After days of discussion over comments Shaquille O’Neal made to Donovan Mitchell postgame on Inside the NBA, the Lakers legend and NBA Hall of Famer decided to use Instagram to make his point that he’s played alongside guards who are at the level he believes Mitchell needs to ascend.
“I played with the best ever-to do it,” he wrote in a post full of photos of everyone from Kobe Bryant to Penny Hardaway. “You know I know what best look like.”
Shaq also made it a point to stress that his credentials when he tries to discuss greatness are nigh unparalleled in the league.
In reality, the issue had nothing to do with whether Shaq had the bona fides to analyze Mitchell’s game, but more so that his timing was rather odd. The question came after Mitchell had just put up nearly a 40-point double-double in a win for the Jazz, and was not even part of a special interview or panel segment, but in the heat of a postgame interview that did not include specifics as to where he thought Mitchell had to improve his game. None of that has anything to do with the fact that Shaq was on the same team as guys like Bryant and Hardaway during his career. Shaq is, undoubtedly, an all-time great, but as both LeBron James and Kevin Durant recently pointed out, there will be times when younger players will just not want to hear what players from his era have to say, and it has nothing to do with the respect (or lack thereof) they have for them.
Calls for newly elected Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene to resign increased on Wednesday after activist Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was murdered during the Parkland school shooting in Florida, posted a video of Greene harassing one of the survivors. Greene can be seen accusing Parkland survivor David Hogg of being funded by George Soros while Hogg was in town to petition congress for stricter gun control to prevent further school shootings. Greene is also heard calling the young man a “coward.”
Along with the video, Guttenberg dared Greene to ask him her questions in person and to be ready to record his response. You can watch the clip below:
.@mtgreenee, is this you harassing @davidhogg111 weeks after the Parkland shooting, that my daughter was killed in & he was in? Calling him a coward for ignoring your insanity. I will answer all of your questions in person. Get ready to record again.pic.twitter.com/aQjL74x7kh
Guttenberg’s video arrives on the heels of a damaging CNN report that took a deep dive into Greene’s social media activity. Like incoming Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Greene is a believer in QAnon conspiracy theories that portray Donald Trump as a heroic, messianic figure who’s fighting a shadow war against a satanic cabal that consists of Hillary Clinton, Hollywood celebrities, and other liberal politicians. What makes those beliefs particularly dangerous for someone like Greene is that she has an online history of calling for Democrats and FBI agents to be executed. Via CNN:
In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said “a bullet to the head would be quicker” to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the “deep state” working against Trump.
Considering the January 6 attack on the Capitol was the direct result of QAnon beliefs and violent online rhetoric, it’s not hard to see why members of Congress must now pass through metal detectors when Greene and Boebert are among their ranks.
The most recent Porter Robinson album, Worlds, dropped in mid-2014. That was nearly seven years ago, which is an eternity in the music world these days. Fortunately, Robinson is set to make his return: His second album, Nurture, is set for release on April 23.
He previewed the album today with “Look At The Sky,” an uplifting number on which Robinson addresses his creative insecurities, singing on the chorus, “Look at the sky, I’m still here / I’ll be alive next year / I can make something good, oh / Something good.” Robinson says of the track:
“‘Look At The Sky’ is fundamentally a song about hope. There’s no shortage of fuel for despair, but you can’t take meaningful action to improve things if you don’t have some belief that things might get better. That’s what hope is, and I think it’s an emotion worth nourishing. I wrote this song at my lowest point emotionally, when I thought I couldn’t make music anymore, and I wasn’t sure if my existence would have any meaning if I couldn’t make music. In the lyrics, I’m sort of imagining what life would be like once I was on the other side of all that fear and anxiety and sadness. I’m happy to report that it’s amazing on the other side of all this, and I’m so glad I had hope and persisted.”
Listen to “Look At The Sky” above and check out the Nurture art and tracklist below.
