Category: Worldwide

Perhaps its the pure boredom of life in quarantine or the evolution of wild right-wing conspiracy theories that has everyone searching for vast conspiracies these days. The latest, which cropped up this weekend and went viral on Twitter, is that Cartoon Network has a programming block called Adult Swim.

A woman, known on Twitter as @soonergurl74, posted on Saturday night a video she found highly offensive because it appeared on the usually kid-friendly Cartoon Network. She claimed the video was of “witches abusing babies” and part of a widespread campaign to trick children into watching disturbing images. The clip was from the networks’ late-night block of Adult Swim content, which is usually rated TV-14 or above and has existed since since 2001.

Adult Swim isn’t new, though its hours have extended in recent years to begin at 8 p.m. and run until 6 a.m. The block has been a showcase for a lot of adult animation, including Rick and Morty. It’s existed for decades, and the idea that it is an attempt to subvert the thinking of children is pretty silly. The name of the block is a reference to the very idea that children should be out of the proverbial pool, and there’s a content warning played between the block’s infamous bumps that reminds people that children should not be watching.

A second tweet, which went out when a lot of people pointed out that Adult Swim is A Thing and has been A Thing for A While, doubled down on what she believed to be a vast conspiracy at play at Williams Street in Atlanta, saying in part “when the darkness is exposed, the demons start panicking.”

The moment drew a lot of reaction online, especially from people who know that sometimes cartoons are made with adults in mind.

As many pointed out, it’s not like “Cartoon Network after 8 p.m.” is the only place you can get adult animation these days, either.

It’s a funny viral moment because a woman overreacted when learning about the existence of Adult Swim, sure, but it also goes to show just how small, coincidental things can quickly get blown out of proportion and into something much greater if people aren’t careful. Just last week the home goods company Wayfair became the subject of a viral conspiracy that children were being trafficked in expensive cabinetry that coincidently shared names with people. Believers in the Qanon conspiracy theory — which states that leading Democrats are part of a worldwide cabal of child predators and sex traffickers — are currently running for congress. The woman whose tweet went viral has a Qanon hashtag in the bio of her now-protected account, so it’s clear she’s into this kind of thing and believed she stumbled upon the next big conspiracy. It’s a slippery slope, and it really is as simple as someone not knowing a thing exists and then wildly grafting the pieces together to will something into existence.

If Adult Swim really is part of a vast conspiracy, though, the least they could do is get us some new episodes of Home Movies.

Beginning Monday, NFL players are set to begin reporting to training camp with rookies and veterans arriving later in the week.

However, there is not currently an agreement between the NFLPA and NFL regarding a testing or health and safety protocol with regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is obviously a significant impediment to the NFL season despite the league’s insistence that games go on as planned. Despite being the league that has had the most time to come up with a plan for how to proceed, they have apparently spent that time hoping and wishing that this would all just disappear rather than planning and preparing a comprehensive strategy for testing and what happens when (not if) players test positive during camp.

With the NFL not even considering a bubble like the NBA and MLS, there must be an even more aggressive testing policy in place to make certain the virus does not spread in camps and at NFL venues, and that apparently doesn’t exist. Under the current CBA, teams can still force players to report this week (and appear set on doing so) without an agreement between the two sides in place for the pandemic, but there is clear and understandable concern on the side of the players about whether they can do this safely.

On Sunday, players made a coordinated social media effort to draw attention to this issue, while also focusing their messaging around a “#WeWantToPlay” hashtag to ensure they aren’t painted as the side trying to keep football from happening. Players from around the league, including many of the NFL’s stars, posted messages indicating their frustration with the NFL’s lack of a coherent and clear plan for health and safety while noting they hope the league can get that in place soon so they can safely report to camp — noting that the difference between this and other inherent health dangers of football is that this is something that they could bring home to their families.

It is truly remarkable, in the worst possible way, that the league has had months to consider and come up with a plan for this exact moment and has simply not done so — at least, to the extent that they can provide such an idea to the union for approval. There seems to have been a “wait and see” approach that extended far beyond the reasonable timetable to do so, as the past month and a half has seen cases spiking around the country once again, which was very clearly not going to result in business as usual.

The players, which have never been the most solid union in sports, seem to be as together as they’ve ever been on this issue and that’s a place of strength. The question is if this leads to swift action by the NFL, or if the start of camp will be put into jeopardy by a lack of planning.

Exactly one month ago, Beyonce released her latest song “Black Parade.” The song celebrated Black ancestors, a fitting theme for the Juneteenth holiday that the song arrived on. Using her platform to continue the celebration of Black people, Beyonce announced on her website the following week that her upcoming Black Is King would debut exclusively at the end of July on the Disney+ streaming platform. Giving fans another look into the upcoming film, Beyonce debuted a trailer ahead of its release.

