Category: Worldwide

Emmy Rossum sure does distance herself from nine seasons as Fiona Gallagher on Shameless with her followup, Angelyne. However, it’s probably a good thing that this labor of love is only a limited series (on Peacock) because, boy, Emmy went through some hell when it came to transforming into a buxom and bewigged billboard babe. That’s not too surprising, considering that Lily James also went through a lot for her Pam & Tommy role, but man, that’s a lot of time (and discomfort) spent in the pursuit of looking unrecognizable for art.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter (which also received an intriguing anecdote about an Axl Rose-bathtub from Rossum), Emmy described how difficult it was to wear a heavy breastplate, which weighed three pounds and gave her, uh, blisters. Yikes. And that was only the beginning:

Skepticism for the project, or at least Rossum’s ability to capture its subject, dissipated as soon as the first set photos leaked. Her temporary alterations were not without sacrifice. Rossum got blisters from the fake breasts and suffered tear duct issues from wearing two pairs of contact lenses and from the oppressive eye makeup during the shoot. She often spent four or five hours in the makeup chair every morning before most of her colleagues even arrived on set.

Rossum’s husband, Sam Esmail, chimed in to say that there were moments when he didn’t even “recognize her” during the shoot, which is wild as well as “eerie,” according to him. And Rossum goes on to explain how she felt “heavy” in her new Angelyne body (due mostly to the breastplate, no doubt) but needed to exude a lightness about the way she moved and operated. Soon enough, the world will see the billboard queen in action.

Peacock’s Angelyne streams on May 19.

(Via Hollywood Reporter)

The Rundown is a weekly column that highlights some of the biggest, weirdest, and most notable events of the week in entertainment. The number of items could vary, as could the subject matter. It will not always make a ton of sense. Some items might not even be about entertainment, to be honest, or from this week. The important thing is that it’s Friday, and we are here to have some fun.

ITEM NUMBER ONE — This is cool to me

There’s this thing that happens sometimes when you watch a lot of television. It happens to me, at least. Maybe it happens to you, too. Maybe I just watch too much television. Either way, it goes something like this: You’ll be watching a show and you’ll notice someone give a good performance or do something interesting and you’ll file it away, and then a week or two later they’ll pop up in another show you watch and you’ll be like “hey, that’s cool, it that person,” and then a little bit later they’ll pop up in another show you watch and you’ll be like “OKAY WAIT A MINUTE.” Again, maybe this is just me. Maybe I’m projecting. Or maybe you’ve noticed Jessie Ennis popping up in all the good shows lately, too.

It started, for me, with Mythic Quest, a very good show I like a lot that had easily the best take on the pandemic and quarantine that I saw while we were still in it. She plays a character named Jo who started as an assistant for one executive in the show’s fictional video game company and then ended up working for another because she is a power-mad maniac. Fully unhinged, madness in the eyes, relentlessly eager to please whoever displays dominance. A fun character played well. Good stuff. A part of my brain filed it away.

Then she showed up in this season of The Flight Attendant, a good and objectively bonkers show that is now in its second season on HBO Max. She plays a member of the main character’s Alcoholic Anonymous group who also has a true-crime podcast and would very much like the main character to come on the aforementioned true-crime podcast to discuss the objectively bonkers things that happened in the first season. Here, look.

I’m sure part of it was my experience watching her on Mythic Quest, and a bigger part was the same manic energy she’s so good at playing for the camera, but as soon as she appeared, after I did the “hey, it’s her!” thing, I said to myself “I bet she’s up to something.” I can’t take too much credit for this because everyone on The Flight Attendant is up to something, but still. I called it. That’s the important thing. Unless she turns out not to be up to something. In which case… uh, never mind.

But that all brings us to this week’s episode of Better Call Saul. She popped up there, too. Here, look again.

What’s wild about this is that this character, Erin, has been on the show before. Kind of a lot. She has her own page on the Breaking Bad fandom site and everything. Here’s a summary of some stuff she did in season three.