Philadelphia-based trio Another Michael have been writing songs together since their 2016 EP Sans and now, they are Run For Cover Records’ newest signee. After living together in an apartment, Another Michael were able to put the finishing touches on their debut album, which they’ve previewed with the singles “New Music,” “I Know You’re Wrong,” and, as of Wednesday, the new track “Big Pop.”
Another Michael’s dynamic energy can be heard throughout the jangly tune’s upbeat chords and earnest lyrics. The single offers yet another taste of their forthcoming album New Music And Big Pop, which is slated for a February release.
Speaking about the breezy single, bassist Nick Sebastiano said the song is their way of enjoying their own music:
“‘Big Pop’ is a song about breaking the fourth wall with regards to all things music. It’s about letting go of the more serious habits of being a music fan, as well as the serious habits of being a musician. It’s good to have overwhelming feelings about art that you enjoy, and it’s good to enjoy your own art. We put together the lyric video as extension of that sentiment, hoping to embrace the vulnerability that comes along with loving music. It’s okay to ‘sing-along’ to your own songs. It’s probably healthy in the same way that it’s healthy to enjoy good times while you’ve got them. We felt it fitting to pair this song with some phone videos of good times that we’ve shared together as a group.”
Listen to “Big Pop” above and find Another Michael’s New Music And Big Pop cover art and tracklist below.
Since the start of the pandemic, whenever James Bond moves, the other Hollywood blockbusters move him. But this time around, some studios are standing firm after No Time to Die made its third release date change, pushing it even further into 2021. While the Bond delay shifted a few titles, four major blockbusters are currently holding firm to their summer release dates: Black Widow, F9, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and the highly anticipated sequel to a Tom Cruise classic, Top Gun: Maverick. According to a new report, these films will not be pursuing a streaming market due to the high profitability of a theater release, and executives at Paramount are feeling especially confident about not having to move the upcoming Cruise film thanks to the incoming Biden administration. Via The Hollywood Reporter:
“We have no plans to move our theatrical release of Top Gun,” says Paramount president of distribution Chris Aronson. “I think the next two months are critical, and whether the new administration can implement a robust vaccination plan. If Biden’s 100 million vaccines in 100 days works, then I think we’ll be in good shape.”
While most studios are feeling confident about the theater industry’s prospects in 2021, Warner Bros. is looking like more of a lone wolf as its held strong to its controversial HBO Max release strategy during a recent earnings call. AT&T CEO John Stankey credited Wonder Woman 1984 with doubling the number of subscribers to HBO Max, and he believes WarnerMedia’s streaming plan is the right decision based on the number of films being crowded into late 2021.
In Utero, the 1993 Nirvana album that would end up being the band’s final one, is one of the most beloved records of the ’90s. It also has one of the best behind-the-scenes stories: Steve Albini, who produced the album, proposed a wager to the group, saying that if one of them could beat him in a game of pool, he would produce the album for free.
He told the story in a new Kerrang feature, adding that if he won the game, his fee of $100,000 would be doubled. Albini said, “I did that with every band I worked with, and no one ever took me up on the offer. It’s not like I’m a particularly good pool player, but I have an equal chance of winning in a fair game. Ultimately, it wasn’t going to make that much difference to my life if I got double the money for the session or worked for free. But I guess Nirvana were a little more risk-averse than I was.”
Grohl once addressed that proposed wager, saying, “We were paying him $100,000. Anyone who’s got the stones to gamble something that large must be amazing, so everyone said no. Plus he had his own stick. We didn’t want to f*ck around with that.”
Yearbook is a “collection of true stories that I desperately hope are just funny at worst, and life-changingly amazing at best,” Rogen wrote. He shares recollections of his “grandparents, doing stand-up comedy as a teenager, bar mitzvahs, and Jewish summer camp, and tells way more stories about doing drugs than my mother would like.” Speaking of his mom: Sandy Rogen, who is also very good at Twitter, wrote a statement in the press release for Yearbook. It’s charming as hell (sorry to swear, Mrs. Rogen).
