Mike Lindell was having money problems even before he was ordered to pay millions of dollars in an arbitration judgment.
Last year, the MyPillow founder boldly offered to hand over $5 million to anyone who could debunk his election interference data. The contest was called “Prove Mike Wrong,” and, well, someone proved Mike wrong. But when Lindell refused to pay computer forensics expert Robert Zeidman, a federal court stepped in forcing to fork him over the money.
Raw Story reports that on Wednesday, “U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim upheld a ruling that found Lindell must pay $5 million to cybersecurity expert Robert Zeidman, who responded to a contest to prove the pillow executive had not obtained evidence from the 2020 election.”
“The Court’s responsibility in reviewing an arbitration award is not to reevaluate the merits but rather ensure that the panel acted appropriately,” Judge Tunheim wrote. “Lindell LLC’s only basis for Court action was that the panel acted outside the scope of its authority in issuing the award… Even though the Court may have reached a different outcome given an independent initial review of the information, the Court fails to identify evidence that the panel exceeded its authority. Under the Court’s narrow review, it will confirm the arbitration award.”
Zeidman isn’t optimistic he’ll ever see the money. “I’m a pessimist in general. I don’t think I’ll see it. I do think he’s gonna go bankrupt from all the lawsuits and all his expenditures on these illegitimate voting fraud cases. So I think he’ll delay things until he’s out of money, and I probably won’t see anything,” he told Minnesota Reformer. If Zeidman does get the money, however, he plans to “donate a good portion of it” to non-profits.
UK singer Mahalia is currently on her In Real Life Tour promoting the album of the same name. The album, which features Destin Conrad, JoJo, Joyce Wrice, Kojey Radical, and Stormzy was dropped last July 14, while the tour itself began earlier this week in Vancouver, British Columbia (shout out to Nardwuar).
You can see Mahalia’s In Real Life Tour setlist below, courtesy of setlist.fm.
Ready
Simmer
Isn’t It Strange?
Plastic Plants
In My Bag
Do Not Disturb
Lose Lose
Letter to Ur Ex
Sober
Cheat
Grateful
Hey Stranger
November
Wassup
What You Did
It’s Not Me, It’s You
Terms and Conditions
I Wish I Missed My Ex
Mahalia’s In Real Life Tour Dates
02/21/2024 — Portland, OR @ Roseland Theater
02/22/2024 — Seattle, WA @ Neptune
02/24/2024 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
02/25/2024 — San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
02/27/2024 — Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
02/28/2024 — Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco Theatre
03/01/2024 — San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
03/02/2024 — Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
03/03/2024 — Tucson, AZ @ 191 Toole
03/05/2024 — Denver, CO @ Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox
03/07/2024 — Dallas, TX @ HOB Cambridge Room
03/08/2024 — Austin, TX @ Scoot Inn
03/09/2024 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues
03/11/2024 — Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
03/13/2024 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
03/14/2024 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
03/16/2024 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)
03/17/2024 — New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
03/20/2024 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
03/22/2024 — Toronto, ON @ History
03/23/2024 — Montreal, QC @ Beanfield Theatre
03/25/2024 — Detroit, MI @ Shelter
03/26/2024 — Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
WNBA players are moving. This is true in the literal sense — the league’s biggest stars are increasingly changing teams in free agency — while at the same time, they’re seizing a bigger platform. Players come together, whether it be on super teams or around collective action.
The premiere of Shattered Glass: A WNBPA Story on Tubi last month highlighted both tracks. The film follows four stars on and off the court: Breanna Stewart, Nneka Ogwumike and Jonquel Jones, as well as retired legend Sheryl Swoopes. Rather than simply joining a chorus of voices documenting the growth of women’s sports, the film shows that growth through the lives of four women who helped enable it.
“Just having something out there, I’m hoping will inspire people to tell their own stories,” Ogwumike recently told Dime. “But mostly it will inspire others who care to support those stories, and I’m really happy to have been a part of a project that can catalyze that, I’m hoping.”
