Category: Worldwide

Donovan Mitchell figures to have himself a big summer, as the All-Star guard is eligible for a huge extension from the Cleveland Cavaliers and, despite some questions coming into this season, it’s widely expected he will put pen to paper on that new deal to stay in northeast Ohio.

He can negotiate that deal right now with the Cavs, and it’s possible by the time the new league year opens on July 1, he’s signed long-term. Even so, July 1 figures to be a big day for Mitchell anyway, as that is the release date for the sixth shoe in his signature sneaker line with adidas, the D.O.N. Issue #6. After teasing a first look late last week, adidas officially unveiled the new look for Mitchell’s signature line, which will continue to be priced at $120.

The latest edition of the D.O.N. line features a fitted, breathable mesh upper with a midfoot harness to create more lockdown and Lightstrike Pro cushioning in the forefoot to provide more explosive energy return, with Lightstrike cushioning in the heel. The Issue #6 will release in multiple colorways (and, as you can see, they’re not shying away from bright colors with the initial launch) on July 1 on adidas.com and at various retailers, with a $120 price point.

When it came to John Mulaney’s experimental live comedy show, Everybody’s In L.A., the comedian didn’t really prepare much. The special aired in May and despite its chaotic nature, people really liked it, which surprised Mulaney, who apparently just recovered from the marathon hosting duties.

Mulaney opened up about the special, which aired over five nights, by admitting that it was a bit harder that he had thought. “We never found a groove. And I think that’s a good thing,” he told Vanity Fair. “We had no time to learn anything as it was happening. Something would work really well, and we wouldn’t have it the next night because we didn’t plan for it,” he said. Even though the didn’t plan much, they did announce a hefty crop of guests and friends, though not everybody was eager to appear on the show, despite the name.

The comedian previously said that both David Lynch and Werner Herzog passed on the show (Herzog said “I have to be very careful about being around comedians”) but he was mostly upset that his pal Bo Burnham declined.

He explained, “Bo Burnham is a good friend of mine, and I said, ‘do you want to come on? I never see you on these.’ He goes, ‘yeah, I know—there’s a reason for that.’”

Even though Burnham seems to impose a strict “no variety show” rule, Mulaney almost convinced him to appear for one night. It didn’t work. “I said, ‘I’ll have you on, and we’ll call it Recluse Night. And it’ll only be recluses who don’t normally do TV.’ And he found that pretty funny. I think I almost had him with that, but no—he’s gotta be Bo, which I support.”

Bo will be Bo, which means he’ll probably stick to fake reality instead of real reality.

Meanwhile, something Mulaney doesn’t support is talking about Jerry Seinfeld’s takes on political correctness in comedy. “That topic is… such a topic. I have no opinions on it. I find it very boring,” he said. You can stream both Everybody’s In L.A., and Unfrosted now on Netflix!

(Via Vanity Fair)

(House of the Dragon spoilers will be found below.)

The second season premiere of House of the Dragon culminated in the Blood and Cheese scene while also creating quite a stir with the debut of Queen Alicent and Ser Criston Cole’s messy, compromising position. And while Criston is goofing off instead of acting like Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, two other knights are actually doing their jobs. They would be Sers Arryk and Erryk, those twins who were highlighted last season by my colleague Jessica Toomer as an example of how this show has such a grand time with names:

(Side note: Perhaps this moment ^^^ was the deciding factor that made Erryk join Team Black? Food for thought.)

Of course, celebrating names like Arryk and Erryk is much easier than attempting to make sure that “Jaecaerys,” “Jaehaerys,” and “Jaehaera” along with “Rhaenyra,” “Rhaenys,” and “Rhaena” are treated distinctively as well as spelled correctly. Still, they must be kept separate for story purposes, so what would be the key defining difference between Sers Arryk and Erryk, and who portrays them on the Game of Thrones prequel?

In the first season of House of the Dragon, the twins were seen together while serving King Viserys in unity. However, the second season sees them separated both physically and idealistically. Arryk has stayed to support King Aegon II Targaryen and Team Green at King’s Landing, and Erryk took the side of Queen Rhaenyra and Team Black at Dragonstone as seen below.

George R.R. Martin doesn’t spend too terribly much time with the twins in his Fire and Blood book (other than a pivotal moment), but to be fair, most details are sparing (and unreliable) in that entire faux-historical account, and the HBO series does (and will) find them worthy of eventful airtime this season.