Erin demands to speak with Jimmy as he leads a group of seniors through a chair yoga at Sandpiper Crossing. Going outside, she confronts Jimmy about his ploy of lying to the seniors to get his settlement quicker. Jimmy not only affirms her accusation, but abruptly states his disdain for his clients, seemingly unknowing that he is still patched into the microphone set. As such, the seniors quickly abandon Jimmy upon hearing his admission when he goes back inside. He meets Erin in the parking lot out-front Sandpiper Crossing and tells her the plan worked and the seniors will likely continue their class action, having set up the argument with Erin to do the right thing by his clients. Erin tells Jimmy she was serious about everything she said and departs.

I knew that. I remembered it. And yet, I never put it together that it was all the same actress until Monday of this week. That’s kind of cool. She’s just been killing it on shows I love for like five years now, all added up. I hope she shows up on The Righteous Gemstones as a fiery new televangelist next. Or on Narcos as a loose-cannon DEA agent. Or on For All Mankind as an astronaut. Or anything, really. This ball is rolling now. Let’s get Jessie Ennis in all of my shows.

ITEM NUMBER TWO — Thank you to Barry for the commitment to remaining silly

I know, I know. We just talked about Barry last week. And we just talked about the thing where it mixes the heavy and the goofy as well as any show on television now or ever. And a lot of the screencaps in that discussion featured Henry Winkler, which allowed me to link to the interview I did with him, which I just linked to again. But there are two very good reasons why it’s happening again today. One is because I really like doing it. The other is because Barry keeps being good at this stuff.

Let’s set the scene with as few spoilers as possible. Barry (Bill Hader) has gotten his acting coach, Gene Cousineau (Winkler), a speaking role on a show that is apparently called Laws of Humanity. There are nefarious motives at play here, many related to Barry being a hitman and killing someone close to Gene and attempting to make it up to him by landing him this role and forcing him to take it under threat of further violence against additional loved ones. It’s a lot. But you should be watching Barry and know this stuff already.

Anyway, the important part. We get to the day of the job, and we are on the set of the show everyone has been calling Laws of Humanity, and two things become clear almost immediately: One, the star of this show within the show is played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar; two…

HUGH MANITY

MARK- PAUL GOSSELAAR PLAYING AN ACTOR WHO PLAYS A CHARACTER NAMED HUGH MANITY

THE SHOW IS ACTUALLY CALLED LAWS OF HUGH MANITY

YESSSSSSS

I am so proud of everyone involved in this piece of business. It’s, like, both genius and massively stupid and it’s like they did it all just for me. Add in the thing where my beloved NoHo Hank sent the text in the screenshot at the top of this page in the same episode and… man. Barry is such a great show. There’s some serious stuff going down this year. Some of it is not a lot of fun. But cutting through that every now and then with the dumbest puns and jokes possible makes it go down much easier.

LAWS OF HUGH MANITY

This will never not be funny to me.

ITEM NUMBER THREE — Listen to me

Regular readers of this column probably know that I absolutely mangled my spinal cord about 15 years ago. Fell, broke my neck, use a power wheelchair now, the whole deal. I’m fine. I swear to God I’m fine. If any one of you says “awwww” while reading this I will puke. I only bring it up now because it leads me into this: Some very good/smart people are starting a very good/cool program to get more people like me with disabilities involved in the process of making television and movies. From Variety:

The campaign, formally known as Disability Is Diversity, comes from the Inevitable Foundation, a nonprofit created 16 months ago by Richie Siegel and Marisa Torelli-Pedevska that seeks to fund and mentor disabled mid-career screenwriters.

The PSAs feature open letters that read, “Dear Entertainment Industry, THERE IS NO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION WITHOUT DISABILITY.”

Disabled people make up more than 20% of the population, but only 2% of on-screen characters have disabilities. Less than 1% of writers in Hollywood are disabled.

