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Celebrity quarantine entertainment got off to a rocky start, thanks to Gal Gadot’s star-studded, well-intentioned but much maligned “Imagine” video. But they got better. Performers have figured out clever and resourceful ways to keep us (and themselves) amused and distracted, from late night performers to SNL to Parks and Recreation’s acclaimed reunion special. And now, as caught by Entertainment Weekly, we what’s arguably the best one so far — the anti-“Imagine” — has arrived.

It’s called the “Boss Bitch Fight Challenge,” and it was spearheaded by legendary stunt double and actress Zoë Bell. Bell has doubled and acted alongside the rich and famous, and she was able to wrangle over two dozen actresses and fellow stunt doubles for what’s essentially Richard Linklater’s Slacker but with fighting.

The premise is simple: Bell is bored during lockdown and wants to hang with some friends. So she does the next best thing: She charges her cameraphone with one of her first-rate high kicks, delivering a blow to the camera…and, with the magic of editing, into the face of Lucy Lawless, shooting from her own home. Lawless than delivers a blow to stunt double Tara Macken, who gives one to Drew Barrymore, who attacks Juliette Lewis, and so on and so forth.

The cast is all-female and it’s impressive; among the pugilists are Cameron Diaz, Kaitlin Olson, Florence Pugh, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Julia Butters, Daryl Hannah, Tracie Thomas, Rosie Perez, Thandie Newton, Halle Berry, Scarlett Johansson, Margot Robbie, and many more still. They aren’t always punches or kicks; one person tickles her successor, while another merely gets a dog lick to the face. Where most of the participants in the “Imagine” video seemed barely committed, here the opposite is very much true. Who needs new movies?

(Via EW)

The basketball world is all things Michael Jordan these days, as the 10-part ESPN docuseries The Last Dance is essentially the only game in town with the COVID-19 pandemic putting actual hoops on hold. While we wait to see what the future holds for the 2020 season and beyond, sinking into the nostalgia and stories of the Jordan Bulls has been a fun experience all around, from those that fondly remember that era of hoops as well as a younger generation experiencing Jordan’s greatness in a new light, perhaps for the first time.

One part of that era also getting a fresh look is an iconic Jordan ad campaign from Gatorade.

The clip has modern hoops stars (and Gatorade athletes) like Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson and WNBA star Elena Delle Donne showing off their skills interspersed with clips from the original campaign, which featured Jordan highlights and other young children emulating his game. The message is clear: all of those people that wanted to Be Like Mike are who they are by following the sports drink company’s advice.

Gatorade also put together GIFs and TikToks of the Be Like Mike campaign, which is a nice little bonus.

via GIPHY

We’ll see if any of these are usable reaction GIFs for The Last Dance on Sunday night, but something tells me they’ll be of use at some point very soon.

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Mindy Kaling has a lot of reasons for you to stay inside and continue to encourage social distancing despite parts of the United States slowly easing COVID-19 restrictions. Kaling has a new show on Netflix earning strong reviews — Never Have I Ever — that’s partially based on her own upbringing, which is as good a place as any to sink a few hours of your time these days.

If that’s not enough to keep you on the couch despite an uptick in decent weather and states like Missouri and Texas easing restrictions, perhaps her character from The Office can help her cause. On Sunday, Kaling tweeted a meme that featured a line Kelly said on the show reframed in the context of images of people not practicing good social distancing that many saw over the weekend.

“Kelly was right on this one,” Kaling tweeted along with the meme, which has Kelly saying “it’s just that some of us are taking this really seriously” under text that reads “when people flying, going to beaches and having parties ask why we’re upset.”

Kaling makes it clear she wants to shame people not following good social distancing practices and helping flatten the curve of COVID-19 cases, which are likely to rise with more human contact and asymptomatic spreading of the disease. And her noting that Kelly is “right” this time is important, as the scene on the show is a bit ridiculous.

The moment comes from the first episode of The Office‘s fifth season, called “Weight Loss Part 1.” The Dunder Mifflin branches hold a weight loss competition that, predictably, has everyone go a little crazy in Scranton. The context here is that Kelly is doing a cleanse diet where she can only drink maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and water. Which is taking a toll on her, as shown very clearly in her confessional early in the episode.

This scene, however, comes later. Right after this comment — which comes as she watches with disgust as Kevin puts peanut butter on a bagel — Kelly reveals that she “swallowed a tapeworm” which she hopes will eat all her food and help her lose weight. The extreme measures are played up for comedy, but what Kaling is asking for is very real. She’s spent part of her still-busy schedule doing COVID-19 fundraising for first responders in the United States and India, so this is clearly something she feels very strongly about. What she’s asking is far more reasonable than swallowing a parasite in order to win an in-office competition, though.

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Live concerts and festivals are not the only events that have been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus. Record Store Day was originally scheduled for April 18 this year, but in early March RSD revealed that they would push back the celebration saying, “RSD is worldwide and celebrates a record store’s place in their community. As good citizens of those communities we want everyone to be safe, healthy and feel comfortable coming to the party. Record Store Day 2020 is moving to June 20.”

With the rescheduled date less than a month and a half away, however, it looks like we’ll have to wait just a bit longer to celebrate Record Store Day this year. In a post to their website, Record Store Day revealed that 2020’s edition of the indie record store celebration will occur across three dates later in 2020: August 29, September 26, and October 24. Recognizing the need indie record stores will have in today’s climate, the change grants additional opportunities for fans of the event to pick up more items when stores are actually open.

“Record Store Day will look very different this year, but supporting indie record stores may be more important than ever,” the website said. “We don’t know what sort of rules will be in place, or what sort of gatherings people will be in the mood for this year, so we’re focusing on the music and getting the really great titles on the RSD Official List this year into the stores and into your hands, in the most financially and socially responsible way.”

Per the new changes, RSD also revealed that the new version of The List, which will feature new RSD Drops dates, will arrive on their website on June 1.

Despite concerns from medical officials and health experts, government leaders in various states hoping to restart economies have been begun the steps of relaxing social distancing rules by slowly reopening certain nonessential businesses and allowing larger gatherings. Taking a much bigger step than most states, live concerts will return to the state of Missouri starting May 4.

Detailed in a report by Billboard, Governor Mike Parson revealed his Show Me Strong recovery plan which details a slow reopening of the economy starting May 4. Becoming the first state to do so since the government began lockdown orders, the recovery plan will allow citizens to attend live events, including concerts. According to the Show Me Strong guidelines, large events and gatherings will no longer be banned, but in order to attend a concert, movie theater or stadium “seating shall be spaced out according to social distancing requirements.”

Despite the news, Missouri’s larger music hubs, which include St. Louis, Springfield, and Kansas City, will not open their doors to live events next week. Officials from the major cities plan to keep the cities’ Stay Home order in effect for the time being as St. Louis mayor, Lyda Krewson, revealed on Twitter.

Looking at venues in cities that can reopen according to the recovery plan, like The Blue Note in Columbia, they will not be as quick to open their doors to large groups. The Blue Note will continue to hold its Social Distraction, a livestreamed local music concert series, at least through May 15.

[via Billboard]

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