wrap. “Her dad is a very famous homophobe and racist who started birtherism. He’s actually the person that invented Obama’s birtherism.”

However, after making those remarks, McCain said she didn’t want to “say anything negative,” like she just did. “I wish [Alyssa] the best of luck,” McCain said. “It is very hard. It’s gonna get harder when midterms come, and I wish her success.”

(Via The Wrap)

It may be a while until we get new music from Christine And The Queens. Chris, as the artist is also known, suffered an injury during rehearsals for the tour in support of his upcoming album, Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles‘, and has thus postponed his upcoming tour dates.

For his upcoming album era, Chris has created the character Redcar, as whom he will perform on tour. Today, Chris issued a statement saying “Red injured himself while dancing” during rehearsals.

“The doctors have forbidden him to return to the stage for at least three weeks, the time to recover,” he continued. “We are therefore obliged to cancel the concert in Arles on 17 September and to postpone the concerts in Paris and London.”

As a result, the album, Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles, as well as the tour dates, were pushed back to November.

Last month, Chris revealed in a TikTok that he now uses he/him pronouns and has been living as a man “for a year.” He also called the Redcar character a “poetic and philosophical construction.”

Earlier this year, in an interview with New York Times Chris said his journey with gender has always been “tumultuous.”

“I kind of want to tear down that system that made us label genders in such a strict way,” he said.

Redcar Les Adorables Étoiles is out 11/11 via Because Music. Pre-save it here.

While the United Kingdom is in the midst of a 17-day national period of mourning following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Netflix subscribers around the world — including those in England — are learning all they can about history’s second-longest reigning monarch (only Louis XIV of France trumped her) by watching/re-watching The Crown.

As Variety reports, Netflix has seen a seriously renewed interest in Peter Morgan’s award-winning series since it was announced that the Queen had passed away at the age of 96 on Thursday, September 8. Between Friday and Sunday alone, viewership in the UK increased by more than 800 percent when compared to the previous weekend, per data from Whip Media. Interest in the series, which charts the life of Elizabeth from a young princess to a 25-year-old mother and wife who unexpectedly has the royal crown thrust upon her head following the death of her father, King George VI, in early 1952, was most pronounced in England. However, U.S. viewership nearly quadrupled week over week and saw a threefold increase in France during the same weekend dates.

Worldwide, according to Variety, “viewership increased nearly four times over the past weekend versus the previous weekend, according to Whip Media.”

The long-awaited fifth season of The Crown, which should be its penultimate season, is rumored to be returning on November 5. The new season will mark the debut of Imelda Staunton in the role of Elizabeth — a part that has changed hands as time has passed, beginning with Claire Foy for the first two seasons, followed by Olivia Colman for seasons 3 and 4.

On Friday, The Crown’s producers announced that they were halting production on filming to pay tribute to the Queen, and that they would do the same again on the day of her funeral.

(Via Variety)

When Squid Game dropped on Netflix a year ago, the whole world became enamored with watching a bunch of middle-aged people play bloody children’s games with deadly outcomes for entertainment because, well, that’s what TV is for! But when Netflix announced that there would be a reality competition series based on the show, people were understandably hesitant.

Obviously, Netflix would not kill its contestants (there are a lot of liability issues there) but the whole show is a commentary on what people are willing to do for money when they are desperate, which doesn’t really translate into a light-hearted reality competition. The show, which was ordered earlier this summer, will take 456 players on a journey to win $4.56 million in a violence-free competition.

Squid Game’s creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is well aware of how the competition series might feel a little disingenuous, but he thinks that it won’t make light of the dark drama show, and instead, bring awareness to other people’s financial hardships.

“What I hope is that they will be carrying on my vision and intention as much as possible for the show,” the now Emmy-winner explained while backstage at the ceremony. “I think that even though our show does carry quite a heavy message — and I know that there are some concerns on taking that message and creating it into a reality show with a cash prize. I feel like when you take things too seriously, that’s really not the best way to go for the entertainment industry. It doesn’t really set a great precedent.”

Hwang also said he met with the creators of the reality show to be sure that they would remain true to its core beliefs, while also having some entertaining moments. It is a TV show competition, after all, and it shouldn’t be taken that seriously. As long as nobody gets killed during an intense game of Red Light Green Light, it will be fine!

(Via TVLine)

Pop-cultural historically speaking, Tulsa is not always a desired destination for TV characters. Granted, Doctor Manhattan wanted to be there in HBO’s Watchmen, and it is Bill Hader’s hometown, but it’s still a place where (some) characters feel banished. Gary from Justified ran from the Dixie Mafia and ended up there to give motivational speeches in hotels near the airport, and Friends‘ Chandler got sent to Tulsa for work (and Thanksgiving), which wasn’t a fun development for him. Then there’s Tulsa King, from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, who wrote this show for Stallone, who plays a mob boss that did decades in prison to save a bigger boss’ butt. And for his trouble, he gets shipped off to Oklahoma.

The man who portrayed Rocky Balboa recently declared that working in Tulsa (and Oklahoma City) for this show was a good crash-course for Hell (due to the blazing heat) and that he had never worked harder, so one can assume that his character felt the pain, too. In the above trailer, we see how not-thrilled he is to be exiled in Tulsa, where everyone can instantly guess that he’s not a local. From the synopsis:

TULSA KING follows New York mafia capo Dwight “The General” Manfredi, just after he is released from prison after 25 years and unceremoniously exiled by his boss to set up shop in Tulsa, Okla. Realizing that his mob family may not have his best interests in mind, Dwight slowly builds a “crew” from a group of unlikely characters, to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.

Tulsa King also star Vincent Piazza, Andrea Savage, Martin Starr, Max Casella, and Garrett Hedlund. The show streams on Paramount+ beginning on November 13.