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Most social media sites have become bad, it’s just the way the world works now. You’re flooded with too many people talking about too many things, all lacking any sort of context. This is why Letterboxd is the only good social media platform out there: because you only need to talk about movies. That’s it. You can’t even message other people to tell them that their opinions are bad. It’s fool-proof.

The site recently dropped its 2023 Year In Review, which highlighted the highs and lows of last year’s cinema options. Not only that, but the site also confirmed that series logs will be “coming later this year.” This is a controversial topic.

While Letterboxd has exclusively been used for logging movies, it seems like they might venture into bringing TV shows and series onto the platform. Not everyone likes this idea, probably because it would be hard to scroll through your friends reviewing every episode of Vanderpump Rules in hindsight. But if it’s done right, it could be a meaningful way to track your watching habits and organize your favorites.

According to Letterboxd’s tweets, that platform is planning to implement the new feature “in a way that doesn’t disrupt the current experience,” so there will likely be some sort of tab to differentiate between movies and shows.

While we don’t have a release date yet, it seems like this is a pretty big project that will take a lot of time, so for now it’s best if you put all of your TV opinions in a better place, like a locked diary at the bottom of the Hudson River.

The Golden State Warriors melted down against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. After going up by 18 points with just under seven minutes to go in regulation, the Warriors were unable to stave off a torrid run by the defending champions. Denver tied things up with just under 30 seconds remaining, while Nikola Jokic hit a jumper from just inside of halfcourt as the buzzer sounded to give the Nuggets an improbable, 130-127 win.

Jonathan Kuminga sat and watched while all of this happened. The No. 7 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Kuminga went to the bench with 5:48 to go in the third quarter and never came back in. And apparently, frustration is boiling over for the 21-year-old wing, as Shams Charania and Anthony Slater report that Kuminga no longer has faith that he’ll be able to reach his potential so long as he is playing for Warriors coach Steve Kerr — it’s so bad that, per their reporting, a source said that Kuminga observing things on Thursday night was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

After the game, Kerr explained why he did not put Kuminga (who had 16 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 19 minutes of work) back into the game, expressing that it “didn’t feel it was the right thing to do.”

This would not be the first time that there are rumors of discontent around Kuminga, as reports on the heels of last season indicated that he would be interested in a change in scenery if the team could not give him a larger role. While he’s posting career-best marks in scoring (12.8 points per game), rebounding (4.1 boards per game), and usage percentage (23.5 percent), there is a clear disconnect between how he is used and what he wants his role to be.

Paramore served — and we mean served — as Uproxx’s December 2023 cover stars, and in doing so, incidentally incited panic that the band might break up. Those who actually read the full feature should have known better, but regardless, a significant chunk of the Paramore fan base is still convinced that their beloved band will soon be no more. So…

Has Paramore Dropped Out Of The Eras Tour?

Not officially, no. Everybody calm down. Swift’s The Eras Tour opener across the UK and Europe is still listed as Paramore on her official website.

But people are concerned because Paramore just pulled out of the iHeartRadio ALTer EGO festival scheduled for January 13. Paramore’s social media accounts have also been wiped. Seemingly in response to the mystery surrounding Paramore, rumors popped up that Maisie Peters (another former Uproxx cover star) would instead open on the European/UK leg of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. Peters denied that on Friday, January 5.

“girls i’m afraid that whilst i shall hopefully be shrieking all too well at wembley this summer, it shall be shrieked from the stands!” Peters wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “i am not an eras tour opener! alas the rumours are just rumouring! <3.”

Last July, Swift added 14 dates to her 2024 European/UK leg and announced Paramore as an opener.

“Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour,” Swift wrote at the time. “And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m screaming???”

In early November, the final show of Billy Joel’s “record-breaking monthly residency” at New York City’s Madison Square Garden was announced for July 25, 2024. It will also serve as Joel’s 150th time performing at MSG. On Friday morning, January 5, Joel confirmed a slew of 2024 tour dates — seven of them will be at Madison Square Garden, including the aforementioned July 25 finale. Joel will be joined on select dates by Stevie Nicks and Sting.

The first show is scheduled for next week — January 11 at MSG — so, anyone interested in attending will need to act fast on tickets.

How Much Are Tickets For Billy Joel’s 2024 Tour?

It depends on the show. As of this writing, Ticketmaster lists resale tickets for the January 11 show selling anywhere between $190 and $3,577.50. However, StubHub has tickets to the February 24 show in Tampa, Florida for as low as $92. The resale market is always dicey, so the surest way to get a fair price will likely be participating in the Live Nation pre-sale or Ticketmaster public on-sale.

How To Buy Tickets For Billy Joel’s 2024 Tour

Because of Joel’s longstanding residency, Madison Square Garden tickets have been on sale and are re-circulating via resale vendors. But Joel’s newly announced tour dates will receive a Live Nation pre-sale, beginning Wednesday, January 10, at 10 a.m. local time. (According to Consequence, the access code is “CREW.”) The public sale is set for Friday, January 12, at 10 a.m. local time. Find more information here.