As president of the executive committee of the WNBA Players Association, Ogwumike was involved in the original planning around the doc. But it took some urging from executive director Terri Jackson before Ogwumike agreed to be a subject of it herself.
Director Andrea Buccilla told Swish Appeal she wanted subjects who represent each major archetype fans recognize among WNBA athletes. Ogwumike was the natural fit as the embodiment of an advocate and ambassador for the game. Jones is in a different position, pushing for her first championship in the thick of her prime. For her, the film was important to show fans there’s room for play within all the work.
“I think I’m a pretty funny person most of the time, and I can make people feel welcome … I call it, like, the Bahamian side of myself,” Jones, who grew up in Freeport, told Dime. “I have a straight face and I’m locked in, so my personality doesn’t show as much while I’m on the basketball court.”
The doc goes behind the scenes on the 2023 WNBA season, in which Jones changed teams for the first time in her career and pushed for a championship with the New York Liberty. The pressure of that task only set in as it went along. And losing to the shorthanded Las Vegas Aces in New York in Game Four of the WNBA Finals only intensified the desire Jones and her teammates possess heading into the 2024 season, which tips off this May.
“This year, we’re established, right? We know exactly what our identity’s gonna be,” Jones said. “It’s not a situation of great players coming together, but not really knowing how they’re going to mess or how they’re going to gel or what the chemistry is going to be like.
“We’re now in a situation where we know exactly who we’re going to be on the court,” she continued. “We know the things that we need to fix in order to play at a high level and be better than we were last year.”
Ogwumike is a vet and role model for the players she leads, but she’s doing what Jones did last year: Changing teams for the first time in her WNBA career. She recently signed with the Seattle Storm, joining star scorer Jewell Loyd and another major 2024 acquisition, Skylar Diggins-Smith.
Seattle’s moves may have assembled one more super team in the crowded WNBA. Aside from it being the first move for both Jones and Ogwumike, the other similarity is the investment coming from the organizations that recruited each player.
“I think in this modern day of sports, players are looking for a standard of foundation, a standard of professionalism as it relates to the experience, and that has a lot to do with the infrastructural things that are included in an organization,” Ogwumike said. “It wasn’t hard for me to consider Seattle given who was running it, and the types of people that are on staff on the coaching staff and the players that they have, and for that to be paired with visible investment is important.”
Jones was happy to see Ogwumike move.
“As players we know what we deserve and we know when it’s time to move on,” Jones said. “Anytime you decide to make that change and go somewhere else, it’s always a tough decision, but I feel like there is this knowing inside of yourself that it’s time to change.”
The respect goes both ways. Jones once spoke out about the WNBA and its partners not marketing her at the level she deserved as an MVP and playoff mainstay in the league. Not long after, she scored a spot in a State Farm commercial in the spring of 2022. It was Ogwumike who connected with Jones and lauded her for speaking up for herself and creating new opportunities.
“I would say always speak up on what you’re feeling, the things that you see, that you want to be paid,” Jones said. “And you never know what’s gonna happen, but it doesn’t happen unless you’re willing to speak up about it.”
That’s exactly what the WNBPA did in creating Shattered Glass with Tubi. The stars are showcasing their lives and careers while acting as living evidence that investment is coming to their game. And if all goes well, the hope is that Shattered Glass will not be a one-off. Instead, it will turn into a first chapter that highlights the way the league (and those in it) is moving forward.
While Jodie Foster’s Liz Danvers and Kali Reis’ Evangeline Navarro interrogate scientist Raymond Clark (Owen McDonnell), he utters a line that will be very familiar to fans of the original season of True Detective.
“Time is a flat circle,” Clark says, echoing the iconic line from Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Cohle, and further tying Night Country to the first season. However, for López, the inclusion of the line was more than just an Easter egg.
“Well, number one, I believe that it is true. You know, I do believe that. In a bunch of quite advanced physics theories, time is not linear. It’s happening all at the same time,” López told Decider. “That was what Rust Cohle was referring to in that first season. Everything is happening at the same time, all the time. And we’re doomed to be trapped in it.”
