Category: Worldwide

After four years in development, numerous delays due to the ongoing pandemic, and a few cast changes, the Jessica Chastain led action-thriller The 355 has finally unveiled its second full-length trailer. While the new trailer shares a lot in common with the first one the studio released, in the newest footage we a whole lot more of Avengers star Sebastian Stan — implying the actor might have a bigger and perhaps more dastardly role than previous thought — as well as it made more clear that Bingbing Fan’s character, Lin Mi Sheng, is more of an ally to the team than she was depicted as before.

The trailer begins with Chastain’s character, CIA agent Mason Brown, explaining to fellow agent Nick (Sebastian Stan) the origin story of the first female spy in America before cheekily telling him that “her legacy lives on” in her. The rest of the trailer then follows agent Brown tracking down four, international woman spies — Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger, Penélope Cruz, and Bingbing Fan — in an attempt to band them together and prevent a catastrophe that threatens the entire globe: World War III. Based on the trailer’s description, this just scratches the surface of what we can expect to see in The 355.

When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, wild card CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain) will need to join forces with rival badass German agent Marie (Diane Kruger, In the Fade), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o), and skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Oscar winner Penélope Cruz) on a lethal, breakneck mission to retrieve it, while also staying one-step ahead of a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Bingbing Fan, X-Men: Days of Future Past), who is tracking their every move. As the action rockets around the globe from the cafes of Paris to the markets of Morocco to the opulent auction houses of Shanghai, the quartet of women will forge a tenuous loyalty that could protect the world—or get them killed.

In addition to Chastain, Nyong’o, Kruger, Cruz, Sheng, and Stan, Zero Dark Thirty‘s Édgar Ramirez is also set to appear in the film. The previously announced Marion Cotillard, however, unfortunately had to drop the project, and has since been replaced by Kruger. The 355 is both written, produced, and directed by Dark Phoenix‘s Simon Kinberg, with Theresa Rebeck (NBC’s Smash, Trouble) co-writing and Chastain helping with production. The film is scheduled to hit theaters early next year, on January 7, 2022.

The NBA has seen 96 percent of its players get vaccinated against COVID-19, but among those who have decided to not get the jab, a popular refrain has been that they’re waiting because they are in the midst of doing their own research. It is a line that has been used by some folks who still are not vaccinated despite three separate vaccines being available to Americans, and ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy has a question: what, exactly, are you researching?

Van Gundy was on the call for Thursday night’s preseason game between the Miami Heat and the Houston Rockets. With the Heat up by double-digits in the fourth quarter, Van Gundy, as he is wont to do, started talking about something other than the game. He used this opportunity to challenge those who drop that line as justification.

“I would like someone to answer this question: What does that look like, you doing your own research?” Van Gundy said. “Are you doing studies yourself? Are you in the lab on a nightly basis? What are you doing? I don’t understand what that means, ‘I’m doing my own research.’ How about this, we got smart people, a lot smarter than anybody in the NBA, who’s already done the research.”

The mini rant came on the same day that the Brooklyn Nets listed Kyrie Irving as ineligible to participate in the team’s first home preseason game, which takes place on Friday, due to his resistance to getting vaccinated.

Following this week’s release of Dave Chappelle‘s latest Netflix special, The Closer, the comedian has been embroiled in controversy thanks to declaring himself “Team TERF” while defending transphobic remarks by author J.K. Rowling. Chappelle also made incendiary comments of his own by saying during the special that “gender is a fact” and “every human being on Earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman” to be born. (Additionally, Chappelle defended homophobic comments made by DaBaby.)

However, despite the growing controversy, the comedian seems unfazed by his detractors. During a star-studded screening of Untitled: Dave Chappelle Documentary on Thursday night, the comic embraced his current “cancelled” status while being feted by the crowd. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“If this is what being canceled is like, I love it,” the 48-year-old said in response to a standing ovation. The line, and many more like it, was greeted by rapturous applause from the crowd, which included a masked Brad Pitt, Tiffany Haddish, Donnell Rawlings and others. At another point, he was more blunt: “F*ck Twitter. F*ck NBC News, ABC News, all these stupid ass networks. I’m not talking to them. I’m talking to you. This is real life.”