What Are The Dates For Billy Joel’s 2024 Tour?

01/11 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
02/24 — Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium %
02/09 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
03/09 — Arlington, TX @ AT&T Stadium ^
03/28 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
04/13 — San Diego, CA @ Petco Park %
04/26 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/09 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/24 — Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park
06/08 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
06/21 — Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field ^
07/12 — Denver, CO @ Coors Field
07/25 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
08/09 — Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Principality Stadium
09/27 — St. Louis, MO @ Busch Stadium %

% with Sting
^ with Stevie Nicks

Glenn Howerton is on a roll. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia aired its 16th season with a brilliantly dark and hilarious Dennis-focused final episode. Well-deserved awards buzz is building around Howerton’s fantastic turn in tech-biopic BlueBerry (one of President Obama’s favorite films of 2023). Then there’s Four Walls (one of my favorite pours of 2023), the Irish-American whiskey that Howerton launched with his Sunny co-stars Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney.

The whisky smartly launched in a place where the average whiskey drinker can not only afford a bottle but enjoy it when they crack it open. In a whiskey market overloaded with elite bottles that carry price tags that’d make a Rockefeller wince, Four Walls hits high marks for drinkability and findability.

I was lucky enough to sit down with Howerton — an avowed whiskey nerd — to talk about how he wanted Four Walls to come together. The most important thing I took away from our chat was that Howerton deeply cares about whiskey while also wanting you to be able to get his whiskey. Again, smart. And while the whiskey has only launched in a few key markets to get a foothold, it feels like 2024 is going to be a big year for Four Walls “The Better Brown” and we’re here for it.

And look, I get it. I work in whiskey 24/7 and have seen endless celebrity whiskeys come and go. Yes, Howerton knows he’s at an advantage with Four Walls. But Howerton’s deep love of whiskey and a truly deep desire to create something people will love (and that he can be proud to call his own) shines through more than any free marketing from pop culture stardom. This is a passionate whiskey maker creating something that we all can enjoy. That’s exciting so let’s dive in!

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First, I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re a real whiskey drinker. You’ve spent time learning and enjoying good whiskey for years. Can you walk us through your whiskey journey to Four Walls?

Yeah, this is not a novelty for me. This is my life. I’ve been a AAA massive whiskey fan and whiskey drinker for over 20 years. So my biggest fear in getting into this was that we weren’t going to be able to create something that I would reach for. And I am just honestly blown away that we were able to achieve at this price point. The truth is I’m very, very proud. I actually do get emotional when I talk about it.

it’s your baby

It’s my baby.

You know how hard it is to put a whiskey on the shelf that is both findable, affordable, and good. It’s a hard thing to accomplish. Talk me through the push to make a whiskey for the people that they can actually find and enjoy.

This has kind of become my life right now and I’m very passionate about it. And yeah, it is. Luckily with online retail, we can expand our reach a little bit as we slowly expand and make it into stores and bars all over the place.

Still, you have to start somewhere, so where can you get Four Walls right now?

We’re going to be in stores and bars in Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, and California over the next couple of months and then we’ll slowly roll it out to the other states.

Those are the big ones to start off in. It feels like you’re truly thinking about this for the long run as opposed to just capitalizing and flooding the market.

You know, it’s all a little bit of a testing ground. We don’t want to get out over our skis on this. We want to roll it out slowly. We wanna roll it out intelligently. We want the momentum to build. We’re not trying to sell 100,000 cases in our first year. I think that would be a massive mistake because you can sell 100,000 … but my biggest fear is that those cases just sit there and people don’t drink it. Then in year two, no one comes calling for more. We really, really, really want to win the hearts and minds of people with this.

That’s why we’re rolling it out slowly and trying to be smart and very targeted in our approach.

That’s a nice approach to hear — the opposite of just cashing in is always the way to go when you want to build generational whiskey. I also feel like you could come around to Four Walls without necessarily having to be, how can I put this, in the know about your pop cultural influence?

It was very important to us from the very beginning of Four Walls that this brand needed to stand on its own without us. This needed to be the kind of thing that had such a specific vibe and aesthetic to it. And then obviously the liquid had to be up to snuff and really taste good so that it would be the kind of thing that people would buy even if we weren’t involved.

And, of course, the fact that we’re involved is a turbo boost. We have to be realistic and not pretend it’s not. But I don’t always know why people will find or buy our whiskey. People will buy Four Walls maybe a novelty as an Irish American whiskey. Some people will buy it because they’re big whiskey drinkers. Other people will buy it just because they’re fans and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. But one thing that I’m sure of is that they’re not gonna buy it again if it’s not good.

For sure. Walk me through making a good whiskey.

Honestly, my biggest fear as a whiskey drinker and as someone fortunate enough to enjoy some pretty high-end whiskey, I didn’t want to slip on the quality. I don’t drink that often at home. So when I do, I usually drink really good stuff.

Same. You don’t want to waste that moment on a mediocre pour because that’s your drink or two for the night or maybe even a week!