The trailer, which clocks in at just shy of a minute-and-a-half, features appearances from Beyonce herself, JAY-Z, Kelly Rowland, Naomi Campbell, Tina Knowles-Lawson, and more. Pharrell Williams and Lupita Nyong’o among others have also been confirmed to appear in the upcoming film. Shot in different areas such as New York, Los Angeles, South Africa, West Africa, London, and Belgium, the trailer features Beyonce tending to the young children while also showcasing the lives of the children and other members of the community.

Black Is King will also double as a visual album for Beyonce, her first release since 2019’s The Lion King remake, a movie she starred in and produced the soundtrack. Upon announcing the Black Is King film, she also revealed that the upcoming film will reimagine the lessons given in The Lion King remake in order to help “today’s young kinds and queens in search of their own crowns.”

It has been four months since Breonna Taylor was tragically killed in her own home by Louisville, Kentucky police officers. In the four months since, officers have yet to be disciplined for her murder and as a result, protests have been nonstop in the months following her death. Many have taken their protest to the front door of Kentucky attorney general, Daniel Cameron, who has brushed off requests to have the police officers arrested from everyone from notable celebrities like Beyonce to hundreds more gathering daily in Kentucky.

Some of those protesters, 87 people including YBN Cordae, were arrested on a felony charge of intimidating a participant in a legal process. According to NBC News just a few days removed from the protest and the arrests, though, Jefferson County attorney Mike O’Connell has dropped the felony charges on all protestors.

Despite maintaining that the charges were reasonable, O’Connell said in a statement, “in the interest of justice and the promotion of the free exchange of ideas, we will dismiss that charge for each protester this past Tuesday.”

Other notable names from the Kentucky protest included rapper Trae The Truth, Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams.

[via NBC News]

YBN Cordae is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

One of the bright spots in the world of sports over the past few months was the five weeks that we had The Last Dance in our lives, ESPN’s documentary on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. There were legitimate questions to be asked about the journalistic integrity of the documentary, given Jordan’s involvement in the production — with some like Horace Grant taking issue with his and others portrayal in it.

Still, for its faults, it was highly entertaining to watch and brought basketball fans together for five Sundays at a time when there were no live sports to otherwise take in. Since airing, the doc has lived on ESPN+ in the United States, with Netflix co-producing and owning international rights from the beginning. Now, the massive Netflix audience here stateside will have a chance to watch the 10-part documentary as the streaming giant announced on Sunday morning that the series is now available on their U.S. platform.

The documentary initially shattered ESPN records for viewership of original, documentary programming, but now it will have a vastly wider audience that can dive in and take that trip down memory road — or learn a lot of these stories for the first time — with Jordan as the leading voice. For those that already watched, but may not have an ESPN+ account, it’s a chance to rewatch some of your favorite episodes — maybe dial up Jordan gambling on pitching quarters with security guards or the Bulls-Pistons rivalry episode.

SNL At Home was an experiment in what the sketch comedy show could do while everyone was stuck in their homes away from NBC studios, and the results were an interesting mix of recreating sketch concepts remotely and exploring the space with digital shorts and other concepts.

For Pete Davidson, it was a chance to use his mother’s basement as a recording studio and make some music videos. One of those videos was a song about Danny Trejo, which was basically bout the actor’s ubiquity in movies and signature mustache.

In an interview with Discussing Film, Trejo reflected on the video from May and what it meant to get his own song on Saturday Night Live. The best part was that Trejo wasn’t asked about it, he brought it up unprompted because he was so excited about it.

Oh, did you see that rap song Pete Davidson did for me on Saturday Night Live? God man, I couldn’t believe it. That was amazing. You know what’s amazing? He bought his own shirt. I couldn’t believe it. If his people would have asked, I would’ve gave him a dozen shirts!

Trejo probably appreciated the many shoutouts to Trejo’s Tacos in the song, which certainly helps business. But it’s nice to see someone get referenced on ‘SNL’ and call it ‘amazing.’ Not everyone is so lucky. Better than a song, of course, would be a new Machete. But apparently we’ll have to wait a bit longer on that.

Last year, the Chicago Sky looked set to play in the WNBA semifinals until Dearica Hamby’s miraculous half-court heave brought the team’s exciting season to a cruel halt. After missing out on the playoffs in 2017 and 2018, the team really turned things around in 2019 as new coach James Wade helped improve the squad with some fresh talent and fast-paced play.

In a season full of bizarre circumstances, the Sky might be the team best poised for success and consistency after keeping most of its roster intact. Although Jantel Lavender will miss the season after undergoing foot surgery and point guard Sydney Colson has not yet joined the team after contracting COVID-19, seven of the team’s top eight minutes leaders return for the Sky. The team’s top five scorers — Diamond DeShields, Stefanie Dolson, Cheyenne Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, and Allie Quigley — are all back as well. With no major roster losses and the exciting addition of rookie Ruthy Hebard, the Sky are eager to build upon their success and challenge for the championship this year.

