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Viral marketing is a difficult art for films to pull off, and presumably, this turns into a glut of unacknowledged attempts to harness the practice. In the case of the recent Smile, however, sports-loving seat fillers did the deed, leading the horror film to financial success via word of mouth. This approach follows long after The Blair Witch Project lured viewers into the woods, made a quarter-billion, and launched endless found-footage imitators.

Now, it might be too soon to call a successor to the viral-marketing throne, but an upcoming Nic Cage movie seems to be hitting those same elusive beats. And NEON’s Longlegs looks like a frightfully fun time at the movies, in the same way that The Strangers made people never want to look at a swing set again and Sinister made it scary to walk past an open window. In the case of Longlegs‘ marketing strategy, though, the intrigue lies in what the film’s plentiful teases are not revealing.

Let’s piece some clues together and not lose our sh*t in the process.

Plot

That’s actually a difficult question to answer, given the vagueness of NEON’s marketing campaign. The film appears to revolve around grisly sets of murders over the course of decades. The following NEON social media teases mention axes, a door-to-door visitor, an omnipotent “he,” and a 1992 scene with “No signs of forced entry.”

Note that Nic Cage doesn’t appear anywhere in these hints, other than his name in the headlining credits. Here’s what Polygon suggests that he could portray a serial killer, but there’s also hints of the supernatural at work, given that a nun is shown in one of the teaser images, although there’s no telling why a woman appears to be stabbing herself with a knife.

As if that wasn’t mysterious enough, video teasers insist that it’s important to “[r]emember to say your prayers.” There’s a mysterious “her” as well, and a very unsettling clip that again suggests repeat violence upon families.

Clear as mud? Yes. Longlegs is directed by Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony Perkins) of Greta & Hansel, The Blackcoat’s Daughter. He sure is working the suspense hard, and this is so much more enticing than countless movies who give too much away in trailers.

Admittedly, we don’t even really know the plot despite all of the teasers, and that’s intriguing. Heck, the film has also successfully teased a Nic Cage-starring film in several ways without even showing Nic Cage in any of the preview materials.

Cast

This will be one of Nic Cage’s final movies, according to Nic Cage himself. His role, however, remains a mystery. We also know that Maika Monroe (It Follows) willplay one of the FBI investigators of the horrific crimes therein, and buckets of blood should arrive on the scene.

Release Date

Keeping with the cryptic theme, Longlegs hasn’t revealed its precise 2024 release date. Yet.

Trailer

No full-on trailer exists yet, but let’s resurrect those chills again with a replay of this trailer from 1999’s The Blair Witch Project.

It happened: Universal Music Group has removed its artists’ songs from TikTok. As of today (February 1), official songs from artists signed to UMG labels no longer appear under the “Sounds” tab on the TikTok app, and previously published videos that featured those songs now have muted audio.

Impacted artists include Taylor Swift, Drake, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, SZA, Olivia Rodrigo, Steve Lacy, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, Harry Styles, Rosalía, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Adele, U2, Elton John, J Balvin, Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Post Malone, and many others.

TikTok and UMG had a licensing agreement that expired yesterday (January 31), and the day before it did, there were clear indications that negotiations on a new contract were not going well.

UMG shared an open letter about the situation, which read in part:

“As our negotiations continued, TikTok attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth. How did it try to intimidate us? By selectively removing the music of certain of our developing artists, while keeping on the platform our audience-driving global stars.

TikTok’s tactics are obvious: use its platform power to hurt vulnerable artists and try to intimidate us into conceding to a bad deal that undervalues music and shortchanges artists and songwriters as well as their fans.

We will never do that.”

TikTok then shared a response that reads in full:

“It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.

Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent.

TikTok has been able to reach ‘artist-first’ agreements with every other label and publisher. Clearly, Universal’s self-serving actions are not in the best interests of artists, songwriters and fans.”

At the moment, it’s not clear when or if a new licensing agreement between TikTok and UMG will be reached, and when/if the artists’ music will return to TikTok.