López explained that she purposely gave the line to a scientist to nod to the real physics behind the theory. (Though she emphasized that Clark “has lost his mind” at this point in the story.)
As a storyteller, López also liked the concept of time being “circuitous” and expanding on that theme with her entry in the True Detective pantheon. However, the inclusion of the line apparently did not sit well with Pizzolatto. In a now-deleted Instagram post, he lashed out at Night Country being tied to the first season.
Pizzolatto has now taken a more passive-aggressive approach by encouraging people to keep their thoughts contained to a new Instagram post instead of flying into the comments of photos of his wife and recently departed father.
Netflix somehow never runs out of original films and TV shows despite the many hurdles faced by Hollywood over the past several years. This month, Millie Bobbie Brown and Adam Sandler lead new movies, and the Game of Thrones TV creators have a new series coming your way. The streaming service also resurrected a comedy series, and Guy Ritchie is reigniting his adoration for the word “gentlemen.” It’s all good.
Beyond those new offerings, library additions are coming in hot. Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies will both arrive, so you can watch this scene on repeat if you so desire (don’t lie and say you won’t), and the original The Hunger Games trilogy will materialize as well. This is also your final chance to stream John Wick films on Netflix for the foreseeable future, so tick tock.
Here’s everything coming to Netflix in March:
Spaceman (Netflix film streaming 3/1)
Adam Sandler’s Netflix partnership keeps taking new turns, even if we still haven’t seen a Hubie Halloween 2. The humanity! However, this film takes Sandler back into dramatic mode as an astronaut who is attempting to fix his marriage from the depths of the solar system, and somehow, a creature hiding inside his ship decides to help him. Wait, what? The story is based upon Spaceman of Bohemia, the novel by Jaroslav Kalfař. Additionally, Carey Mulligan portrays Sandler’s movie wife, and Paul Dano voices the ship. Hmm.
Damsel (Netflix film streaming 3/28)
Another Netflix fave, Millie Bobbie Brown, kicks some dragon (and royalty) ass after discovering that she’s marrying a prince whose family decides to sacrifice her to a dragon as part of an enormously screwed-up ritual. This twisted fairy tale adapts Evelyn Skye’s twisted fairy tale novel that prioritizes world building, and this film should fly high on the streaming charts.
Girls5eva (Peacock to Netflix series streaming 3/14)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt fans, if you didn’t check out this series while it was on Peacock for two seasons, be sure to hit up all three seasons on Netflix, which picked up the series in time for the show’s late ’90s girl group to go on tour. Surely, all will go smoothly despite the ladies having no tour manager or dates or venues or anything but a van and their own enthusiasm to relive their glory days. Netflix’s synopsis wonders, “Or will the road destroy them?” If that’s the case, then it sure will be fun to watch.
3 Body Problem (Netflix series streaming 3/21)
HBO’s Game of Thrones creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, head into the sci-fi drama realm here in this story that spans time and continents and decades. The thriller promises to bend genres with (of course) existential stakes and is based upon Liu Cixin’s bestselling novel trilogy of the same name. The title refers to three stars orbiting each other, and the story follows Earth’s discovery of aliens within this system.
The Gentlemen (Netflix series streaming 3/7)
Theo Rossi leads a whole new cast for Guy Ritchie’s continuation of the film starring Matthew McConaughey as a weed kingpin. As it turns out, Rossi’s character, Eddie, is connected to that same weed empire. It’s not a remake or a direct sequel, but this is a series that takes place in the same world, and yes, gangster-loving Guy Ritchie is very fond of “gentlemen” as well as Henry Cavill’s tongue.
Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix in March.
