Category: Worldwide

Venom: Let There Be Carnage was about as ridiculous as a superhero movie gets. In a good way, of course. Which is why more from Tom Hardy and his more viscous counterpart is welcome news to those following the actor on social media.

And as Hardy posted to his Instagram account on Thursday, he may be even more involved in a third installment of Venom than previous versions. The actor shared a title page of what certainly looks like a third Venom movie if you interpret the little drawing above the bylines to be the antihero Hardy has played in two movies in recent years.

Most interestingly, Hardy is once again listed with a writing credit on the project. Hardy had a “story by” credit on the Andy Serkis-directed Let There Be Carnage, and this time he apparently co-wrote the story along with Kelly Marcel, who wrote the screenplay for the first Venom sequel.

It certainly makes sense that there’s more Venom coming, as the movies have faired well at the box office and generally played well with audiences awash in more traditional superhero movies. We’ve also seen Venom pop up in some… interesting places in recent months, so there will be plenty of speculation about just what’s on the pages behind the one Hardy posted to Instagram as a very clear teaser.

The newest front in America’s culture wars are drag shows. Some conservative activists claim that they are being used to “groom” children into becoming LGBTQ+ by exposing them to the culture at a young age. However, that logic shows a profound misunderstanding of how human sexuality works.

“What we do know is it doesn’t look like there’s much that changes [sexuality] externally,” Clinton Anderson, acting chief of psychology in the public interest for the American Psychological Association, told PolitiFact. “The changes that happen seem to happen naturally because of how people develop—not because something is being done to them.”

The “grooming” claims also dredge up an old homophobic stereotype that suggests LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be child predators, which, according to multiple studies cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is entirely false.

u201cWe must protect Texas kids from sick adults who want to sexualize them.nnNo drag shows.nnNo porn in their libraries.nnNo gender transition surgeries.nnYes to letting kids be kids.u201d

— Bryan Slaton (@Bryan Slaton)
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Facts be damned, Bryan Slaton, a Texas Republican state lawmaker, said he will propose a bill that would ban people from performing drag shows in the presence of minors. Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis is looking into charging people who bring children to drag shows with “child endangerment.”

Taco Bell isn’t shying away from the controversy surrounding drag performances. It’s been hosting a drag brunch tour across the U.S. since May, which has included stops at its cantinas in Las Vegas, Chicago, Nashville and New York City. Taco Bell Cantinas are upscale versions of the fast food chain that serve alcohol. The company says the shows are a way to celebrate “the wonderful artform of drag and its influence in culture with their chosen families.”

The drag brunches are also a way to spotlight and support the It Gets Better Project to expand “workforce readiness resources for LGBTQIA+ youth around the globe.”

There is one stop left on the tour, June 26 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Maybe DeSantis will stop by for a mimosa and realize that drag queens aren’t that bad after all.

See on Instagram

The drag brunches are hosted by the aptly-named Kay Sedia (pronounced “quesadilla”) a self-proclaimed “Tupperware Diva” who stars in a one-woman stage show, the “Taco Chronicles.” Diners at the brunch are served a Bell Box featuring a Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito, Cinnabon Delights and hash browns. Of course, the festivities wouldn’t be complete without the drag brunch staple, the mimosa.

See on Instagram

During the shows the drag performers lip-sync, dance, tell jokes and host a twerking contest featuring the audience. Tips are collected by a group of “Bell Boys,” who wear satin shorts, open shirts and stuff the money into glittery rainbow fanny packs.

“This was so much fun! I’m so glad to be a part of it,” drag performer Alexia Noelle Paris, who appeared at the Nashville show, told the OpenTable blog. “We made herstory. Living in Nashville you learn that most of the people that come downtown are not only tourists, but for the most part have probably not been to a drag show so getting to see everyone’s faces and reactions was great.”

u201cInside Taco Bellu2019s Exhilarating Nashville Drag Brunch https://t.co/7HDGAHb3CJu201d

— Foodaddle (@Foodaddle)
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Even though some Americans are attempting to push LGBTQ+ people to the sidelines by launching a war on a joyous tradition, Taco Bell didn’t flinch and kept the party going.

Who can resist a sweet little kitten trying to cross the road? Even if you’re not a fan of cats, you’d likely stop for a baby animal in the street. That’s what happened to Robert Brantley of Louisiana. Brantley was on his way to work and spotted a tiny white and gray kitten trying to get across the street. Being a kind human, he stopped his car to bring the kitten to safety. But he got more than he bargained for, because as he was scooping up the little thing, several more kitty cat siblings came running out of the nearby grass.

