Category: Worldwide

An alleged murderer is now saying he regrets participating in a documentary series about his alleged murders. According to The Wrap, Robert Durst, the real estate heir accused of killing three people, discussed 2015’s The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst at his trial on Tuesday. And he confessed that getting involved in the program, which led to him being arrested by the FBI and to the trial happening right now, was a “very, very, very, big mistake.”

In the final episode of The Jinx, which aired on HBO, viewers heard a recording of Durst saying, point blank, “What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.” That’s what led to his arrest. But now he’s saying that that was essentially taken out of context. Durst told the jury that he was referring to evidence that he had written a note to the police alerting them to the body of Susan Berman, his first wife and the first of his alleged victims.

“What I did not say out loud, or perhaps I said very softly, is they’ll all think I killed them all of course,” he said while trying to explain himself.

The feds famously rounded up Durst the day before the final episode aired, having been belatedly made aware of his alleged confession by Andrew Jarecki, The Jinx’s director. (Jarecki also made the 2010 drama All Good Things, with Ryan Gosling as a thinly fictionalized Durst. Durst only participated in The Jinx because he enjoyed that film.) Durst said that after the penultimate episode aired, he fled to New Orleans, bringing with him a gun.

“I was going to shoot myself,” he told the jury.

Durst’s trial originally began in March of last year, some five years after his arrest, but was soon postponed due to the pandemic. It started again in July.

(Via The Wrap)

Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail (TBS, 10:30 pm) — Season 3 of this anthology series continues in 1844, when an idealistic preacher (Daniel Radcliffe) must join forces with a wanted outlaw (Steve Buscemi) as they set off on the eponymous trail by wagon. TBS suggests that the promise and peril that they encounter might remind us of our own times. Following the butt-shaking Radcliffe scene from a few weeks ago, the group pauses for the Fourth of July at Independence Rock. Benny’s attempting to become the most dominant outlaw out there while Ezekiel only wants to enjoy the holiday.

Stargirl (CW, 8:00pm) — Courtney grows suspicious of an unanticipated visitor while both Barbara and Pat express concern after a different surprise.

Untold: Malice at the Palace (Netflix film) — The Wild Wild Country creators bring a fresh, five-part sports docuseries that will drop weekly. This week, Christy Martin’s plight takes center stage following her 1996 undercard fight at the Mike Tyson/Frank Bruno fight. Martin’s story is a perilous one, given that she was not only keeping her sexual orientation under wraps, but she also stood as a pay-per-view records champ in women’s boxing. Don King put her on his radar, and she also wrestled with substance abuse and domestic violence, so expect this installment to be rife with all kinds of drama, including an interview from Mike Tyson.

Superman & Lois (CW, 9:00pm) — Superman experiences a terrible real-life nightmare while Lois goes toe-to-toe with Leslie Farr and General Lane receives some help.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Michael Shannon, Paris Hilton, Courtney Barnett

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Jennifer Hudson, Jeff Bowders

In case you missed these recent streaming picks:

Modern Love: Season 2 (Amazon Prime series) — Who doesn’t want to watch Jon Snow Kit Harington romance Lucy Boynton? It’s the return of the popular anthology series that found inspiration in the famed New York Times column. Relationships and connections shall happen, as well as betrayals and revelations, and the cast is chock full of talent you already know and love, including Tobias Menzies, Minnie Driver, Garrett Hedlund. All rules of love shall be henceforth broken in locales including Dublin and the whole of New York, including that Big Apple. Did I mention? Jon Snow getting randy again is not to be missed.

CODA (Apple TV+ movie) — This Sundance-awarded film (of four awards, including the Directing Award, the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize) from Vendome Pictures touches down on your streaming devices. The story follows a teenager named Ruby, who happens to be the only member of a deaf family who’s able to hear. She’s not only involved with all of the usual teenage concerns but also interpreting duties for her parents and the family business. When she joins her school’s choir, things get rough after she blossoms and finds herself with a difficult choice: keep meeting all of those family obligations, or strike out on her own venture.

While fear might be the “mind-killer,” Dune director Denis Villeneuve has it out for something somehow even more untouchable: the cinema-killer, aka the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While COVID-19 has caused immeasurable strife for the entire entertainment industry (and of course the world-at-large), Villeneuve has been repeatedly been pretty vocal about how much damage it has done to Dune’s theatrical release in particular.