WUBBLE ROSTER

Sydney Colson (has not yet traveled to Florida after testing positive for COVID-19)
Kahleah Copper
Diamond DeShields
Stefanie Dolson
Ruthy Hebard
Stella Johnson
Cheyenne Parker
Allie Quigley
Azura Stevens
Courtney Vandersloot
Gabby Williams

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

Diamond DeShields: A fast-rising star in the league and arguably the player with the most on-court swag, DeShields took her game to another level in 2019. In her second year in the league, she averaged a career-high 16.2 points, 2.4 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game and was named an All-Star for the first time. DeShields shined bright last season and looks to be the Sky’s biggest threat going forward.

Courtney Vandersloot: Last season, Vandersloot showed her incredible court vision, leading the league in assists for the third straight season and breaking her own single-season assists record again after she totaled 900 dimes on the season and a record-breaking 9.1 assists per game. The 5’8 guard has established herself as one of the best passers in the league and is currently sixth on the WNBA’s list of all-time assists leaders. Even at 3o years old, she shows no signs of slowing down on that front.

EXPECTATIONS

With a 20-14 overall record — their best since 2015 — the Sky were a much-improved, fun bunch to watch in 2019. They were the fastest team in the league and averaged the second-most points per game behind the eventual champion Washington Mystics. The star trio of DeShields, Vandersloot, and Quigley all earned spots on the All-Star team last summer, and will look to continue their strong play in their second season in Wade’s system. Since arriving in the “Wubble,” the team has been having fun biking around the complex, joking about starting a lizard removal service, and dancing on Tik Tok. But make no mistake: The players remain squarely focused on chasing the title. As DeShields said in a recent press conference, “The Chicago Sky is not here on vacation. […] We came here to play basketball. We came here to compete for a championship.”

X-FACTOR

Ruthy Hebard: The Sky selected the big out of Oregon with the eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft with the hopes that she can bring her consistent play and efficient shooting to the team. With Lavender out for the season and limited options at the forward spot, the Sky will likely rely on Hebard to play a significant number of minutes this season. In her senior season at Oregon, Hebard averaged 17.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game along with the best field goal percentage in the country. She did that on a stacked Ducks team, sharing the floor with high-scoring players Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally. While she’s not yet a defensive powerhouse, only averaging 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game last year, the 6’4 power forward did show off her abilities in the pick-and-roll.

BIGGEST ON-COURT QUESTION

How will the frontcourt fare after losing Lavender and Astou Ndour? Last season, Ndour averaged 10.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 11 regular season games as a starter after Lavender got injured, but the forward was since traded to Dallas. Wade will have to closely survey his options at the four, with Cheyenne Parker seeming the most obvious candidate to start games. Hebard should certainly be able to help, especially given that the former Oregon star’s game looks like it will lend itself well to the pro game. And the Sky added Azura Stevens in the offseason, who had a strong rookie season and showed promise last year with Dallas before having her campaign cut short due to injury. It remains to be seen how the Sky will line up at the four slot this year, and especially how they can improve on the defensive end of the floor.

The Floor Is Lava is one of the surprise hits of the summer for Netflix, as viewers have loved watching contestants jump across furniture to win a $29 lava lamp or burn up trying. With just 10 episodes the show is a quick watch, and now that people have cruised through the episodes we’re learning more about what was left out of the show’s first season.

In an interview with the AV Club, host Rutledge Wood added some fun details to the show’s first season, including that the lava the show is designed around is one of the slipperiest things he’s ever seen. We already knew that the show was filmed in a giant abandoned Ikea in Burbank, which was a huge benefit when it came to planning out the filming of the show. One thing that show creators also hinted at was a larger narrative to the show that saw the cutting room floor, and Wood explained that the initial idea was that it was his house contestants were navigating through.

There’s definitely parts of the show that didn’t make it to air. Like, it was supposed to seem like my crazy haunted mansion. And then, the further we got in there, we were like, “Why?” Like, we were already making the joke that, “Oh, you get to meet me, Rutledge Wood!” Half the people have no idea who I am, which is the hilarious part.

A larger story with the house was something show co-creator Irad Eyal mentioned in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter earlier in the month.

“If viewers watch carefully, and maybe it’s going to take a second viewing, there is a little bit of a backstory, a little bit of a mystery to the show too. Where is this house? What is this mansion that has all these different rooms? Why is the lava here?” asked. “And we’re going to want to explore that in more depth too just to give people a little bit more of the mystery behind the show too.”

Another fun bit that got cut was more details and reaction from failed contestants, who in the show’s final product simply disappeared without a trace.

At one point, I think we had like a “magic elevator,” and that’s where the losers would go, but they wouldn’t know where they were going. There was some silly stuff that we shot where we tried to, but just didn’t work.