But while Chappelle doesn’t seem concerned with his words, Dear White People showrunner Jaclyn Moore has spoken out and announced that she will (apparently) no longer be working with Netflix if it continues to profit from hate speech.

“I love so many of the people I’ve worked with at Netflix. Brilliant people and executives who have been collaborative and fought for important art. But I’ve been thrown against walls because, ‘I’m not a ‘real’ woman.’ I’ve had beer bottles thrown at me. So, @Netflix, I’m done,” Moore tweeted.

You can see Moore’s statement below:

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

There are few franchises in the world as popular as Grand Theft Auto. Rockstar’s sandbox crime series iso one of the most profitable pieces of media ever. However, it’s been eight years since a new GTA game, with much of Rockstar’s time on the series being spent on supporting Grand Theft Auto Online and creating Red Dead Redemption 2.

On Friday, Rockstar finally gave fans what they’ve wanted to see … sort of. While it wasn’t a new game, Rockstar officially announced a remastered trilogy of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. This is one of those games that has had rumors swirling around it for quite some time, so it didn’t come out of left field, but it was still exciting to have it officially confirmed.

The announcement of this trilogy coincides with a big anniversary for the GTA series: the 20th anniversary of GTA III. For a lot of longtime fans, and really for Rockstar itself, GTA III was the game that changed the entire series. It created the formula that GTA and, really, every open-world game ever has emulated or straight up copied. Anyone who’s played a game where they had a map full of icons that they could take on at their own leisure has, in some way, used the GTA III formula.

While GTA III was extremely popular on its own, it also spawned the spin-off San Andreas and Vice City games. San Andreas took the idea of giving the player endless options in an open world to new highs, while Vice City‘s overall style was beloved by fans everywhere. GTA IV and GTA V sold more, but there are still many fans whose love the original PS2 trilogy. Rockstar is giving them the ability to play those games again in a new way.

Cardi B’s vibrant personality deserves a chance to shine outside of music, and indeed, it has been afforded those opportunities. Aside from her various TV appearances over the years, in 2020, she launched her own show, Cardi Tries __, on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram’s Watch Together platform. As the title suggests, on the program, Cardi takes a stab at a number of different activities from outside of her usual wheelhouse.

The show is alive and well, and a new episode premieres today, in which Cardi teams up with Raven-Symoné to marry a same-sex couple; The episode arrives shortly ahead of National Coming Out Day on October 11 (which is also Cardi’s birthday). In an exclusive clip, Raven-Symoné shows Cardi some different options for flower and table arrangements. While looking at them, Cardi was so moved by the displays that she got emotional and started crying. While trying to compose herself, she said, “I want to get married… again!”

Elsewhere in the episode, Cardi and Raven-Symoné help a lucky person named Brandi plan a surprise wedding for their significant other, Shannon. Furthermore, Cardi herself actually officiates the ceremony, thanks to the power vested in her by the state of California (and an online class).

Check out the exclusive Cardi Tries clip above and find the full episode here.

Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It’s been a while since we heard from The Alchemist or Vince Staples about that project they supposedly worked on recently but as a consolation prize, Vince appears on the second installment of Alc’s EP series, This Thing Of Ours, which dropped today. Vince features on the song “6 Five Heartbeats,” spitting a ferocious verse in that languid delivery of his over a jazzy beat that belies the menace of Staples’ lyrics. “You had a blog, we had Berettas,” Vince sneers on the intro. The combination of the two always makes magic — the EP they’ve completed can’t come soon enough.

Vince revealed that the pair had been working together during an interview in which Vince said he recorded “30 verses on 30 beats,” blaming a delay in its release on the fact that “Alchemist moves at a very cryptic pace — he’s hella slow.” However, Alchemist refuted that account on Twitter, announcing “Vince is full of sh*t. I’ve had a finished 6 song EP with JUST HIM for over 3 months!! MIXED! Plus mad songs with him and Thebe [Earl Sweatshirt].” This got fans more hyped up but since then, the two have kept mostly mum about their plans for all these songs. Whether “6 Five Heartbeats” is one of those coveted verses remains to be seen, but it certainly bodes well for the eventual project.