After repeatedly pushing back the film’s release date in order to ensure a proper opening and penning an open letter to HBO Max telling them their decision to release Dune on their streaming service shows “no love for cinema, nor for the audience,” Villeneuve is back to reminding folks just what they’re missing if they choose to experience the film from the safety of their own home. In a recent interview with Total Film Magazine, Villeneuve called the pandemic “the enemy of cinema” before further elaborating on why he’s so unhappy with the notion of his upcoming film releasing on HBO Max alongside its box office debut:

First of all, the enemy of cinema is the pandemic. That’s the thing. We understand that the cinema industry is under tremendous pressure right now. That I get. The way it happened, I’m still not happy. Frankly, to watch Dune on a television, the best way I can compare it is to drive a speedboat in your bathtub. For me, it’s ridiculous. It’s a movie that has been made as a tribute to the big-screen experience.

While Villeneuve’s sentiments do make some sense (and this problem could impact Dune Pt. 2 being made), the rising number of COVID-19 cases attributed to the highly contagious Delta variant aren’t budging anytime soon and presumably neither is Dune‘s October 22 release date. Needless to say, this leaves a whole lot of at-risk folks unable to see it in theaters regardless of how great the experience might be. While giant sandworms might not look as cool on a 65-inch TV, for some folks it’s the only option.

What ultimately makes Villeneuve’s words a bit frustrating is that back in his open letter last December, the director stated he understood “public safety comes first” and claimed, “nobody argues with that.” He then went on to explain that’s why he was being accommodating and pushing the Dune release date back a year, to a time when he believed “everything should be back to a new normal” and the film could have a proper box office opening. However, here we are, nearly a year later, and things are decidedly still not normal and the public is still not safe. It’s not what anyone wanted, but is the harsh reality.

Just about everyone is continuously making sacrifices and accommodations, so here’s hoping Villeneuve eases up a little bit about this when Dune finally premieres in theaters and on HBO Max on October 22.

City Girls have been releasing music together since 2017, but many were first introduced to the rap duo on Drake‘s 2018 hit song “In My Feelings.” They two made an appearance on the track and later shared a remixed version. At the time, City Girls were excited to be on the song, but they revealed that Drake cut their verses short.

JT and Yung Miami recently sat down for a conversation The Carlos Watson Show. JT discussed how being invited to feature on “In My Feelings” is how they knew they were “stars,” even though their full verses didn’t make the final cut:

“When Drake called, it was a big secret we had to hold in for like a month. I remember when he did his feature with Lil Baby and I was like, ‘Damn, we made it. Drake never finna call our ass.’ We didn’t ever know if the song was to make the album or not, we just knew he wanted us to be on the song. We both did verses. They called us back and let us know it was going to be on the album. But, it wasn’t a whole verse. Drake chopped our ass off. He was probably like, ‘Ya’ll hoes not ready for full verses yet but I’m going to give you a shot. We thankful for that and that’s when we realized [we made it].”

For what it’s worth, Drake did eventually allow City Girls to release the “In My Feelings” remix with their full verses intact.

Watch City Girls talk “In My Feelings” on The Carlos Watson Show above.

Over its brief six-episode run, The White Lotus quickly became a hit with critics, and according to new numbers from HBO, the Mike White series also became a strong draw for viewers by the time its finale aired on Sunday, August 15. Despite starting out as a limited series, The White Lotus has been renewed for a second season that will feature a new cast and a new location as the show pivots to an anthology format. The renewal announcement was made before the show’s finale, which reportedly brought in huge numbers, so HBO has to be pretty happy with that decision. Via Variety:

Viewership of the sixth and final installment of Season 1 was up more than 59% from the Aug. 8 penultimate installment and more than triple the crowd that turned out for the series premiere on July 11. The first episode has now drawn more than 7 million viewers to date.

While the show clearly had a strong showing with critics and a slew of viewers, it has had a few detractors, especially after a few fans were left disappointed by the finale. But creator Mike White has been more than happy to explain his creative choices, which involved trying to make the show be “true to life.” In fairness, the show did strive for realism in ways that surprised even some of the cast members. And, yes, we’re talking about…

[SPOILERS]

…the giant poop Armond (Murray Bartlet) took in Shane’s suitcase. Not even Bartlett was ready for that one.