For that reason and others, it’s worth noting that Ser Arryk and Erryk are not portrayed by a single actor doing double duty but two real-life identical twins, Luke (as Arryk) and Elliott (as Erryk) Tittensor. They aren’t new on the Hollywood block but have mainly appeared in across-the-pond productions. Both Elliott and Luke previously portrayed Carl Gallagher in over 100 episodes of the original (U.K.) version of Shameless with Elliott taking over the role when Luke departed for U.K. soap opera Emmerdale Farm. Here’s a photo with Luke on the left and Elliott (with his tats, apparently including dragons) on the right.

HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ airs and streams new episodes on Sunday nights.

Over the past half-decade, Fontaines DC have emerged as stars in their native Ireland (and the UK) and indie favorites stateside. They had a hit with their 2022 album Skinty Fia, and last month, they announced their fourth album, Romance. That news arrived alongside the single “Starburster,” and now they’ve offered a second look at the upcoming project with a new video for “Favourite.”

In a press release, the band’s Grian Chattenn described the song as having “this never-ending sound to it, a continuous cycle from euphoria to sadness, two worlds spinning forever.”
The track is a soaring a jangly tune, and it arrives with an appropriately fun and lighthearted video.

The video was self-directed by the band and it documents a recent trip they took to Madrid, a city the group has “multiple personal connections to, as the place guitarist Carlos O’Connell was born and grew up in and the city the band used as a base for their first ever tour,” as the release notes.

The band’s O’Connell previously said of the album, “This record is about deciding what’s fantasy – the tangible world, or where you go in your mind. What represents reality more? That feels almost spiritual for us.”

Watch the “Favourite” video above.

Romance is out 8/23 via XL Recordings. Find more information here.

A lot of celebrity relationships tend to be front-page news, but one that tends to fly relatively under the radar is the supposed duo of Grammy-winning singer Ella Mai and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Tatum and his Celtics just won the NBA Finals, of course, so all eyes are on him. That makes now a good time to ask:

Are Ella Mai And Jayson Tatum Still Dating?

As People notes, the two have been linked since 2020, but neither of them have actually publicly confirmed the apparent relationship. The two made their first public appearance together, though, at Michael Rubin’s Fourth Of July White Party in the Hamptons in 2020.

The two were also both at former Celtic teammate Marcus Smart’s wedding in 2023, and Tatum was spotted at Mai’s birthday party last November.

As for where things stand with Tatum and Mai now, the singer was spotted rocking a Tatum jersey as she celebrated the Celtics’ victory last night. So, whatever connection Tatum and Mai have, it appears to be doing just fine.

Meanwhile, Mai’s latest album is 2022’s Heart On My Sleeve, which followed her Billboard 200 top-5 self-titled debut album from 2018. Her biggest hit song to date is 2018’s “Boo’d Up,” which managed a peak at No. 5 on the Hot 100 chart.

Tom Hardy has done so many accents, you might be surprised to learn that he was born in London, and not, as you might have thought, born in the darkness of society. But he’s done all the accents you can imagine, from a New York/Boston hybrid in Venom to whatever this accent is in Peaky Blinders. In the past, Hardy has described his speaking voice as “middle class tw*t” but for The Bikeriders, he had to be something even scarier: American. Specifically, a Midwesterner.

“I’m not sure that I did nail it,” Hardy told Variety of his accent in the film. But he doesn’t care!

In the film, Hardy plays Johnny, the member of a Chicago motorcycle gang in the 1960s. He’s joined by fellow Accent King Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, and Michael Faist.

When it came to his accent, Hardy says that he tried hard, and that’s all that matters. It’s in his name, after all. “What’s important to me is that if you’re doing something as an actor, if you’re going to commit, then make the effort to fully commit, even if you fail. It doesn’t matter,” he said, adding that he doesn’t like to hold back. “I’d rather go out swinging, trying something to make the effort, than not make the effort at all, because there doesn’t seem to be any point in playing safe.”

While it might sound intense, his costars insist that on-set, he was a “teddy bear” who would go around hugging everyone, so maybe we can overlook the accent thing for now. If you can’t understand him, subtitles are your friend!

(Via Variety)

With Dan Hurley no longer a candidate to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, all eyes are on whether the team will actually hire ESPN analyst JJ Redick to take over for the recently fired Darvin Ham. While Redick has no coaching experience, he’s a sharp basketball mind and he has a good relationship with Lakers star LeBron James, with whom he hosts a podcast.