Listen to “6 Five Heartbeats” above and stream This Thing Of Ours, Vol. 2, out now via EMPIRE.

At this point, it’s almost hard to keep track of just how many times Donald Trump has lost the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County, Arizona. His most recent embarrassment occurred when the Cyber Ninjas, the cyber experts he and his supporters entrusted with uncovering the real election results in the Arizona county, (re)confirmed that not only did Joe Biden win—he won by a slightly larger margin than was originally reported. And Anderson Cooper, for one, is tired of hearing any differently.

As Raw Story reports, Cooper spent part of his Thursday night broadcast calling out the bullsh*t being spun by Arizona congressman Andy Biggs. When asked during an oversight hearing on the state’s controversial ballot review, Biggs replied that, “We don’t know,” which sent Cooper’s head spinning:

“I mean, that’s just complete bull. It’s amazing that that person is a sitting congressman. That person is just lying. It’s become so normal, hasn’t it? Just incredible to me.

Congressman Biggs is one of several lawmakers being looked at by the House Select Committee for his role in the former president’s rally, which preceded the attack on the Capitol. The Committee issued more subpoenas today. Meantime, four of his former top aides and allies are facing a midnight deadline to turn over documents to the committee. So no, none of this is history yet and sadly it is still current events.”

You can watch the full clip above.

(Via Raw Story)

Dakota Johnson played a small but integral role in the disintegration of Ellen’s fake public persona.

During a 2019 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Suspiria actress was confronted by host Ellen DeGeneres for not being invited to her 30th birthday party. “Actually, no. That’s not the truth, Ellen. You were invited,” Johnson insisted. “Last time I was on the show last year, you gave me a bunch of sh*t about not inviting you, but I didn’t even know you wanted to be invited. I didn’t even know you liked me!” She later called Tig Notaro her favorite comedian, prompting groans from the audience:

As it turns out, Ellen thinks she deserves credit for Dakota stanning Tig. “Tig is hilarious,” the comedian admitted. “But you saw her first at my birthday party, so I feel like I introduced her to you.” Except… “I had left your birthday party before that happened,” Dakota revealed. “Gosh, this isn’t going well!”

It was awkward. It was great. And Drew Barrymore has Johnson’s back.

“People have gotten in trouble for claiming not being invited to your parties,” Barrymore said on Thursday’s episode of her eponymous talk show, referencing the Ellen incident. “That was amazing, by the way. Like, amazing.” This was Johnson’s response:

That’s a laugh of someone with no regrets.

You can watch The Drew Barrymore Show clip above (it happens around the 4:15 mark).

(Via E! Online)

Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) spends a decent chunk of time harassing fellow congresspeople, and her severely troll-heavy antics prompted the House to stripped her committee seats, which (paradoxically) seems to have given her more time to push conspiracy theories. Maybe she’ll get voted out of office at some point, but before that happens, even Steve Bannon has delivered a side-eye to her claims of being the most productive member of Congress, which Greene apparently believes while toting a Scooby Doo meme to the House floor.

Her latest bit of unhinged madness arrives with Greene lashing out at Dr. Fauci over the horsey-medication, Ivermectin, which has grown notorious as a claimed COVID cure among the right wing when it’s potentially very dangerous to humans. The CDC has insisted that “Ivermectin is not authorized or approved by FDA for prevention or treatment of COVID-19.” And the FDA weighed in on the subject as follows: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

As far as Greene is concerned, however, Fauci is out of line by not co-signing people’s decisions to swallow a paste meant for livestock: “It is deeply irresponsible for the Biden administration, the CDC, Dr. Fauci, and any of these doctors to be advising people to not prescribe it.” She also insisted “a very good drug, it’s saftiness [sic] has been proven for decades, it even won a Nobel Peace Prize.” Watch below.

Yep, the whole “Nobel Peace Prize” business is a right-wing claim that has been easily disproven. Reuters recently did a fact-check to lay it all out there because, clearly, no such award has been given. Although Ivermectin has received a prize for reducing parasitic infections in livestock, the drug is definitely not approved for treating COVID (a virus) and especially not considered safe for humans to ingest.