Avail TBA Bad Dinosaurs
Avail. 3/1 Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre
Blood & Water: Season 4 Furies
Maamla Legal Hai
My Name Is Loh Kiwan
Somebody Feed Phil: Season 7 Spaceman
2012
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
21 Bridges
A Madea Family Funeral
Beverly Hills Ninja
Bonnie & Clyde
Devil in a Blue Dress
The Disaster Artist
Dumb and Dumber
Fear
The Gift
Godzilla (2014) The Jamie Foxx Show: Seasons 1-5 Love & Basketball
National Lampoon’s Animal House
Out of Africa
Step Brothers
Tammy
Think Like a Man
Think Like a Man Too
Vampires
Yesterday
Avail. 3/3 The Netflix Slam
Avail. 3/4 Hot Wheels Let’s Race
The Resident: Seasons 1-6
Avail. 3/5 Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda
Avail. 3/6 Full Swing: Season 2 The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping
Supersex
Avail. 3/7 The Gentlemen
I Am Woman
Pokémon Horizons: The Series
The Signal
Avail. 3/8 Blown Away: Season 4 Damsel
Avail. 3/9 Queen of Tears
Avail. 3/11 CoComelon: Season 10 Young Royals: Season 3
Avail. 3/12 Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir: Season 4 Steve Treviño: Simple Man
Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War
Avail. 3/13 Bandits
Avail. 3/14 24 Hours with Gaspar
Art of Love
Girls5eva: Seasons 1-2 Girls5eva: Season 3 Red Ollero: Mabuhay Is A Lie
Avail. 3/15 Chicken Nugget
Irish Wish
Iron Reign
Murder Mubarak
The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare
Avail. 3/17 30 for 30: I Hate Christian Laettner
30 for 30: Survive and Advance
30 for 30: The Fab Five
Avail. 3/18 Love & Hip Hop New York: Season 1-2 Young Royals: Season 3 Young Royals Forever
Avail. 3/19 Brian Simpson: Live from the Mothership Forever Queens: Season 2 Physical: 100: Season 2
Avail. 3/20 Bodies Bodies Bodies
Avail. 3/21 3 Body Problem
Avail. 3/22 Buying Beverly Hills: Season 2 The Casagrandes Movie
El Paseo 7
On The Line
SHIRLEY
Avail. 3/25 Gabby’s Dollhouse: Season 9
Avail. 3/26 Dave Attell: Hot Cross Buns
Avail. 3/27 The Believers
The Conners: Seasons 1-5 No Pressure
Rest In Peace
Testament: The Story of Moses
Avail. 3/29 The Beautiful Game
Heart of the Hunter
Is It Cake?: Season 3 The Wages of Fear
Avail. 3/30 Vikings: Seasons 1-6
Avail. 3/31 Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Kill Bill: Vol. 2
Martin: Seasons 1-5 The Hunger Games
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2
And it’s your last chance to stream these titles:
Leaving 3/1 Bee Movie
This Is Where I Leave You
Leaving 3/2 Lady Bird
Leaving 3/12 Miracle in Cell No. 7
Leaving 3/14 The Giver
Leaving 3/15 Get on Up
Savages
Leaving 3/17 The Cursed
Leaving 3/19 Carol
Leaving 3/29 Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
Leaving 3/30 Jackie Brown
John Wick
John Wick: Chapter 2
John Wick: Chapter 3
Leaving 3/31 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Black Adam
Community: Seasons 1-6 Hoarders: Season 12 It’s Complicated
Justice League
Little Fockers
Man Like Mobeen: Seasons 1-3 Man of Steel
Meet the Fockers
Meet the Parents
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Seven Souls in the Skull Castle: Season Bird
Seven Souls in the Skull Castle: Season Flower
Seven Souls in the Skull Castle: Season Wind
Shazam!
Shazam! Fury of the Gods
Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman 1984
First, you need the Fortnite Festival Pass for Season 2 in Fortnite. So, in the menu, select the Festival Pass tab. Then you can complete the Free Reward Track and buy the Premium Reward Track for 1,800 V-Bucks (Fortnite’s in-game currency that needs to be purchased with real money, either in the game or with a gift card from an outside retailer). The Premium Track is the only way to earn the Gaga-themed rewards.