“At first I was worried that Seth was writing a book, because I was like, ‘Oh no! What’s he gonna say?!’ I was actually scared to even read it. But I’m very happy I did. It’s not really a memoir, like I thought it might be. I guess it’s more of a bunch of funny stories? Does that make sense? He talks about doing stand-up when he was a kid (I drove him to all his shows!), his grandparents, high school, moving to L.A., meeting some famous people, things like that. If I’m being honest, I really wish there wasn’t so much drug talk. Why does he need all that? It’s like ‘We get it!’ And some of the stories? I mean, they’re entertaining, but I was just shocked they happened and he never told me! Overall, I think it’s more sweet and funny than anything, so I like it, and I’m glad he wrote it, but I’d be even more glad if he called me more.”
Mazel tov to the Rogens. I hope Seth does his own audiobook, complete with laughs.
I wrote a book called Yearbook. It’s true stories and essays and stuff that I hope you think are funny. It comes out in May, but if you like you can order it now. Yay! https://t.co/Cqwwi4qq3opic.twitter.com/nDxwBqnkp8
Chicago’s Lil Eazzyy’s “Onna Come Up” deftly describes his condition over the past month or so after releasing his debut EP Underrated. The EP’s breakout single, “Onna Come Up” was updated earlier this month with a remix featuring Eazzyy’s Windy City forebear G Herbo, and today, the song received a slickly polished video that depicts Eazzyy’s vision of his rags to riches transition.
Directed by AJ Spitz, the video transplants the two Second City natives to the West Coast, where Eazzyy performs his machine-gun verses under a flaming umbrella at a funeral and soaks up the sun on a beach surrounded by wine-sipping models. However, the air of menace he’s cultivated in his music is never far from hand; a secondary location finds Eazzyy sitting against a lowrider, rapping as a dice game goes on in the background.
Meanwhile, Herbo, who’s been going through the flames in his personal life lately, raps in front of a beach bonfire while visual effects transform his features into ghoulish caricature. Herbo recently turned himself in on federal identity fraud charges, pleading not guilty in their wake and releasing the song “Statement” to refute any implication that he’s not 100 percent authentic.
Watch Lil Eazzyy’s “Onna Come Up” remix video featuring G Herbo above.
The world fell in love with Olivia Rodrigo after she released her debut single and instant hit “Drivers License.” The singer received a co-sign from the likes of Taylor Swift and Cardi B and the single smashed a few streaming records upon its release. Now, Rodrigo offers fans an inside look at the video’s filming process with some behind-the-scenes footage.
Speaking to the camera about how they scored one of their filming locations, Rodrigo said the director walked up to a random stranger’s house and got permission to film there:
“I’m pinching myself, I cannot believe this is all happening. We did a bunch of cool scenes in the beautiful midcentury modern house. The director was just driving through the neighborhood and he’s like, ‘That’s a beautiful house.’ He literally just knocked on the door and the people were like, ‘Yeah, you can come film in our home.’ Which is so cool, I’m so grateful.”
Elsewhere in the video, Rodrigo talked about a scene that is very close to her heart. “This next scene is going to be all of the projections. And I actually filmed all these projections on an iPhone with one of my best friends,” she said. “I thought it would be cool to use projections as a way to signify the memories that keep running through this girl’s head as she’s going through this heartbreak.”
Watch the behind-the-scenes footage from Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” video above.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
“Dammit, I forgot to ask him about playing Shipwreck in the GI Joe musical short!” This is what regret sounds like as I peruse Alan Tudyk’s ridiculously long and diverse IMDB page. From ample voice work to on-screen stabs at villainy, heroism, comedy, nice-guyism, and everything in between. Tudyk has a means of connecting with fans of every genre across TV and film. Chances are he’s probably popped up in one of your favorite things. From Firefly to Star Wars: Rogue One, Dodgeball, Tucker And Dale Vs. Evil, I, Robot, Doom Patrol, Rick And Morty, 42, I should stop.