However, Marjorie Taylor Greene probably wouldn’t care if someone called her out for anything that she’s saying here. She’s too busy living in her own reality while political rivals assemble with hopes to unseat her in 2022.

Netflix‘s Diana: The Musical is what happens when a global pandemic inadvertently causes the world to forget what good musicals really look like. It’s the kind of circus sideshow, lit in jewel tones with dozens of background dancers flailing flamboyantly to cringe-worthy lyrics about sex, bulimia, and rock-and-roll that your conservative uncle in the Midwest believes graces every Broadway stage. It’s a glorious trainwreck, fueled by the familiar royal drama that veers off track anytime it chooses fiction over fact.

It is, in a word, a mess.

But, like Marie Kondo, messes often spark joy for me, which is why I volunteered to bear witness to this musical monstrosity.

Filmed in an empty theater (another consequence of Covid), the show charts Princess Diana’s rise to popularity, her ascension to the ranks of royalty, and all the pain, trauma, and heartbreak that comes with it. There’s nothing new hidden within the Rock of Ages-like melodies, though perhaps you will come away with a healthy distaste for ’80s pop ballads. Diana’s story is so well known at this point that the show and its actors — all of whom perform admirably given the material they’re working with — have to rely on fictitious blow-ups and fantasized interactions between main characters.

For instance, Charles and Diana’s first date to the opera ends with her crowd surfing to a song that touts Elton John and the Pet Shop Boys as hopeful musical influences on her boring, older beau. Charles prefers celebrated cellists; she wants him to get down to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It should’ve been the first red flag of their relationship.

Things only get more outrageous as the musical wanes on — from paparazzo vultures comparing stalking the princess to the downing of pints of Guinness and the joy of a good wank to a lyrical showdown at a dinner party thrown by Charles’ mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, to an entire burlesque routine that introduces Diana’s sidepiece, James Hewitt.

And look, you could experience the whole thing yourself, but I’m betting you just finished watching Squid Game and… really? Do you need to torture yourself further? Whether the masochistic curiosity wins out or not, please, prepare yourself before entering the theatrical arena. Your love of musicals may still die, but your spirit doesn’t have to. Here’s every thought you might have while watching Diana: The Musical.

You’ve been warned.

Act I

Despite an empty theater giving production more time to perfect how this show is filmed, you’ll still suffer through shaky cam footage that calls back to the ’90s handheld recordings that your dad once loved. Try not to be too alarmed.

Jeanna de Waal, while a lovely, accomplished actress and singer, is a grown woman. She is introduced first as a teenaged Diana. She’s sporting the Hillary Clinton haircut, post-Bill’s public affair. That’s the cut of a woman who’s seen things, not a naïve 19-year-old girl.

Perhaps the only thing this musical has in common with every other royal re-telling: they’ve made Prince Charles entirely too handsome.

On more than one occasion, Charles calls his mother “mummy.” Will the most unbelievable part of this whole show be the idea that Queen Elizabeth lets her son be that familiar with her in private? Stay tuned.

A whole song dedicated to Charles’ love of a particular cellist feels the most on-brand.

“He’s only happy when he hears music by dead white men.” Okay, this number is starting to win us over.

Why yes, this is exactly what Hell looks like.

Of course, Diana is a fan of Dame Barbara Cartland – who isn’t? But blaming her unrealistic expectations of love on Cartland’s romance novels is skirting dangerously close to historical romance vilification. We won’t have it.

“Charles is a jealous b*tch” — pretty much every song theme after the wedding.

There’s a song titled “Te amo, Te quiero.” So… Diana speaks Spanish now.

Olivia Rodrigo’s sour clearly had an influence on some of these angsty break-up songs.

Poetry.

Act II

There’s horny, and then there’s whatever the person writing this number was going through.

James Hewitt is a ginger-haired himbo, pass it on.

The fantasy that Diana had a gay footman who picked out increasingly revealing dresses for her to stick it to Charles in the press is… not an unwelcome one at this point.

Diana and Camilla duking it out at a dinner party might be the most nauseating number but this viewer has a point:

Yes, that is one way to reference the AIDS epidemic in your musical.

The moral of Diana: The Musical is… certainly a statement that someone has now said.

‘Diana: The Musical’ is currently streaming on Netflix.