In all, Brantley counted 13 kittens. Twelve more than he planned on caring for, but by the looks of his Instagram page, his family has taken their role of cat rescuers seriously. With kitten season being in full effect in these warmer months and pet surrenders remaining high since the return to work from the pandemic, Brantley taking on fostering 13 kittens is much needed. Humane societies across the country are reportedly full or even over capacity. My own local humane society currently has nearly 150 animals over its limit and is begging for foster families and adopters to help clear the shelter.

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A post shared by Robert Brantley (@robertbrantley_)

It’s not only humane societies that have reached or exceeded capacity. Animal rescues across the board are in dire need of people to take animals to make room for the inevitable drop off of puppies and kittens from the current litter season. Mating season, which subsequently turns into puppy and kitten season, starts in early spring and lasts throughout the summer. This inundates local shelters and rescues.

Some shelters, like my local humane society, are asking people who find litters of puppies or kittens to do exactly what Brantley is doing. Foster them and attempt to adopt them out on their own. It looks like Brantley’s wife decided to get these now cleaned up kitties in their Sunday best to have a photoshoot in her makeshift studio. One kitten sported a bow tie while the others climbed around the enclosure patiently awaiting their turn. It also seems Brantley himself is having fun with the situation—in one video he talks about what he packs to go on a marksmanship match and includes 13 kittens along with his tripod and toolkit.

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A post shared by Robert Brantley (@robertbrantley_)

In one of Brantley’s most recent updates, he says that two of the kittens, Michael Scott and Nala, have been adopted by a family in Alexandria, Louisiana. In the same update he informs his followers that one of the kittens still left to be adopted is currently on daily medication and the family is keeping up with check-ups for the rest of the furry crew.

Here’s hoping that all of these little guys get adopted out soon. And may more people take Brantley’s lead to foster the kittens or puppies they find if they have the means. This can also serve as a reminder to spay and neuter your pets and any strays you may be caring for outside of your home.

Pedro Pascal can sell anything with his voice, including a TV show in which he never shows his face. Now, he will be using that iconic voice to educate us about South America’s Patagonia region.

The Mandalorian star, who first came into our lives helmetless as Oberyn Martell on HBO’s Game of Thrones, will narrate a documentary for CNN, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series, titled Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World is a six-part nature series that “uses visual storytelling in the style of programming like Planet Earth to explore the Patagonia region of South America, straddling Chile and Argentina.”

“I have great memories of taking trips to Patagonia and exploring some of the beautiful places depicted in the series,” Pascal, who was born in Chile, said in a statement per THR. “I am excited to bring my voice to the project and share this special part of the world with North American audiences.”

The series joins Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy as a part of CNN’s mission to expand its original programming using star talent, although Pascal describing a tree may not be as horny as Tucci eating spaghetti. When Patagonia was announced last year, Amy Entelis, executive VP of talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, told THR that the channel is hoping the new programming will draw in a new audience. “We were looking to spread our wings a bit, we wanted to move into other sorts of subject areas that we have not relied upon in the past at CNN,“ Entelis said. “We could do presidents and history over and over again and it would do well, but we wanted to broaden out, and attract a different kind of audience that might want to come for Patagonia but didn’t necessarily want to come for Lincoln.”

Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World premieres Sunday, July 10 on CNN at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Anna Delvey/Sorkin the heiress/scammer who was the subject of the hit Netflix series Inventing Anna, is currently in an ICE detention center in upstate New York, where she is reflecting on her scamming ways, which included swindling various New York elite out of nearly $275,000 between 2016 and 2017 by posing as someone she’s not. As it turns out, she doesn’t really think she did anything wrong!

NBC News caught up with the former heiress-turned-scammer-turned-artist (?) to discuss her upcoming ventures and what really went on when she was caught lying about her lifestyle. According to Delvey, she actually is a very good person who didn’t scam anyone, just made some slight miscommunications.

“I just like hate seeing all the scammer and fake heiress headlines. So it’s not something I enjoy, like trying to lean in to promote,” Delvey said, before explaining that she is in no way a scammer (despite the receipts). She continued, “The whole definition of fraud is like to permanently deprive somebody of their property.” Delvey added, though that’s not really true. “And that was never my intent. I meant like, my mindset wasn’t, I was like, ‘Oh, let me see how much I can get from this person on that person, they will never see any of that again.’”