I dig this for a few reasons, which I will hammer out via bullet point:

• It’s always tricky for people with disabilities to get people to treat them as capable and useful members of society and a big first step is just getting in the door
• The depiction of disability on television and in movies kind of sucks, with most of the examples being sappy inspirational characters or super-rich villains or brain geniuses who may or may not have superpowers that offset their disability
• This increases the odds that there will finally be just, like, one cool guy on television who uses a wheelchair, maybe like a private detective or a chill beach dude or a handsome blogger who writes a weekly column that rounds up various stories from the world of entertainment, to pick three examples completely at random

I love it. This is good. Look at it all. More stuff like this, please.

ITEM NUMBER FOUR — Finally, a movie for Brian

Reasonable arguments can be made that my two favorite things in the entire world are…

• Movies and/or television shows
• The freaking Philadelphia 76ers

… which is why it brings me so much pleasure to present the trailer for the Netflix original movie Hustle, starring Adam Sandler as a basketball scout for the aforementioned freaking Philadelphia 76ers. Here’s the summary::

After discovering a once-in-a-lifetime player with a rocky past abroad, a down on his luck basketball scout (Adam Sandler) takes it upon himself to bring the phenom to the States without his team’s approval. Against the odds, they have one final shot to prove they have what it takes to make it in the NBA.

And here’s my favorite part of it all: Within about the first 20 seconds, we have both a shot of Adam Sandler in a Sixers jacket…

… and a scene with former Sixer reserve center Boban Marjanovic, who is making some serious inroads in Hollywood between this and the thing in the third John Wick movie where he played an assassin named Ernest who tried to ambush John in a library.

At another point in the trailer, as if they worried we wouldn’t believe the character is really from and/or familiar with Philadelphia, Sandler is wearing a Federal Donuts t-shirt.

I went to college in Philly and lived in the city for a grand total of about eight years on and off. I now live something like an hour outside the city limits. Please believe me when I tell you that watching this trailer is the closest I’ve come to hopping in my van and driving to Philly for a hoagie and some donuts in months. It’s a powerful draw. I can’t really explain it. Look up Federal Donuts if you’re not familiar. Bring me some if you are. I know this all started out about a basketball movie starring Adam Sandler but we have moved on to donuts now. The Sixers were eliminated from the playoffs last night. I’m not doing great. Donuts will help.

ITEM NUMBER FIVE — I need to be very clear about what is happening on Holey Moley

We are going straight to the bullet points here:

• Holey Moley is back
• Holey Moley is America’s Finest Television program
• This season there is a running bit where co-host Rob Riggle recruits the Muppets to help get the show picked up for another season, but one of the Muppets — the sweet but misguided Pepe the Prawn — misinterprets his request and kidnaps NBA All-Star Steph Curry and holds him hostage in an attempt to get ABC to commit to the renewal

It is… awesome. And chaotic. Which is kind of awesome itself. This show is ostensibly a miniature golf competition that also features insane obstacles — some of which feature flames or Bigfoot, for… reasons — and it now also features the Muppets kidnapping future Hall of Fame basketball players. It’s just beautiful on all fronts and it makes me so happy and I hope it runs for 15 seasons.

Or, to quote… well, myself, from my own review…

I have no clue how people could watch this and not be charmed straight down to their soul. It’s nonsense. It’s chaos. There are Muppets now. It’s really just a perfect hour of very stupid television that you can watch with your brain switched into power-save mode. It’s important to have shows like that, or at least something like that, in your life somewhere. The world is big and scary and there are plenty of fancy prestige dramas on the 15 streaming services you’re subscribed to. Take a little time off and enjoy the Muppets and a bunch of goofballs whomping themselves into windmills. You’ve earned this. You deserve this. It’s too beautiful to ignore.

It dawns on me as I go through this that I have now mentioned both flaming obstacles and people getting whomped by windmills, but I did not make clear that this is actually the same obstacle. The windmills that whomp people are on fire. A visual will help. These GIFs are both from this week. They’re of the same woman. Look at network television greatness.