In his latest two projects, both for Syfy, Tudyk voices the Devil in Devil May Care (which premieres February 6 as a part of their Adult Swim-esque TZGZ animated block) and an alien in Resident Evil, the network’s small-town dramedy wherein Tudyk plays a reclusive doctor forced to interact with townsfolk who he’s trying to exterminate… because he’s also an alien masquerading as a human. The show debuts tonight (January 27), and it’s why we had the chance to talk with Tudyk recently, reveling in his joy over playing someone who wants to destroyed the human race, similarities between portraying an alien and a robot, how he returned to the set of the show from the first COVID shutdown with a little more of him to love, and the truth behind his awful dance moves. And because his career is so diverse, there naturally had to be some talk about Steve The Pirate from Dodgeball, what he’d be doing now, and a pretty fantastic endorsement for rum-soaked pirate fairs. But first, as one does, we begin with Alan Tudyk telling us about committing that most human of mistakes — texting a video of himself to the wrong person.
Alan Tudyk: Chris’ [Sheridan, the Resident Alien showrunner] name starts with CH. My wife’s name is Charissa [Barton], CH. So I sent a dance, which is of my wife and I dancing. Her sister just turned 50, and her sister’s a choreographer and a dancer. My wife’s a choreographer too. Anyway, all these dancers from all over the world did dances to this song and it got put together into a video, so I accidentally sent Chris a dance of me with my shirt off. I’ve got sunglasses on. It’s not… There’s no song going, so it’s just me making sounds to the beat, so there’s nothing supporting the dance.
So if that gets out, then everyone will know what it would be like to have a Cameo message from you.
[Laughs] And they’ll want a refund. But also they’ll know what it’s like to want a refund from Cameo.
So how’s the world treating you on this fine day?
It’s lovely. I’m in Canada. My wife is Canadian. And when we were up here shooting… It’s where we shoot Resident Alien. And when we all broke for COVID and the bulk of the cast went back to the States, her and I stayed. And now we’ve just been living here this whole time for COVID and the new developments.
How was it getting back into production?
That was tricky, but this production has not followed a typical timeline of a series. We shot the pilot, and then we didn’t start shooting the series until over a year later. So, it was already drawn out. And then we shot everything, save two weeks’ worth of work. And then everything in Vancouver started shutting down that week. When we came back, we were given three weeks to shoot two weeks, which was great because there are all the COVID protocols, which took a lot of extra time. There were a lot of safety meetings. They really got it right.
I think my costumes went up in size by a couple of inches, though, which would be exciting because of the way it was shot… I think you’re going to see this in other productions as well. A character’s going to leave an interior scene, they’re going to walk out a door, and you’re going to pick them up in the exterior, and they’ll put on 10 pounds. And how did they put on 10 pounds? It’s the magic 10-pound doorway which just adds six month’s worth of being sedentary and eating your feelings, and then we just carried on.
You mentioned that your wife has a choreographer. There are some pretty terrible dance moves that you’re putting on in this. I’m hoping that was intentionally bad. What was her take on the dance moves there?
[Laughs] She embraces my bad dance moves, which are purposely bad! Although she did inform me yesterday that… “Your dance moves are funny until you think they’re funny, and then they stop being funny.”
It’s a real cone of truth that spouses have.
[Laughs] Isn’t it? I said, “Well, how do you know the ones that are funny are not the ones where I’m being serious?” But she realized that probably was the case. I’m not talking about it right now.
I understand. You need to heal.
Exactly. She’s the dancer of the couple, for sure.
Syfy
You’ve played androids and robots in a few different things and there’s a detachment from humanity that kind of runs through those roles and this one as an alien.