There’s no word on a potential timetable for Redick to get hired, but on Tuesday morning’s edition of “Get Up,” one member of the ESPN panel might have accidentally let it slip that the deal is done. While discussing the Lakers in the aftermath of the Boston Celtics winning a title on Monday night, Jay Williams said this:

“You have the Los Angeles Lakers, that are trying to figure out, with JJ Redick, a first-time head coach, we wish him all the best of luck, with LeBron James in his twilight years,” Williams said. “Granted, they’re still there, they still have a chance to contend, but you’re gonna give the edge to Boston in a really big way — stability in the front office, stability on the court with your top tier players, there’s a difference of franchises here.”

One major difference between the two franchises is that, as of Tuesday morning, everyone knows who Boston’s head coach is, while the Lakers’ coach is still TBD.

Jayson Tatum has never missed the NBA Playoffs in his career, but as the years of playoff appearances without a championship mounted, questions grew louder about whether he and Jaylen Brown could lead the Boston Celtics to a title together.

On Monday night, they put those questions to rest for good with a dominant five-game Finals win over the Dallas Mavericks to bring Boston its 18th NBA championship, but the first for the storied franchise in 16 years. The emotions poured out of Tatum on the court as the final buzzer sounded, as he bent over, head in his hands, realizing the weight that had finally been pulled off of him.

At the team’s championship celebration later that night, Tatum hopped on the microphone and addressed all those questions about what would happen if he and Brown never won a title with the Celtics, borrowing Kanye West’s line from his legendary Grammys speech, saying “I guess we’ll never know.”

Tatum’s teammates loved it, especially Jaylen Brown, and Tatum quite literally dropped the mic and walked off, Larry O’Brien in hand, to continue his celebration. The Celtics will take a few days to celebrate their title down in Miami, enjoying some beach time before they come back to Boston for their parade on Friday. We’ll see if Tatum breaks this back out on the parade stage or if he finds any more quotes to borrow for his speech in front of the Celtics faithful.

Ariana Grande guested on Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast recently and it yielded some noteworthy breakouts: Grande wants to release a deluxe edition of Eternal Sunshine and she discussed her habit of casting actors famous for playing serial killers in her videos.

One of the biggest takeaways, though, was a moment where Grande appeared to switch between using two different versions of her speaking voice, one lower-pitched and one higher. Well, according to Grande herself, fans weren’t just hearing things, and it’s actually intentional on Grande’s part.

In a TikTok comment (as Pop Crave notes), Grande explained, “habit (speaking like this for two years) and also vocal health [tea emoji] i intentionally change my vocal placement (high / low) often depending on how much singing i’m doing [crying emoji] i’ve always done this BYE.”

This actually isn’t the first time Grande has explained this vocal preservation method of hers. When the clip first made the rounds, one X (formerly Twitter) user shared an older video of Grande in which she says, “I’m speaking in a slightly higher placement than I usually speak in, because I’ve been doing a lot of interviews all day and I’m trying to keep my voice healthy.”

The Bikeriders will soon arrive in theaters after a long, winding road to release day. The film stars Austin Butler, Tom Hardy, and Jodie Comer and revolves around The Vandals, a biker club based upon photojournalist Danny Lyon’s seminal black-and-white photo book about his time embedded with real-life 1960s biker culture. The movie also boasts a vast ensemble cast of biker dudes, and of course this means that Norman Reedus had to be involved. How could he not?

Reedus, however, looks like this ^^^ in the movie, which is stunning to behold because this is the truly unwashed version of Norman Reedus rather than the simply greasy version as seen on The Walking Dead and the Daryl Dixon spin off. Heck, the spin off made it a point to give Daryl his first onscreen bath (and perhaps his only tub soak since the zombie apocalypse began), but The Bikeriders has him looking more than merely unwashed. Those teeth are a thing, obviously, but according to director Jeff Nichols, the chompers were actually Reedus’ brainchild, via Variety:

He’s almost unrecognizable as a biker with shaggy, dirty-looking hair, a beard and rotted teeth. “He just didn’t want to look like Daryl Dixon,” Nichols said, referring to the actor’s “Walking Dead” character. “The teeth were his idea and then we went with the hair and beard. His character felt like he could be a catch-all for every crazy frickin’ idea we had and Norman was up for it.”

This is understandable. As much as Reedus has discussed adoring his Daryl Dixon role, he’s also done so for over ten years at this point. Shaking it up is a good thing every so often, but let’s just hope that his wife, Diane Kruger, didn’t have to kiss him with those teeth. Then again, she seems to have a sense of humor, so who knows?

The Bikeriders rides into theaters on June 21.

(Via Variety)