“Let’s just say when I watched it, I was shocked,” he told The Daily Beast after the finale. “I didn’t know it would look that realistic.”

(Via Variety)

In a new interview with The Breakfast Club, Ludacris calls himself the “worst” hoarder but reveals that he has a smart solution to help him cope with it. “My wife will tell you I am the worst when it comes to hoarding,” he says. “My wife’s family, they still live in Africa, so everything I hoard we put on this container that goes across the water and I give it to everybody in Africa who’s going to appreciate it so much more than any family members or anybody I could give to in the United States of America. I am the worst hoarder of all, trust.”

Even if he didn’t send all his stuff abroad to share the wealth, it’s unlikely he’d have trouble finding the space for it. In another recent interview, he admitted that his 22-acre property is so large, he didn’t even realize it had such amenities as a tennis court until he had to quarantine last year during the pandemic. Among the things he’s held onto is a ’90s-era Acura Legend he still drives, despite having over 250,000 miles on it. He told the show’s hosts that “I’ve had that car now two decades. There are things that you have for your whole life and that’s one of those things that’s a staple in my life. I had it before the deal and commercial success, so I’m gonna ride it literally until the wheels fall off.”

That’s a fitting quote for a star of the Fast & Furious series, who’s even held onto childhood habits like devouring Jif peanut butter by the jarful — even during his studio sessions, as he does in a recent ad for the brand featuring Gunna.

Watch the interview above.

Senator Ted Cruz may be a GOP whackjob who thrives on disinformation-fueled chaos and crappy haircuts that give off human-skunk vibes, but he’s also an author, and, like most writers these days, he knows how hard it can be to get people to buy your damn book.

So, he did it himself.

A new report from Forbes just landed, detailing how Cruz’s team used campaign funds to buy copies of his book from retail publishers late last year. The book in question is One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History, a title that dropped in September of 2020. According to financial records disclosed by Cruz on Monday, the Texas lawmaker shelled out $153,000 to buy copies of his latest political work from retailer Books-a-Million. Is it sad that a sitting senator had to buy that many copies of his own book in order to get it on the bestseller lists? Sure, but it’s not the public humiliation that we’ve seen most from Cancun’s “Dad-Of-The-Year.”

Apparently, Cruz used his own campaign funds to buy his book and to advertise it on social media sites like Facebook, which might violate ethics standards. The Federal Elections Commission allows members to use campaign funds to buy books, as long as they don’t receive royalties in the process. If they do, those royalties are supposed to be donated to charity. Cruz’s team denies receiving any royalties from sales of his books, but they won’t clarify which books they bought using campaign money, making the whole fact-checking process a bit difficult. But, even if we take Cruz’s word for it on the book-buying front, the fact that he used campaign funds to pay for social media advertisements is what’s really troubling. A government watchdog organization recently filed complaints with the FEC and the Senate Ethics Committee after news broke that Cruz had paid $5,000 for ad placement on Facebook. The group alleges that there’s no way to really know how many books were purchased because of the ads, which means there’s no way Cruz can confidently deny receiving royalties on sales of the book that might have a link to his campaign finances.

It’s all very messy, very Ted Cruz-like.

(Via Forbes)

Though most cities across the US have lifted their COVID-19 restrictions, the pandemic is very much not over yet. “We Fly High” rapper Jim Jones is living proof, as he told fans he just recovered from contracting COVID. The rapper described how the virus “knocked the socks off” of him, and he’s advising fans to continue taking safety precautions seriously.

The rapper revealed his diagnosis in a video posted to Instagram. While Jones notes that he’s now tested negative, the rapper detailed just how sick he got, saying he doesn’t want anybody else to go through a similar experience so he’s urging fans to “continue to mask up”:

“I was contemplating whether I should do this or keep my business to myself, but I think it’s more important for me to do this. I urge everybody to stay safe out there, COVID is real. I was running around thinking I was Superman and COVID knocked the socks off Superman. I urge and encourage everybody to please continue to mask up, please continue to hand sanitize, social distance as much as you can, try to stay away from a lot of packed and crowded places. This sh*t is no joke, I really felt it. I don’t want nobody to feel like how I felt.”

Watch Jones’ full message below.