I am going to say this once again and I need you to know I am way more serious about it than you think I am: Holey Moley is America’s finest television program.

READER MAIL

If you have questions about television, movies, food, local news, weather, or whatever you want, shoot them to me on Twitter or at [email protected] (put “RUNDOWN” in the subject line). I am the first writer to ever answer reader mail in a column. Do not look up this last part.

From Josh:

Would you be thrilled or incredibly annoyed (I feel like this is a binary type of question) if Fast10 ended with Vin Diesel lying on a couch with an ice pack on his head, Michelle Rodriguez coming over and saying “you hit your head pretty good” them cutting to a totaled sports car from 2001 and Vin Diesel saying “I just had the craziest dream”

Ahahahahaha

AHAHAHAHAHA

YES

God, can you imagine this? Can you imagine this massive collective groan coming out of the theater when it happened? Can you imagine the annoyed faces of people who are sitting there trying to make sense of it while I am cackling like the Joker in the back row? I’m so torn now. One part of me desperately does not want this to happen, only to avoid the insufferable discourse that unfolds afterward. Another part of me wants to bathe in the chaos of it all for days.

Here’s the other thing about all of this, which is worth noting for the sake of both fairness and comedy: The surprise “it was all Dominic Toretto’s concussion dream” ending would not be the weirdest thing that has happened in this franchise. I don’t even know if it would be in the top three. It has a hell of a mountain to climb to get over. Consider:

• A team of street racing international fugitives now does secret missions for a government agency that has an unlimited budget and is run by Kurt Russell
• Jason Statham plays a character who full-on murdered their dear friend and yet still joins the Family a few movies later as a valued team member and, also, surprise, the friend who was murdered in the third movie and came back for the fourth through sixth thanks to a chronological lambada and then was killed again… yeah, he was actually alive the whole time and has rejoined the team, which, has been working with the man they thought murdered him
• Ludacris and Tyrese went to space in a NoS-powered Pontiac

It could happen. It really could. Please start preparing yourselves now, just in case.

AND NOW, THE NEWS

To India!

An Indian murder trial had to be halted on Wednesday under bizarre circumstances after a monkey stole several key pieces of evidence before the case reached court.

…

…

…

Excuse me?

According to the Times of India, the monkey was able to snatch an evidence packet that contained 15 pieces of evidence – including a knife, the alleged murder weapon.

So this appears to be yet another of those Two Things Can Be True At Once situations.

On one hand, there’s a real dead person here and a real alleged murderer who might go free, none of which is good.

On the other hand, please take a second and imagine some poor lawyer going in front of a judge with “a monkey stole my evidence” as his story and it actually being true.

During a pre-trial hearing, Jaipur police had to admit to the court that since the murder in 2016, a monkey snatched the evidence while it was being transported.

This sounds like a plot from Laws of Humanity, the fake show from Barry starring Mark-Paul Gosselaar, which, now that I think about it, I really want to exist and feature this exact plot in the first episode.

Key evidence in the case, including a knife that is believed to have been used by the suspects to murder Sharma, was collected and placed in an evidence packet, ready to be used in court when the case went to trial.

However, according to India’s NDTV, the evidence was temporarily being kept under a tree by the constable due to a lack of space in the audit facility in Malkhana.

It was then, the police said in their written response to the court, that the monkey snatched the 15 pieces of evidence and fled. It has not been recovered.

FIFTEEN PIECES OF EVIDENCE

THAT IS SO MUCH EVIDENCE

HOW DID HE CARRY IT ALL?

WITH HIS LITTLE HANDS?!

The public prosecutor has reportedly reacted angrily to the police’s incompetence, suggesting their excuse is unusual. The court also expressed its frustration.

I mean… yeah. Fair reactions all around. But it’s like they say in law school: sometimes things work out, sometimes a monkey steals your evidence. They don’t actually say that. They should probably start, though.