Players will need Festival Points to unlock the rewards in both Tracks. These are the rewards in the Free Track (via Dexerto):
Festival Loading Screen — 1,000 Festival Points
8-Bit Beat Jam Track — 2,000 Festival Points
Pop Off Aura — 3,000 Festival Points
Strap Spin Emote — 4,000 Festival Points
Festival Guitar Spray — 5,000 Festival Points
Bloom Jam Track — 6,000 Festival Points
Festival Guitar — 7,000 Festival Points
Backbeat Bow Emote — 8,000 Festival Points
Festival Emoticon — 9,000 Festival Points
Best Buds Jam Track — 10,000 Festival Points
Woodworker Drums — 11,000 Festival Points
And these are the rewards in the Premium Track:
Chromatica Guitar — 1,000 Festival Points
“Ride Wit Me” Jam Track by Nelly ft. City Spud — 2,000 Festival Points
The Gaga Collection Loading Screen — 3,000 Festival Points
“Black Whole Sun” Jam Track by Soundgarden — 4,000 Festival Points
Aurora Aura — 5,000 Festival Points
“Breaking Me” Jam Track by Topic w/ A7S — 6,000 Festival Points
Chromatica Keytar — 7,000 Festival Points
“Poker Face” Jam Track by Lady Gaga — 8,000 Festival Points
Electric Sine Back Bling — 9,000 Festival Points
Kindness Punk Emote — 10,000 Festival Points
Enigmatic Gaga Outfit — 11,000 Festival Points
(By the way: “outfit” = “skin,” with “skin” being an informal but widely used word for the official terminology, “outfit.”)
It’s actually endearing to hear Ethan Coen worried about what critics might think of his new film, Drive-Away Dolls – a romp of a film about two women, Jamie and Marian (Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan), on a cross-country road trip being chased by mobsters for (unknowingly at first) being in possession of a suitcase of dildos that could ruin the life of a conservative senator, played by Matt Damon. It’s endearing considering the overwhelming success he’s had in that department, until recently alongside his brother Joel. (You may have heard of the two referred to as “The Coen Brothers.”) Co-writer of Drive-Away Dolls, Tricia Cooke (also longtime Coen Brothers’ editor and Ethan Coen’s wife), is less concerned about that aspect of things. But does admit people showing up for something a little more serious might be surprised by the more fun nature of this film compared to what’s come in the past.
It wasn’t too long ago it was unclear if Ethan Coen would ever make a movie again, stating the process made him “bored.” Luckily, working on Drive-Away Dolls with Tricia seems to have reinvigorated him, admitting that he actually had fun making this movie – a movie that was first announced by the couple way back in 2007. Ahead, Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke explain why they had such a great time making this movie. But, conversely, why they worry (at least why Ethan worries) about the reaction, since it’s a departure.
Also, it’s always fun when filmmakers start listing influences for current movies, which happens here. Especially if I happen to know the movie. (Even though I briefly mixed up Marty and Harvey, two movies that are nothing alike outside of the title.) Also, who knew Ethan Coen would be such a fan of the Kris Kristofferson vehicle, Convoy?
A couple of years ago Ethan said he wasn’t having fun making movies anymore. Then this comes out, one of the most fun movies I’ve seen in a theater recently. I’m going to assume you had fun making this one.
Ethan Coen: Yeah, you may assume. Yes, it was really fun to make. No, it was great. We both had a great time. I’m glad you can feel that.
Your quotes before sounded pretty dire.
Ethan Coen: They did?
It sounded like you just didn’t like the job anymore.
Ethan Coen: Oh, man. I was all mopey! No, I’m much better now. I’m totally recovered. As somebody says in John Carpenter’s The Thing, “I’m all better now.” I think it’s Wilford Brimley, right before he turns into a raving space monster. I’m all better now, yes.
Tricia Cooke: Yeah, I think a lot of that had to do with just also the energy and enthusiasm of the cast. I think they helped restore Ethan’s faith in…
Ethan Coen: Humanity. Movies.