The original The Walking Dead TV series lost some momentum towards the end, which was to be expected after several beloved characters (Rick, Michonne, poor freaking Jesus) left the show. Even Maggie went and came, as did Negan, and I think even viewers were willing to let the show go after eleven seasons. However, AMC has pulled off a virtual miracle with three new spinoffs featuring principal characters in new scenarios with Dead City taking that hot walker action to the street and Daryl Dixon taking a relatively idyllic jaunt through the French countryside and the meanest streets of Paris.

Soon, however, the long-awaited return of Rick Grimes will come to light. The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live will do the thing as “Rick Grimes and Michonne” show with Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira reprising their roles. She will still have her machete in hand, thank god, and he might be down some digits. Let’s talk about that and more.

Plot

Rick Grimes was originally going to depart the original series and head onto the big screen. Maybe? There were reports and rumors that a trilogy could even happen, and then the pandemic hit, and all Hollywood hell broke loose. Fast forward to 2023, and AMC began to put Fear The Walking Dead into its final grave while diving into smaller shows to showcase Maggie and Negan; Daryl and (soon-to-be) Carol; and the couple who was spotted naked by Jesus. Will Rick and Michonne eventually meet up with the other duos in a crossover? We can only hope, but let’s talk about where this spinoff finds Rick.

As viewers will recall, Rick needs to stay off horses and even ended his official The Walking Dead run midway through the ninth season. He was impaled, managed to pull himself off a giant spike, escape a horde, and blow up a bridge to save his community. As far as his adoptive family was concerned, he had probably perished somewhere out in the woods, although Daryl did spend years looking for his good friend. No one knew then that Janis/Anne had “saved” Rick by sweeping him off to be with the Civil Republic Military (CRM), and she was very proud of herself for capturing him as an asset. Then in the series finale, we found out that Rick had tried to escape, had been spotted by a CRM helicopter, and had left behind evidence of his continued existence, which was discovered by Michonne, who went looking for her husband.

Thus far, we know that Michonne has been looking for Rick and even left Judith and R.J. (Rick Grimes Jr.) behind in the Alexandria Safe-Zone while doing so. She will cut her way through the most ridiculously large horde of walkers seen in these shows, and footage thus far has seen her thrilled upon discovering that Rick is still indeed alive after she recognizes his walk in those trademark boots of his.

Rick, however, might be more than a little bit off the rails after what he’s endured. He has remained intent upon getting back to his wife, but even Rick Grimes can’t manage to leave the CRM. The show has also hinted that AMC has decided to go ahead and make Rick lose a hand, like he did in the comics.

Also, the show’s synopsis is incredibly existential:

The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live presents an epic love story of two characters changed by a changed world. Kept apart by distance. By an unstoppable power. By the ghosts of who they were. Rick and Michonne are thrown into another world, built on a war against the dead… And ultimately, a war against the living. Can they find each other and who they were in a place and situation unlike any they’ve ever known before? Are they enemies? Lovers? Victims? Victors? Without each other, are they even alive — or will they find that they, too, are the Walking Dead?

Cast

Pollyanna McIntosh is the third confirmed returning actor in this series. She, of course, portrays Janis/Anne, and it’s all her fault that Rick ended up in two ways: (1) Not dead; (2) As property of the CRM. Everyone already knows that Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira shall be the focus, and new roles will be portrayed by Lesley-Ann Brandt (as Pearl Thorne) and Matt Jeffreys (as Nat).

Release Date

Although this series will include some romance (this is Rick and Michonne’s long-overdue reunion, after all), timeliness for the holiday will not be of the essence. The official premiere date is February 25..

Trailer

This final trailer sets up explosions and Rick having just about had it with his past decade away from the fam.

Previously, a teaser trailer let the world know that Rick is doing about as maddeningly as expected in CRM custody.

Lana Del Rey has been on a roll: Since the start of 2021, she has released three albums. Her latest, Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, dropped less than a year ago, last March. And yet, it looks like she’ll have another new project out before 2024 ends, as she indicated at a Billboard pre-Grammys event last night (January 31).

As Billboard notes, while discussing Jack Antonoff on stage, Del Rey said, “If you can’t already tell by our award winners and our performers, the music business is going country. We’re going country. It’s happening. That’s why Jack has followed me to Muscle Shoals, Nashville, Mississippi, over the last four years.” She added that the album is currently set for release in September and it’s called Lasso.