With the exception of a few notable examples (see: The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back, The Road Warrior, The Dark Knight, and The Wrath of Khan), sequels rarely live up to—let alone surpass—the quality of the film that preceded them. Which is why, according to Judd Apatow, we’ll likely never see a Superbad II.

As the New York Post reports, Apatow—who produced the original Superbad, which turned actors like Jonah Hill and Emma Stone into household names—was totally down to make a sequel, but the film’s cast worried that a second movie might tarnish the reputation of the original 2007 coming-of-age comedy. Apatow was recently a guest on the “Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum” podcast, where he shared some of the actors’ key, and understandable, concerns about messing with perfection when he brought up the idea of a second film.

“Everyone was like, ‘Nah, we don’t want to screw up Superbad by accidentally making a crappy second one. And I would always say the same thing: ‘Well, that’s like saying don’t make the second episode of the The Sopranos. Like, so why do you think we would screw up the second one?”

In 2020, Seth Rogen—who co-wrote the movie with Evan Goldberg—told LADbible that of all the movies he has been a part of, “Superbad is the one I’d 100 percent probably never touch.” As Rogen explained:

Honestly, I don’t think it requires improvement or anything to be built upon it. I’m unbelievably proud of it, it really holds up—people still watch it, high school kids come up to me telling me that they watched it for the first time and how they loved it. It’s worked its way into being viewed as one of the better high school movies that’s out there.

In 2021, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, a.k.a. McLovin, said, “If there was a way to do it, [a female version] would be the way, for sure.” Though Booksmart already kind of went there.

Apatow’s idea was that Hill’s Seth would flunk out of college and randomly show up to visit Michael Cera’s Evan. For his part, according to Apatow, Hill said he’d be game to reunite the BFFs—but only when they’re 70 or 80 years old. “Our spouses die, and we’re single again,” Hill told W Magazine of his idea earlier this year. “That’s what I want Superbad 2 to be, and that’s the only way I would ever make it.” Given that both Hill and Cera are in their 30s, that movie could take a while.

Superbad II: Coming to a theater near you in 2059.

(Via New York Post)

If your shoelaces came untied when you were about to cross a busy intersection or your boss gave you a raise out of the blue, you can thank the fine denizens of Land of Luck, where they work tirelessly to conjure both joyous and frustrating serendipity. That includes Bob, a talking black cat voiced by Simon Pegg who wants to set the record straight about his kind’s unearned negative reputation and to showcase the human-less luck factory of Apple and Skydance Animation’s latest film. It’s a place where humans (and presumably iPods) are not allowed.

Directed by Disney alum Peggy Holmes, Luck features “the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world, who when she stumbles into the never-before-seen Land of Luck, sets out on a quest to bring some good luck home for her best friend. But with humans not allowed, her only chance is teaming up with the magical creatures who live there to do it.”

Sam is voiced by Tony-nominated actress Eva Noblezada, and the cast of the family-friendly adventure is rounded out by Pegg, Jane Fonda, and Whoopi Goldberg. This is great news for parents who are ready for their four year olds to find a post-Encanto obsession.

WARNING: Spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness below.

As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness continues to dominate the box office, Marvel fans continue to probe the film’s reality-breaking events and what greater implications it might have for the future of the MCU and its characters. However, one question is starting to nag fans, and a new theory may provide an answer. That question: Where the heck was Vision?

With Multiverse of Madness leaning heavily into WandaVision, marking the first time an MCU movie has been so intricately linked to one of its series, Vision’s absence is particularly notable especially as Wanda begins her murderous multiversal hunt to be steal her twin sons from a universe where they still exist. One such reality is Earth 838 where Doctor Strange and the Illuminati try to stop Wanda from capturing America Chavez and stealing her ability to travel through the multiverse. However, Wanda proves too powerful and horrifically murders her way through Professor X, Captain Marvel, Black Bolt, Captain Carter, and Reed Richards.

According to journalist Ryan Broderick, it’s those last two characters who provide the key to why Vision isn’t around to protect Wanda 838 and her kids.