When asked if she feels like she has been held accountable, Delvey doubled down on her innocence before pivoting to her social justice work:

Savannah Sellers: What do you say to someone who just feels that you have not taken accountability for what you did for the money that they see you as having scammed people out of?

Anna Sorokin: I never scammed people out of any money. I also repaid everything back. All my restitution is paid off. I said I regret the way that my case has been perceived. And I regret some of the choices I’ve made. I just don’t know what else I can possibly deal with, say, to… I don’t know, to please people. What else can I possibly do?

I’m donating parts of the proceeds of the prints that I’m making to ACLU. And yeah, I’m just trying to give back to the community. And just I’m just trying to advocate for the reform for the criminal justice reform and immigration reform. Because I like we’re one of the three individuals who have been through the system and I do have a voice…But yeah, they just don’t know what, what the problem actually is. So I feel like I have this unique position, and being able to point out what exactly what kind of changes can be implemented. That’s how I just like to say, oh, yeah, we did this, but then it would actually not lead to anything.

Savannah Sellers: So when you now do say, you know, I’ve, some of it was unethical, what was wrong? Tell me specifically, what you believe you did. That was unethical. Which parts of it?

Anna Sorokin: Well, I wish I could tell you that, but my case is still under appeal and my lawyers would hate to see that on TV.

Instead of talking about her antics, she decided to promote her NFTS, of course.

On a lighter note, Delvey mentioned she received a slew of marriage proposals from her fans, who constantly send her letters. “I’m just getting all kinds of marriage proposals. And a lot of people asking me to like, for sketches, some people that are making, like music plays, musical plays about me that asked me for feedback. Some people just like, ‘Oh, I’m just sitting here with my co-worker, and would love for you to like to hear back from you and prove her wrong.’ Or they just say, all the ways, I guess that inspired them.”

She continued, “This is where I’m taking my feedback from. So they basically excitedly say, ‘Oh, you were resilient, and you didn’t quit.’ And this is what people feel inspired by, which I think is a good way they don’t feel inspired by like, any of my legal acts. So what else? Yeah, it’s just all kinds of stuff. So it’s been fun.” Fun is one word to describe it!

(Via NBC News)

As the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial continues to dominate headlines, one of the jurors has opened up to Good Morning America about the decision process behind the stunning verdict that found Heard to have defamed her ex-husband. Despite Heard’s allegations of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, the jury wasn’t swayed by her retelling of events on the stand. The anonymous male juror said that, ultimately, the decision was reached by the group, who believed that Heard was the “aggressor” during her marriage to Depp.

Via The Daily Beast:

“The crying, the facial expressions that she had, the staring at the jury—all of us were very uncomfortable,” the juror told ABC. “She would answer one question and she would be crying and then two seconds later she would turn ice cold… Some of us used the expression ‘crocodile tears.’”

The anonymous juror went on to reveal that the jury, comprised of five men and two women, did feel that Heard and Depp were “abusive to each other,” but it didn’t “rise to the level of what she was claiming.”

There was also the issue of Heard claiming she donated all of her divorce settlement to charity. During the trial, it was revealed that she has yet to fulfill the obligation. (Heard has claimed she’s been unable to complete the donation after being hit with legal fees from Depp suing her for defamation.) According to the juror, the situation was a “fiasco” that hurt Heard’s credibility.

“She goes on a talk show in the U.K. The video shows her sitting there telling the host that she gave all that money away, and the terms she used in that video clip were, ‘I gave it away,’ ‘I donated it,’ ‘It’s gone,’ but the fact is she didn’t give much of it away at all,” the juror told GMA.

(Via Good Morning America)

Father John Misty has revealed the latest video from his album, Chloe And The Next 20th Century. In “Buddy’s Rendezvous,” a man played by Craig Stark is released from prison and embarks on a journey through Los Angeles to reconnect with his daughter, played by Arrow DeWilde.

Clips of memories from a simpler time play throughout the video, as the father eventually makes his way to his daughter and her boyfriend, played by Gilbert Trejo.

The video was directed by Misty’s, wife Emma Elizabeth Tillman.