So, to recap: What we know about Del Rey’s next album so far is that it will have a country influence, Del Rey worked on it with frequent collaborator Antonoff, she recorded at least parts of it in the southern US, it’s called Lasso, and it currently has an expected release date sometime in September.

Speaking of the Grammys, Del Rey has five nominations at this year’s awards, while Antonoff is up for Producer Of The Year — Non Classical.

It would appear Lovers & Friends Festival was a little hasty about announcing its 2024 lineup last week. Usher, Janet Jackson, and Backstreet Boys were unveiled as the headliners, but two other prominent artists have since disputed their names being listed on the lineup poster.

Last Thursday, January 25, Mary J. Blige wrote on her Instagram Story that her “inclusion was an error as I will be busy in preparation for my Strength of a Woman Summit just one week later.” On Wednesday, January 31, Juvenile posted an Instagram Reel — and he was, um, much less cordial than Mary J.

“Here we go again, man,” he said. “These cats at Lovers & Friends — whoever in charge of Lovers & Friends, man, y’all doing bad business, man. Y’all done put my name on the flyer, and y’all know you ain’t sent me no deposit, ain’t sent me no bread or nothin’.”

The Cash Money Records rapper continued, “Keep on playing games — talking ’bout y’all gonna get back at me. Look, y’all playing games with the wrong mothaf*cka, man. If y’all gon’ book me, if y’all not gon’ book me, take my mothaf*ckin’ name off y’all flyer. I ain’t got no problem with that. I could do something else with my time. I ain’t trippin’, but don’t put my f*ckin’ name on y’all flyers if y’all know you ain’t paid me no money. That’s f*cked up.”

There’s not really a smooth way to transition out of that, but for those still interested in attending Lovers & Friends 2024 to see whichever artists will perform, the festival is scheduled for Saturday, May 4, at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. Find more information here.

The Phoenix Suns went to Brooklyn on Wednesday night to take on the Nets just before the 1-year anniversary of the two teams coming together and figuring out a trade for Kevin Durant. Back in February of 2023, Durant got his long-standing wish for the Nets to trade him, and the Suns parted ways with a whole lot in order to bring him to Phoenix and pair him up with Devin Booker.

Wednesday’s game was Durant’s first trip back to Brooklyn since then, and the Suns were able to take care of business en route to a 136-120 win. Late in the game, Booker was able to have some fun at the expense of one of the players Phoenix gave up to acquire Durant, as he hit a three while Mikal Bridges was right in his face. Booker then threw up his hand, did Bridges’ celebration that he’ll do after he makes a shot from behind the arc, and went right up to the Nets standout.

Booker and Bridges were, of course, teammates for quite some time in Phoenix, so we assume that there’s nothing but love between these two. Still, it sure seemed like Book enjoyed this one a whole lot more than Bridges did.

The Phoenix Suns went to Brooklyn on Wednesday night to take on the Nets just before the 1-year anniversary of the two teams coming together and figuring out a trade for Kevin Durant. Back in February of 2023, Durant got his long-standing wish for the Nets to trade him, and the Suns parted ways with a whole lot in order to bring him to Phoenix and pair him up with Devin Booker.

Wednesday’s game was Durant’s first trip back to Brooklyn since then, and the Suns were able to take care of business en route to a 136-120 win. Late in the game, Booker was able to have some fun at the expense of one of the players Phoenix gave up to acquire Durant, as he hit a three while Mikal Bridges was right in his face. Booker then threw up his hand, did Bridges’ celebration that he’ll do after he makes a shot from behind the arc, and went right up to the Nets standout.

Booker and Bridges were, of course, teammates for quite some time in Phoenix, so we assume that there’s nothing but love between these two. Still, it sure seemed like Book enjoyed this one a whole lot more than Bridges did.

In recent years, Kanye West-related headlines have very rarely been related to music. However, in recent weeks, the chatter has primarily centered around Vultures, the forthcoming joint album between him and Ty Dolla Sign, a work that has been delayed numerous times. On January 23, West shared that Vultures will be a three-part project, with the first part due out on February 9.