“Wanda’s decisions only make sense if she’s purposely seeking out universes where Vision doesn’t exist. Presumably knowing that if she tried to steal her children from a universe where he did exist he would stop her,” Broderick writes. “How do we know Vision doesn’t exist in Earth 838? Because all signs point to it being a world where Howard Stark died in the experiment to create Captain America, thus creating Captain Carter. Instead of Tony Stark being the smartest man in the world, in 838, it’s Reed Richards.”

You can read the rest of Broderick’s thread here, which further breaks down Earth 838 where Tony Stark is never born. It’s pretty nerdy and great. That said, Broderick doesn’t address one small detail about Vision’s absence. He’s technically still alive in the MCU a.k.a. Earth 616. In the WandaVision finale, Vision transfers his consciousness created by Wanda’s memories into the White Vision body created by S.W.O.R.D. He then flies off into the real world now that he’s able to exist outside of Westview.

Essentially, Vision sat on the sidelines while the entire events of Multiverse of Madness took place. Although, considering Wanda’s actions mostly took place in the multiverse and two mystical locations accessible only by powerful magic users, it could be argued that Vision was completely unaware of Wanda being corrupted by the Darkhold. Apparently, he had other robot things on his robot plate than keeping tabs on his ex.

(Via Ryan Broderick on Twitter)

As talk of an apparently impending overturn of Roe v. Wade spreads, people are using their influence to take action. Now, a bunch of musicians have come together to do just that, by attaching their names to a new full-page New York Times ad from Bans Off Our Bodies and Planned Parenthood.

The ad reads, “The Supreme Court is planning to overturn Roe v. Wade, taking away the constitutional right to abortion. Our power to plan our own futures and control our own bodies depends on our ability to access sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion. We are Artists. Creators. Storytellers. We are the new generation stepping into our power. Now we are being robbed of our power. WE WILL NOT GO BACK — AND WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN.”

Below that are the names of 160 young artists who signed the ad. Some of the musicians who appear include Angel Olsen, Ariana Grande, Ashe, Ashnikko, Bethany Cosentino, Billie Eilish, Blu DeTiger, Camila Cabello, Cautious Clay, Clairo, Dave Burd (Lil Dicky), Demi Lovato, Dorian Electra, Finneas, Gayle, Grandson, Halsey, Hayley Kiyoko, Holly Humberstone, Karlie Kloss, Kelsey Lu, King Princess, Lauren Jauregui, Lauv, Lykke Li, Madison Beer, Megan Thee Stallion, Meghan Trainor, Miley Cyrus, Mitski, Noah Cyrus, Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, Phoebe Bridgers, Pink Sweats, Pom Pom Squad, Princess Nokia, Rebecca Black, The Regrettes, Rina Sawayama, Selena Gomez, Shawn Mendes, Snail Mail, Soccer Mommy, Sunflower Bean, Tate McRae, Tinashe, Weyes Blood, and X Ambassadors.

Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation Of America, also offered a statement, saying, “Should the Supreme Court take away the constitutional right to safe, legal abortion, young people stand to lose the most. So many of us — who grew up with the understanding that Roe was settled law — could have never imagined that our own children would have fewer rights and less freedom over their own bodies and futures. What we see in young people from all walks of life is that they aren’t backing down — not today, not ever. Like the artists who signed on to this ad, their resolve to keep bans off their bodies is a source of hope during a dark time, and we are determined to keep fighting alongside them, for them.”

Check out the ad below.

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

Big Thief might be the best band in the world right now.

If that seems hyperbolic, let’s look at their resume. They just released an instant classic that levels up their previous four great albums (not to mention a strong solo catalog from the band’s individual members) to an echelon not previously considered likely, with February’s Dragon New Warm Mountain, I Believe In You. They are using their mixture of full-band and solo recordings to build something of a mythos, an extended Big Thief universe that feels particularly rooted in the present time and place, where many of the current commercial reaches of their peers are sidelined in favor art that’s as indebted to classic rock tropes as it is to contemporary indie sensibilities. And through their live show, they are incorporating both the malleability of jam bands and the confidence of arena behemoths, making for sets that are unpredictable and intimate, even as the rooms swell in size.