Wood didn’t have any inside info on a second season, but he seemed just as hopeful as the show’s creators. There’s clearly something larger they want to get to with the show, and it would be great to see them get there while covering new contestants in large amounts of slippery lava.

[via The AV Club]

Continuing his streak of ramped-up activity, which includes his Yeezy Gap partnership, a Kids See Ghost animated show, a presidential campaign, and recent single “Wash Us In The Blood,” Kanye West returned with a new announcement for fans late Saturday night. Set to arrive next week, July 24, West apparently announced his upcoming Donda album in a tweet, which was quickly deleted, even revealing a handwritten tracklist.

According to the handwritten tracklist, Donda will come attached with 20 songs including “Wash Us In The Blood” and “New Body.” The latter track was previously leaked to fans and features Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign. Soon becoming a fan favorite among fans of Minaj and others thanks to TikTok, they quickly called for its release, requests that Nicki told fans to pester Kim Kardashian for in order to receive it.

The album announcement also comes after West shared a preview of its title track on Twitter on his late mother’s birthday. The track begins with his mother reading lyrics from KRS-One’s “Sound Of Da Police” and samples The Clark Sisters’ 1980 song “They Were Overcome By The Word.” No official release date for Donda has been revealed, and Kanye’s last album was plagued by release delays and claims that didn’t come true. It’s also not confirmed that the tracklist is what most assume it is, but it seems increasingly clear that more Kanye is on the way.

During the current worldwide pandemic, movie studios are no longer providing box-office figures because theaters have been shut down around the nation and the world. Because we are less interested in the actual figures themselves and more interested in what people are watching over the weekends, each week we will dive into Most Streamed and Bestseller Lists on Fandango, iTunes, Netflix, and Hulu to pinpoint the weekend’s most watched films.

Technically, we’re still a month away now from the release of Tenet, which is tentatively set for August 12th, although no one actually believes that the Christopher Nolan film will open this summer (in fact, it’s too long to open in China, where theaters are set to reopen). With the way things are going in the States, it’s looking more and more likely that not only will the summer be wiped out, but potentially the fall, as well. Sitting in an inside space for two and a half hours with others is how the virus is spread.

However, over in Asia, where the curve has been flattened and beaten to submission, movies theaters are beginning to open up. In fact, South Korean zombie action film Peninsula, set four years after director Yeon Sang-ho’s Train to Busan, is burning up the box office over there, scoring the highest ever opening day for a Korean film in Singapore.

Meanwhile, back in the States, we’re still feasting on VOD and streaming platforms from inside our homes, including … Trolls World Tour, released back in the beginning of April, and still the top film on Fandango’s charts, and the second most popular film on iTunes. Meanwhile, The Outpost — in only its third weekend — is the top film on iTunes and the second most popular film on Fandango.

While the Fandango VOD charts are more of the same (Pete Davidson’s King of Staten Island, Kevin Bacon’s You Should Have Left, and Mel Gibson’s Force of Nature), there are at least some new titles on the iTunes charts. Arkansas, starring Liam Hemsworth, was the top film a few weeks ago and has jumped back to number three thanks to a $.99 rental fee. Meanwhile, Archive, the solid sci-fi flick starring Theo James, joins one of the best horror films of the year, Relic starring Emily Mortimer, to round out the top five. Relic is sitting at 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and has been described by more than a few critics as the best horror film of the year, so far.

We don’t have figures or even charts for some of the other streaming services, but HBO Max says that Scoob, is the top trending movie on their service, and Hamilton, no doubt, is still getting all the views on Disney Plus. Meanwhile, over on Hulu, Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs has broken Hulu’s record — it has officially netted more hours watched over its first three days than any other film on Hulu during the same period. Hulu spent $17.5 million on the film out of Sundance, a record itself, and it was apparently worth the price.

Over on Netflix, ’90s royalty Omar Epps and Nia Long, reunite for the thriller A Fatal Affair, which is the top film on the streaming service this weekend. Neither critics (17 percent on RT) nor audiences (21 percent on RT) have been kind to the film. Last week’s top film, Charlize Theron’s The Old Guard, falls to number two, although I expect that it will be around in the top five for awhile. It’s very good. In at number five on Netflix is a French comedy making its debut on the streaming service called MILF. It’s getting very bad reviews (17 percent), but I suspect that the title is a big draw (see also The F**k It List at number 9). In at number three is Lorax and at number four, strangely, is How Do You Know, a thoroughly mediocre Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, and Reese Witherspoon rom com that I was really excited about in 2010, but that ended up being a huge disappointment.

Next weekend looks to be a slow-ish one for new releases. Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout starring Rosamund Pike will be released on Amazon Prime Video, while The Kissing Booth 2 debuts on Netflix.

Source: Netflix, Fandango, iTunes