“‘Buddy’s Rendezvous’ is a world unto itself,” said Emma in a statement. “It is a place out of time. My dream for the video is that it would surrender itself to the power of the song… Although the video and the song can be considered love letters to Los Angeles, the themes are universal. Disappointments, regrets, forgiveness, tenderness, perseverance, and love. The incredible performances by Arrow, Craig, Gilbert, and David Haley all coalesce to bring this vision to life. Cinematography by James Wall on 16mm evokes the down and out feeling of LA, merging past and present. This video could not have been accomplished without the talent of producer Bria Little and creative director and editor Jonathan King.”

Check out “Buddy’s Rendezvous” above.

Robert Williams is making his impact felt during the NBA Finals, as the hyper-athletic big man has been pushing through a knee injury to serve as a lynchpin to the Boston Celtics‘ defense. Williams is averaging seven points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in only 25.2 minutes a night against the Golden State Warriors, and when he’s able to perform at his best, scoring on the Celtics becomes much tougher.

Still, that knee injury has left Williams compromised. The man affectionately known has Timelord tore his meniscus earlier this season and came back rather quickly from surgery. A new piece by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports went through what Williams has done in an effort to take the floor, which has included a whole lot of treatment and, at times, having his knee drained.

“The medical staff has ensured him that he is not at further risk of worsening the repaired knee,” Haynes wrote. “It’s all a matter of pain tolerance.”

One former Celtic saw this report and couldn’t help but remember his own experience with Boston’s medical staff. Isaiah Thomas famously played through a hip injury during the 2017 postseason, which led to him getting shut down in the middle of the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Upon seeing this report, Thomas said the following:

The hip injury nearly torpedoed Thomas’ trade from Boston to Cleveland that offseason, but it ultimately went through. Eventually, Thomas needed to undergo surgery on his hip.

In recent years, as music festivals have become a more prominent portion of the industry’s ecosystem, more artists have begun to fund and promote their own festivals to take advantage. If most of your income comes from live performances, why not get yourself and a bunch of your work friends paid while offering entertainment for your hometown crowd? Entries to this promising space include J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival, Pharrell’s Something In The Water (which is this weekend), Tyler The Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, and most infamously, Travis Scott’s Astroworld Festival. This autumn, a new contender may be throwing his hat in the ring: Kid Cudi.

On social media, Kid Cudi announced that his Moonman’s Landing event would take place in Cleveland, Ohio on September 17, 2022. Although details remain scarce and it isn’t even really confirmed that the event being teased is indeed a festival, that outcome seems the likeliest, as Cudi certainly falls within that same upper echelon of hip-hop with the above-mentioned names and has seen plenty of success on the festival circuit, especially at Rolling Loud, where many of the above performers have appeared.

Whatever Moonman’s Landing turns out to be, it’ll land in the middle of a huge month for Cudi. He’s also releasing his new album, Entergalactic, and its accompanying Netflix animated series on September 30.

Yellowjackets and Euphoria fans have never, ever been happier than to read Variety‘s interview between Christina Ricci and Sydney Sweeney. After bonding over how they’ve both been turned into memes — Sweeney for Cassie on Euphoria and Olivia on The White Lotus; Ricci for Misty on Yellowjackets — the conversation turned to sex scenes.

After Ricci commented that it seems like the Euphoria cast has ownership over their bodies, Sweeney replied, “It’s a very safe environment. I’m very fortunate that I am coming up during a time where there is so much thought in this process, and we now have intimacy coordinators.” Ricci has never worked with an intimacy coordinator, which Sweeney described as “a stunt coordinator for a sex scene. They bring in tools.”

Speaking for all of us, Ricci wondered: “What kind of tools?”

“Sometimes there’s yoga mats that you can put in between each other. Or there’s like pads that you can put, or yoga blocks — there’s some weird stuff. And even if you have agreed to something, they ask you on the spot on the day, ‘Did you change your mind? Because you can.’ It’s really nice. I’ve never felt uncomfortable.”

Ricci, who hasn’t “done a sex scene in a couple years” because “I’m at that age where they don’t ask you to do them so much anymore,” also discussed shooting what sounds like 2006’s Black Snake Moan. “Once I had to do a movie where I was naked pretty much the entire time. The thing that made me more uncomfortable was other people being uncomfortable with me being naked. So what I did, and you probably wouldn’t be allowed to do this now — I just stayed naked,” she said.

Sweeney’s grandmother would be proud.

(Via Variety)