Sure, maybe The War On Drugs currently has a tighter grip on the crown with tighter live performances and bigger sonic statements. But that could easily be countered by the POV of Adrianne Lenker, whose complexity and fluidity feel in tune with present-day youth culture in ways that the biggest rock bands of recent decades never have. Regardless, this isn’t meant to put Big Thief in competition with anyone. Big Thief simply have no current peers, forging a path that’s exciting because no band has ever quite attempted what they’ve been doing, both on record and as a live entity. They are one-of-one, as essential as they come.

On Wednesday night at the Wiltern, that specialness wasn’t exactly underscored from the jump. Big Thief began their performance pretty tamely, starting the same way their current album does, with the spare, gorgeous “Change.” The show let that laid-back vibe simmer for several songs, including a miniature suite of new tunes “Wanted You To Stay” and “Sadness Is A Gift” (another rule of being the best band in the world: you are always looking forward, much like Animal Collective in the aughts or The National in the 2010s). The night felt like a slow-moving escalator, with Meek and Lenker’s considered harmonies playing off each other perfectly in a theater that could pick up on their nuances.

And then, with Dragon‘s biggest semi-hit, “Certainty,” the show opened up on itself. The cut found increased tension and release than its album counterpart, turning the acoustic arrangement into the most rocking moment of the night, at least at that point. At its conclusion, Lenker switched from her trusty acoustic to an electric guitar (and even went through a bit of a wardrobe change to complement the instrument change-up), signaling a second act full of boldness and intensity. Songs like Capacity‘s “Black Diamonds” and Dragon‘s title track were transformed into robust statements that could sit comfortably next to the expansive “Not,” their best song, and probably the best song by anyone in the past decade.

This hits on yet another aspect of Big Thief that makes them so great: their live show manages to transform the songs you know into something not just different, but often better. Heck, the band even found the space to morph a couple of Lenker solo tunes into Big Thief statements on Wednesday night. If anything, the band’s gentle soul and unassuming nature might be holding it back a tad. They concluded the concert with receding energy, allowing the audience to drift back into the night, rather than leaving with the exhilarated feeling of the show’s middle act.

For all they’ve accomplished over the past few years, from Grammy nominations to what’s likely to be a year-end-list topping 2022 release, it’s exciting to think that there is still room for growth and improvement. Some bands might add visual components or backing instruments to the fold, but there’s also the sense that Big Thief might lose something if they went down this road, messing with a perfect formula. But knowing the option is there, that Big Thief could only be scraping the surface, just shows how much they are operating on another level right now.

The Office probably should have ended after Steve Carell departed the show in season seven. But it lasted for two more seasons — and if NBC had its way, there would have been two more after that. The contracts for much of the cast were up, though, and there would have been a distracting turnover (writers Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak, among others, had already departed for other projects).

In their upcoming book, The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office From Two Best Friends Who Were There, co-stars (and podcast buddies) Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey discuss the decision that led to the show ending after season nine.

“I obviously can’t speak for [producer Greg Daniels], but I know… [there] was a very thoughtful decision of, well, what is the show without possibly the core cast?” Kinsey told Entertainment Weekly. Fischer added, “I think it really points to the collaborative bond and trust that we all had as a creative collective, that Greg even made us a part of this conversation the way he did. And that we had the kind of trust between us that we could all talk about this really openly and come to a decision that we all felt really good about.”

The idea of continuing The Office without, say, Jim or Dwight would have “felt sad and wrong,” Fischer said. (The final season could have used way less Andy and Nellie, however.) Kinsey agreed. “It felt wrong. It felt wrong and like it would just ruin [The Office] world to slowly make up excuses of why people are leaving. One of the things I loved and we all got excited about was being able to know what the end was.”