Tricia Cooke: Yeah, movie making.
It’s always a positive sign when you compare yourself to a character from The Thing in regards to how well you’re doing.
Ethan Coen: [Laughs] Yeah. Just to finish my thought, I think Wilford Brimley says, “I’m all better now,” and then immediately sprouts like eight legs and starts vomiting slime.
Obviously, you two have collaborated on many movies, but this is the first as credited co-writers. Did you learn anything about each other that you didn’t know? Is that even possible at this point?
Ethan Coen: No, it’s not possible at this point. Yeah, we’ve worked together before, but this was different. We were making a movie together, from soup to nuts, as me and Joel did – writing, directing, cutting, just making the movie together. Would you say we learned anything? We’re past learning.
Tricia Cooke: We learned I’m nicer.
Ethan Coen: No, no. We always knew that.
Tricia Cooke: I don’t think that there was anything. I mean, it was fun to work with Ethan. I worked with him in the cutting room before, and we’d actually written other things before. But just the amount of trust and, I don’t know, respect he has? That wasn’t something that I learned, but it was nice to experience on a different scale – that kind of trust that you have in someone. That was good.
I’m curious, on past movies, when you’re credited in editing, there had have been moments where you were going over ideas together during the writing process even then, right? I mean, this can’t be completely a new situation. Or maybe it is? I don’t know.
Tricia Cooke: Well, I’ll often read the scripts that Ethan and Joel are going to make and give notes and stuff. But collaborating, like I said, Ethan and I have written stuff before, made little things, but that’s the extent of it. I’ll look at the work that he’s doing. I mean, even when I stopped cutting with them, I would watch cuts and give notes. Or I would read the script and give notes, that kind of thing, sure.
I’ve seen in some recent interviews you seem a little worried audiences might not get this movie or critics might not get it? This movie’s really fun. Why are you at all worried about this?
Ethan Coen: Well, not worried about them getting it in terms of… Yes, it’s fun. I’ll tell you what I’m worried about. Okay. Thank you for helping crystallize my thought because it’s a good question. I am worried about people being suspicious of a movie that’s fun.
I see.
Ethan Coen: It’s a weird thing, but people can be, you know what I mean? People will like… You know what I’m saying, right? I don’t get it. I mean, I’m just supposed to enjoy myself.
Okay, so let me try to unpack that. Do you think people are going into this looking for a grand message that you think might not be there because they’re just supposed to have a good time and you think they might be disappointed?
Ethan Coen: Yeah.
Tricia Cooke: I don’t know if I think they’re going to be disappointed. I think they might be like, “Huh, okay.” Because it’s meant to be kind of light and not heavy. It’s a departure from, I think, what Ethan usually does. And so I think they might just be like, “Huh, okay.” I’m not afraid that they’re not going to get the tone. I mean, it’s kind of slapped all over the movie, but it might be a head-scratcher like, “Oh, this is what Ethan does? This is what Ethan and Tricia made? Okay.” I mean, not that they’ll be disdainful of it, but it’s just kind of a head-scratcher.
But let me ask you this way. Over the years, I feel like you guys are batting, what? 98 percent as far as critics enjoying the stuff you guys have made. I actually find it kind of endearing that you would even worry about that. That’s the way I’ll word it.
Ethan Coen: Well, to be honest, what is it? I don’t know. To be honest, I’m always worried and Tricia never is. I don’t know. You stumped me. I don’t know what my worry is. I’m just a worrier. And I don’t know, maybe that’s what I’m saying: You want to immerse the audience in your movie and let them feel secure. Not that they know what’s going to happen next in terms of plot, but that they know where they are in terms of, okay, I’m in a movie, I’m in this world.
Tricia Cooke: And I guess though, I am much more blithely moved through the whole process. I think for me, representing the lesbian world, it makes me a little anxious because that world isn’t represented in this light way often. And so it feels, not like a burden, but like, oh, I hope I don’t fuck this up. And that’s a little daunting. I mean, not that you’re not going to push people’s buttons, and to some extent that’s what you’re doing. But this is like, I don’t want to let all the lesbians out there down.