There are similarities. The robot I played in I, Robot, he was the Pinocchio robot, the wooden boy with emotions. He was the machine with emotions. But as far as the movement goes, the way we approached it was that he moved in an ergonomic way. I think that’s the word I’m looking for. That way that the skeleton is supposed to be used, the most efficient use of movement, is how a robot would move. And in a way, an alien who’s pretending to be human and navigating this new physical form, he’s operating it somewhat like a machine. Move this leg, move that leg, alternate arms swinging to the legs. So in that way, it’s similar. The trajectory for Harry, the alien, as far as emotions go, is that he begins, throughout the first season, to be infected by his new human form. He’s got a mission. He doesn’t feel the same way as a human, and it takes him a while to come around to it, and it catches him off guard. It’s fun playing a character that has to learn to walk and talk. And even though he is an advanced being in his knowledge of the universe, he is very remedial when it comes to humans. He doesn’t know the species he’s sent to eradicate. He wasn’t supposed to interact with them. So, he makes a lot of dumb mistakes. So he’s very smart, thinks very highly of himself, but then is constantly doing stupid things, And that’s really fun to play.
How he’s impacted by human emotions and obviously turned by human beings… not to strain to find some powerful message here, but right now, finding entertainment that reminds us that people aren’t all bad… That sure is okay.
Right.
Was the ability to kind of shine a light on why humans aren’t worth blowing up part of the appeal?
Yes. That. You said it so well. That was a huge draw, but it was coming at it from the place of someone who starts out wanting to kill everyone. That was also exciting to me. I love stories that have central characters that are bad, I guess.
I’ll ask a question I’m sure you’ve been asked a bunch: do you believe in aliens?
I absolutely do. I think whenever you see those telescope shots of the universe that they can see, and they’re like, “In this little dot is the Milky Way.” And I mean, there’s so much. We know so little, but then there’s also the… What’s that water bear, the tardigrade? Those little things. There are things that seem like aliens that are already here, but aren’t what we would think of as aliens crashing in Roswell. But those things can survive in space for a certain amount of time. You can’t kill them and they don’t seem to follow our rules of nature. They’re their own thing. But then there’s also Roswell and there are all of these sightings. There’s too much. They exist.
Are they among us? And you work in Hollywood, so it’s okay to acknowledge. If you want to name names, that’s fine. I’m here for that.
[Laughs] Oh my god! Yeah. I can’t name names. That’d be fun. I believe… I don’t know. Sure, they’re among us, I guess. We can see so little. Even our visual spectrum is very limited. Our awareness of the world around us is very limited. So I think they’re among us.
Red Hour
I got a lot of requests to ask a Dodgeball/Steve the Pirate question. I just want to know what you think he would be doing right now?
I would hope that he was still pirating, maybe making some jewelry.
Maybe he has an Etsy store? This could be a venture for you right now.
I know. I would hope that he would not be on Etsy. That he would, like the old school ways of doing it, going around to different trade shows. I’d love to see him at a trade show in his garb. But there are pirate fairs, much like Scarborough fairs. He would probably do the Scarborough circuit for a while. Until he injured someone.
I did not know that there were actually pirate fairs. I’ve been to a Renaissance fair. I’m guessing it’s the same thing.
Yes. It is very similar. I did it in preparation for the movie. I lucked out, the guy who made my gold tooth, the special effects guy, named Richard Snell… And while he was taking the impression, he’s like, “So what is this? Are you guys making fun of pirates or what?” I’m like, “No, no. He’s totally a pirate, man.” And he was like, “Well, cool, because I’m a pirate.” And he was part of the Rum Runners, and he invited me up to Ojai. They were going to have this pirate fair. And I went up there and they make their own rum. They basically get wasted and wrestle, and people make their own jewelry. That’s where I got that from. They make weapons. They shoot off black powder guns a lot. A lot of explosions going on. I saw people hooking up left and right.
That sounds like a good time, actually.
It was. They camp out for days. They don’t just come and then go, they’re there for days. They’re pirates. Every year they make a base rum, and then they each break off into little groups and they spice a rum and make their own. And they do a taste test, and they find the best one. They’re like, “That’s this year’s rum.” And then they make a huge, big batch of that rum, and that’s simple high octane. You would enjoy it.
‘Resident Alien’ premieres January 27 at 10 PM ET on Syfy. Check your local listings to find a pirate fair near you.
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