Fortunately, while seasons eight and nine aren’t up to the standard of previous The Office seasons, the finale is pretty good. Although if you want to stop watching after “Goodbye, Michael,” that works, too.

(Via EW)

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It’s easy to see how “Pasoori” has gained its popularity. The visuals are rich and colorful and very eye-popping—the very essence of old-school Bollywood. Plus the song itself is quite the catchy, dynamic earworm with its blend of traditional music and driving, percussive reggaeton beat. That’s a lot of boxes to tick, stylistically speaking.

The song begins with the words “set fire to your worries.” It’s a verse that came to songwriter Ali Sethi after seeing a similar phrase painted across the back of a truck while driving through Punjab. That expression, coupled with the fear that entering India as a Pakistani artist might result in extremists burning down whatever studio he worked in, inspired him to channel the experience into his music, he told The New Yorker.

“I did what desi bards have done for ages. I might not have been able to travel to India, but I knew my music could,” he said.

Translated, “Pasoori” can mean “difficulty,” “conflict” or “difficult mess.” At first glance, the song appears to be a classic tale of star-crossed lovers, with lyrics like “If your love is poison, I will drink it in a flurry.” However, the way it expertly weaves Indian and Pakistani art styles together suggests a larger message. Can two countries see beyond their conflict to celebrate the natural harmonies of their cultures? Sethi seems to be ultimately posing this profound question, all while delivering a bona fide banger.

If “Passori”’s global success is any indicator, the answer appears to be yes. It’s garnered more than 100 million views on YouTube and is getting praise from both Pakistani and Indian stars. According to The New Yorker, “Pasoori” now “sits firmly” at No. 1 on the charts in India.

It already has a viral cover, for cryin’ out loud.

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Congrats to all the creators of “Pasoori” for transcending boundaries and winning hearts. This is the magic of music.

Gerda Cole received the most special gift she could have asked for on her 98th birthday: a chance to reunite with her daughter for the first time in 80 years.

As a young Jewish refugee, Cole fled her home of Austria in 1939 for England at the start of World War II.

Several years later, Cole became a mother at the age of 18. But limited education and economic hardship left her with virtually no choice but to give her newborn daughter up for adoption.

Though she was never allowed to make contact with her child again, Cole went off to live a full life. She moved to Canada, earned multiple degrees and got to travel the world.

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Meanwhile: Cole’s daughter, Sonya Grist, knew little about her birth mother, and believed her to be dead. As Grist’s son Stephen found out, that was most certainly not the case. He told The Toronto Sun:

“I discover that Gerda, my mother’s birth mother, has a stepson and I contact the stepson on Facebook and I say, ‘I’m missing one last piece of information. I just need Gerda’s death certificate …can you help me with that?’ And he said, ‘You’re not going to find her death certificate because she’s still alive and living in a nursing home in Canada.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my God! My mother’s mother is still alive and is 97 turning 98 (Saturday)!”

Stephen and Sonya quickly whisked away from England to the long-term care home in Toronto where Cole resided. A video from CBC News shows the two sharing their long overdue hug:

A Toronto woman reunites with her daughter after 80 years apart. #TheMoment pic.twitter.com/2vGiRjM6R5

— CBC News: The National (@CBCTheNational) May 9, 2022

They squealed, laughed, smiled, danced and ate cake. It really was a remarkable birthday full of moments to be cherished. Also on Mother’s Day weekend, no less.

Eighty years might have passed, but the bond between this mother and daughter was still strong. Grist recalled to CTV News that in their first email correspondence, Cole wrote “you have to understand this computer doesn’t like me.”

“It was exactly something I would say,” Grist joked. She might be tech challenged, but at least she comes by it honestly.

As for motherly advice, Cole did have some wisdom to bestow upon her daughter.

“Don’t wait until tomorrow before it is too late, if you want to live, live now, not tomorrow or the day after.”

In this case, it certainly wasn’t too late for a mother and daughter to share their love.