That you feel the pressure of wanting to get this right?
Tricia Cooke: Right. Yes, yes. Exactly.
Ethan Coen: Well, that’s the pressure. The pressure you always have at work. Jess Gonchor, the production designer, we were spending too much money on some movie and Jess said, “Look, guys, I just want it to not suck.”
Tricia Cooke: And I think that ultimately you get it right, or right enough for yourself. You can’t make the movie for everyone else. You’re just trying to do the best job you can and make it authentic to yourself, and hopefully that reads to everyone else.
Ethan Coen: You want the movie to not suck.
I guess that’s what it all comes down to in the end. I found this article from 2007, when this movie was first announced, and Ethan is quoted as saying that the script is like the exploitation movies of the ’70s that he loved. But it didn’t have any examples. I was curious if there were direct examples.
Ethan Coen: Well, exploitation movies in the ’70… I mean, the ones I really liked were the blaxploitation movies. I love the blaxploitation movies. I don’t even know what I was thinking of specifically. I mean, Tricia probably has a different but related list. There are also older movies, like noirs from the ’40s that are just kind of cheap and energetic and a little crazy. You know what I’m saying?
Tricia Cooke: I mean, exploitation movies, to me, is like, I don’t like to refer – I mean, certainly not in terms of this movie because I don’t feel like we’re exploiting women or sexuality in a way. I think that those movies, the Russ Meyer movies or B movies like Doris Wishman, the thing about them that’s fun is that they are sexual and have an energy that we wanted to use in this movie. We certainly didn’t want to exploit anyone. We wanted them to feel sexy and fun and have that kind of freewheeling energy, I think. That kind of messy energy that those movies had.
Yes, the messy energy. I watched something recently from that era that has that, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.
Ethan Coen: You know what? The title is really familiar.
It stars Peter Fonda.
Ethan Coen: Peter Fonda. Yeah. Fucking hell!
They steal $150,000 from a grocery store one of them worked at I think? Then they go on the run.
Tricia Cooke: They stole $150,000? Wow. A grocery store had that much money. That’s impressive. It sounds like a great movie. I’m going to check it out. I’ve never seen it.
Ethan Coen: Yeah, but all those movies. Yeah, Charley Varrick, Tom Seidel movies. We just saw Kris Kristofferson’s first movie, Cisco Pike.
Oh, I’ve never seen that. Though I just watched Convoy again recently.
Ethan Coen: Oh my God. Convoy! Kris and Ali MacGraw!
Directed by Sam Peckinpah.
Ethan Coen: Yeah! Fucking hell, man. Fucking A. All I can say is: C.W. McCall.
That’s the thing. If you watch Convoy again, you’ll have that song stuck in your head for about a week.
Ethan Coen: Fucking A, man. Ernest Borgnine, one of the greats, truly, in my opinion.
I love him in The Poseidon Adventure.
Ethan Coen: Seriously. He’s really great. You should see The Catered Affair. If you haven’t seen it it’s Ernie and Bette Davis.
Tricia Cooke: Yeah, that was a great movie.
I will. [Update: I did and, yes, The Catered Affair is great.] I watched Harvey again recently. He’s so good in that.
Ethan Coen: You mean Marty?
What did I say? Yes, Marty. It won Best Picture. Harvey is Jimmy Stewart.
Ethan Coen: Yes, Jimmy Stewart.
So the scandal in this movie involves dildos. I realize this was written a few years ago. Would this scandal today actually bring down a conservative politician?
Tricia Cooke: Absolutely not.
Ethan Coen: Oh my God, because there’s been so many worse that have failed to. No, your question answers itself.
Tricia Cooke: Which is one of the reasons we made it a period movie. We knew that that would not bring down a president these days. Apparently, nothing does.
Ethan Coen: And that’s part of the movie. The simpler time when being naughty was being naughty.
Tricia Cooke: And you got in trouble for it.
And I hope you two watch Convoy again.