But before releasing new music, West dipped into his existing discography as a surprise performer during the second-to-last stop on Travis Scott’s Utopia — Circus Maximus Tour in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, January 31. Wearing a Jason mask, he performed “All Of The Lights” and “Runaway” from his 2010 beloved No. 1 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy — as well as several other tracks, including the unreleased “Vultures.” Several videos circulated on X (formerly Twitter). One such video captured Ye confirming the aforementioned February 9 release date for Vultures.

Earlier Wednesday, Ye’s daughter, North West, was reportedly spotted wearing a graphic tee displaying an updated Vultures Vol. 1 tracklist, as seen below.

1. “Everybody” Feat. Charlie Wilson
2. “Back To Me” Feat. Freddie Gibbs & Quavo
3. “Fuk Sum” Feat. Playboi Carti & Quavo
4. “Time Moving Slow”
5. “Beg Forgiveness” Feat. Chris Brown
6. “Do It” Feat. YG
7. “Paid” Feat. Future
8. “Timbo Freestyle”
9. “Slide” Feat. James Blake
10. “Promotion” Feat. Future
11. “Vultures” Feat. Bump J & Lil Durk
12. “Love Love Love”
13. “Talking” Feat. North West
14. “Hoodrat”
15. “River” Feat. Young Thug & Leon Bridges
16. “Gun To My Head” Feat. Kid Cudi
17. “Take Off Your Dress”
18. “Dead” Feat. Future & Lil Durk

Young Thug is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book III: Raising Kanan episode will be found below.)

An epic drug game battle in Queens is taking shape through the final two episodes of Power Book III: Raising Kanan season three. In the show’s episode last week, Raq discovers that Kanan and Ronnie are selling heroin through support from Snaps and Pop. She attempts to tell Snaps and Pop to back off from Kanan, but that try goes unsuccessful. This proves to be problematic as her distributor previously demanded that Raq eliminate her competition — coincidentally, Ronnie and Kanan — from their turf. Elsewhere in the episode, Jukebox’s troubles with Butta took a turn for the worse when Krystal recruits her friends to jump Jukebox, Lou-Lou goes on the run to an unknown location, and Marvin grows more and more suspicious of Gerald’s actions toward him. That’s all we got for episode eight and here’s when you expect to watch episode nine.

When Will Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 3, Episode 9 Come Out?

The ninth episode of Power Book III: Raising Kanan season three, titled “Home To Roast,” will arrive on February 2. The Monty DeGraff-directed and Kevin Fox-written episode will be available on Friday, 2/2 on the STARZ app starting at midnight EST/PST. The episode will later air on the STARZ TV channel at 8 pm ET/PT. A synopsis for “Home To Roast” can be found below:

Ronnie and Kanan’s feud with Raq intensifies as Marvin desperately searches for an out-of-control Lou-Lou. Famous and Jukebox both find themselves at potential turning points in their music careers.

New episodes of ‘Power Book III: Raising Kanan’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00 am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.

Is Donald Trump a liar or is his brain just melting? Maybe a mix of both? The former president has been losing one of his many cases after another, though even after he’s maintained his innocence — or just made it worse. He’ll tell his fans anything and he knows they’ll believe him. Perhaps that’s why he’s now spinning some court losses as wins, at least far as he sees it.

Per Mediaite, on Wednesday Trump spoke with reporters about, among other things, the bipartisan border deal he doesn’t want enacted so he can use that as one of his campaign go-tos. At one point a reporter asked him if he planned to “use campaign funds or PAC money to try to pay some of the penalties in the New York defamation and fraud cases.”

Either he was playing dumb or he legitimately didn’t remember how they happened. He even asked, “What penalties?” He then had a curious take on the two defamation cases he lost and the fraud trial in which he was found liable.

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I mean, that’s been proven as far as I’m concerned,” Trump brazenly claimed. He then claimed he’d won an appeal that is still awaiting a verdict.

Trump also repeated a favorite baseless conspiracy theory of his, that some of the criminal cases against him have been “coordinated with the White House by the attorney general.”

When asked about his latest E. Jean Carroll trial, which ended with him ordered to fork over $83.3 million, he simply wrote it off as a “ridiculous case.”

Is Trump simply maintaining his innocence or is his brain simply not working? Whatever the case, he’s the Republican frontrunner in 2024, and a new, prominent poll shows him losing to Biden, in part because people are starting to get really worried the magnets guy will end democracy in America.

(Via Mediaite)