If there’s one thing we can say about Vegeta fans, it’s that they’re anything but fair-weather. Despite the prince of the Saiyan just getting a shiny new form in the ongoing and wildly popular manga series Dragon Ball Super (oh, and a pretty cool rumored name for it, too), the reformed baddie just can’t stop catching L’s in battle — and his fans are over it.

Vegeta gets a new form

Vegeta fans: Finally it’s Vegeta’s time

Toyotaro: pic.twitter.com/JS1KSkpUAx

— Azure~ (@ThaBoyAzure) August 17, 2021

Vegeta gets a new form then gets his ass kicked, never seen that one before. pic.twitter.com/5AT5zalH2B

— Maximo Grimaldo (Comms open) (@GrimaldoMaximo) August 17, 2021

It doesn’t matter, he already lost pic.twitter.com/kZHYqfzm06

— Hugo⁷ (@NotInosuke) August 17, 2021

Now it would be one thing if this was a once or twice kind of situation, but as some folks have pointed out, this has happened… a lot. Turns out that despite Vegeta constantly growing better and discovering new ways to harness his power and strength, he seems all but capable of just winning a damn battle, regardless of what form he busts out. One good-humored and downright dedicated Dragon Ball fan created a massive collage using only photos of Vegeta losing, if you want just a glimpse at how down this guy is. It’s reached a point where several fans are now joking about retiring if he doesn’t catch a break.

Oh shit vegeta lost, yooo that’s crazy pic.twitter.com/LDukUmCudq

— M O E (15/15) Comms (@Venommoe) August 17, 2021

I officially retire from being a Vegeta fan

— Afro (@AfroSenju) August 17, 2021

Please god stop letting Vegeta get hoe’d its been going on for decades let my mans have a break pic.twitter.com/K7OIKxFXcS

— (@King2Wesley) August 17, 2021

My guy Vegeta can never catch a break pic.twitter.com/9KxXANWzFL

— It Aint That Deep (@foreverchlling) August 17, 2021

Bruh I wake up to Vegeta losing AGAIN?? I can’t keep doing this man pic.twitter.com/P6enQYcpAG

— ScarletNeos (@ScarletNeos) August 17, 2021

Other fans have begun to suspect Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama simply has it out for Vegeta, and does this for kicks:

Vegeta every time he reads his script: pic.twitter.com/r86Klik2zo

— Christolo (@Rentytheline) August 17, 2021

Vegeta: “Why Toriyama hate me, man?” pic.twitter.com/8Q1JL1PqfI

— Lil Dude From Across the Street (@GetBizzyChrizzy) August 17, 2021

However, some still hold out hope that one day, Vegeta will surpass Goku as the supreme Saiyan. Or at least… cat-ch up.

One day Vegeta… one day you’ll catch up to Cat-karot. pic.twitter.com/HAhcIu0lsg

— Cat Cosplay (@Cat_Cosplay) August 17, 2021

In a few days, Lorde’s Solar Power will be released. It comes a few years after her previous album, and it may have arrived sooner had it not been for the death of her dog in 2019, as she previously indicated the loss of Pearl was a major creative setback for her. One of her fans had a dog pass away recently, and it appears after they sent a message about it to Lorde, the artist took the time to respond with a touching message.

As a user in the r/Lorde subreddit noted, a fan named Austin tweeted a screenshot of an email that’s allegedly from Lorde, as well as a photo of their late pet, writing, “i don’t think i’ve posted about this here yet, but last week my best friend for the past 11 and a half years passed away. i reached out to lorde to ask what helped her when she lost her dog and she responded with the sweetest message.”

As for Lorde’s email, it read:

“Hello Austin,

I’m so sorry to hear of sweet Boone’s passing. I found this piece helpful in the immediate days, as well as the book ‘Grief is the thing with feathers.

Be kind to yourself — a great light has gone out. It won’t get easier just yet, but in time your body will heal around the loss. I’m sending you all my love and care.

xxxxxxxx Ella.”

The piece noted in Lorde’s email is one called “Joy” by English writer Zadie Smith.

After the passing of Lorde’s own dog, she wrote in a message to her fans, “I was holding him when he went, and I know he knew that I was there. But this loss has been indescribably painful, and a light that was turned on for me has gone out. […] He was instrumental to the discovery that was taking place. I felt he led me towards the ideas. And it’s going to take some time and re-calibration, now that there’s no shepherd ahead of me, to see what the work is going to be.”