Tricia Cooke: And Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry.
Ethan Coen: Yes. I’m actually going to watch that. You have to watch The Catered Affair because it is great. Bette is great. She’s really good.
It looks like we will finally be getting Normani‘s long-await debut solo album soon. Yesterday (February 20), the former Fifth Harmony member cleared her Instagram, hinting that a new era is imminent. Today, she revealed that the album is on the way.
Normani first started hinting at her solo album in 2018, with a tweet reading, “I have my album title y’all.” Every year since she first posted the tweet, fans resurface the message, noting how much time has passed. More than five years since the original posting, Normani quote-replied the tweet, with a link to a website appropriately called wheresthedamnalbum.com.
The website reveals a black screen, with the word “Dopamine” on the left, a mysterious logo in the center, and a date written in numerics on the right. The date, though, is constantly changing, so the release date is not currently clear. But one thing that remains constant is the year 2024 on the release date, indicating that Dopamine will, indeed, arrive at some point this year, via RCA Records.
Also on the website, fans can pre-save the album into their Spotify and Apple Music libraries. Upon pre-saving Dopamine, fans receive a special message from Normani, saying, “Can’t wait till this new music graces your ears!”
On her social pages, Normani has since shared the album cover. You can see the Dopamine artwork below.
Over the course of two-and-a-half years, Fifth Harmony was productive, releasing three albums in that time. Since Normani launched her solo career in 2018, though, she hasn’t been quite as fruitful. She’s had some big singles: 2018’s “Love Lies” with Khalid and 2019’s “Dancing With A Stranger” with Sam Smith were both top-10 hits in the US. As far as albums, though, Normani actually hasn’t released a single one.
It looks like that’s finally about to change.
Is Normani Releasing A New Album In 2024?
On X (formerly Twitter) today (February 21), Normani shared a quote-tweet of a post of hers from 2018, in which she wrote, “I have my album title y’all.” Her added text was simply a link to wheresthedamnalbum.com. The page, an official RCA website, features pre-save links and a logo flanked by two telling pieces of text. On the left is Dopamine, which is the title of her debut album (as she confirmed elsewhere, more on that in a second). On the right is a date, but the months and days are constantly changing. The year, though, stays the same, so it appears Dopamine is indeed set for a 2024 release, with an exact date to be confirmed later.
Shortly after that, she revealed the cover art, which features her wearing a bikini and riding atop a black rocket. She captioned her post, “cryingg typing this rn. DOPAMINE THE ALBUM.”
So, at long last, Normani’s debut album is finally, officially on the way, it’s called Dopamine, and it’s expected to drop in 2024.
Citing “three people familiar with the strategy,” AdWeek reported that Amazon will “sunset” Freevee “in the coming weeks” as the streamer throws all of its resources behind Prime Video, which recently implemented streaming ads on January 29. A recent round of layoffs at Freevee also hinted at trouble for the streaming tier, but in a new statement, Amazon has denied that it’s planning on shuttering the service.
“There are no changes to Freevee,” a company spokesperson told Deadline. “Amazon Freevee remains an important streaming offering providing both Prime and non-Prime customers thousands of hit movies, shows, and originals, all for free.”
However, AdWeek‘s report did note that there was a chance that Amazon could still keep Freevee despite the service now being redundant and internal metrics reportedly showing that it fails to convert users into Prime Video subscribers:
The decision could let Prime Video market itself more clearly as a three-tiered service, with Freevee rebranded as its free, ad-supported version, an ad-supported subscription product and an ad-free premium tier with new perks still to come, according to two people familiar with the strategy.
AdWeek also reported that Amazon could also delay shuttering Freevee if there’s a customer revolt that makes Prime Video “unable to meet the inventory quotas it has promised advertisers.”
As for what’s really happening behind-the-scenes is anyone’s guess, but for now, the official word is that Freevee is here to stay.
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That’s a damn shame…but hey I guess “if you don’t have anything good to share, shit on others” is the new wave 
lol 