Exactly. That was my biggest fear — that we weren’t gonna be able to create something that I would reach for but at a price point that is affordable for everybody. And that took some time.

That led you to an Irish American blend, which is heating up right now.

It took a lot of work, tasting a lot of whiskeys, to find the right source for the Irish whiskey and the right source for the rye … and then find the right blend. I know it sounds fun to the average drinker but it took quite a bit of work.

How did you test your blends? I really feel like this is a bartender-forward everyday pour…

We’ve got a master blender working with us and he’s brilliant. Once we’ve narrowed it down internally to four or so blend options, we sent it around to a lot of different bartenders. We asked them to taste it and then mess around with it to make sure that it held up in cocktails. We were looking for an elevated whiskey that held up on cocktails in ways that you know, your traditional Irish whiskey often doesn’t. And no disrespect to classic Irish whiskey, I love a lot of it, but we all know it’s not the cornerstone of whiskey cocktails.

We both know bourbon is having a moment. But y’all went with Irish and Rye as your blend. How did you land on America’s grassier cousin over the sweet tooth of borubon?

You know, more than anything my go-to over the last five years has been rye whiskey, which is another reason why I was sort of insistent upon mixing it with rye. My gut feeling when we started this was that we were going to create something that had the best qualities of two styles of whiskeys. Irish whiskey is, of course, very smooth and easy to drink but also a little sweet. So for me, bourbon didn’t feel like the right fit. I worried about bourbon because I don’t like it when drinks get too sweet.

It was just gonna be kind of sweet on sweet cherry on caramel on honey…

Exactly. I was a little concerned about that. So that’s why we kind of went in the direction of rye whiskey.

Now that you’ve made a whiskey, how has it changed the way that you drink whiskey?

Gosh, you know what? That would be a good exercise. What I have done is put Four Walls up against its closest competitors in a side-by-side with, you know, Bushmills or Jameson. But I haven’t specifically started to compare in terms of drinking other whiskey of all different kinds like blended Scotch and American blends. I think that’s a good idea. I’m gonna do that.

There is some slight chaos going on in the world of Taylor Swift right now, which has led to rumors that recent Uproxx cover star Maisie Peters will be opening for Swift on The Eras Tour later this year.

Is Maisie Peters opening for Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour in 2024?

Nope. Not as of now, anyway.

Today (January 5), Peters tweeted, “girls i’m afraid that whilst i shall hopefully be shrieking all too well at wembley this summer, it shall be shrieked from the stands! i am not an eras tour opener! alas the rumours are just rumouring! <3.”

So, what’s going on here?

This situation appears to have started with Paramore pulling out of the iHeartRadio ALTer EGO Festival and clearing their social media pages. From there, there was speculation that this would mean the band would also drop out of opening for Swift this summer. That snowballed into further speculation that Peters would take Paramore’s spot, speculation that Peters apparently saw and felt she needed to put an end to.

Swift would certainly be bummed to see Paramore leave the tour, as she wrote when announcing the shows, “Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m screaming???”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Patrick Stewart has already made one MCU appearance as Professor X thanks to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and with Deadpool 3 seemingly bringing back characters from the Fox universe, it stands to reason that he could also be popping up in the film. In fact, Stewart already said he’s on “standby,” but now, the beloved actor seems to further setting the stage for his MCU return.

During a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Stewart did not deny that he could pop up in the new Deadpool film and even alluded to wheels being in motion.

Via Variety:

“I’m going to guess that I might see Patrick Stewart in a Deadpool-Wolverine movie,” the host said.

“It has come up, there’s been a process,” Stewart revealed. “But the last two to three years have been so difficult with the labor problems and the health problems, COVID, you know…”

If Stewart seems hesitant about making another Professor X cameo, that’s because he did not enjoy his time on Doctor Strange 2, which was shot during a time when COVID protools necessitated minimal interaction with cast members, particularly when it comes to elderly actors.

“I was alone,” Stewart said. “In the big scene, each one of the leading actors had the same [solo] experience; they were shot on their own. It was frustrating and disappointing, but that’s how it has been. The last few years have been challenging.”

However, Deadpool 3 has been shooting outdoors and set photos have shown Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds frequently interacting, so if Stewart were to return, it seems like a less lonely process.

Deadpool 3 hits theaters on July 26, 2024.

(Via Variety)

It has been a popular game amongst The White Lotus fans to come up with the most unhinged assortment of actors and proposition them for White Lotus season three, but now that it’s actually happening, it’s time to narrow down some of these dream cast ideas. Yes, Nathan Fielder on a remote island with a bunch of snobby guests would be entertaining but we simply cannot put him through that.

The third season of The White Lotus will take a new ragtag gang of tourists to Thailand for some potentially illegal activities and fun vacation mysteries! According to The Hollywood Reporter, Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey and Tayme Thapthimthong have all been added to the upcoming season of the comedy/drama.

Production won’t begin until February, and Deadline reports that the season includes “a patriarch, a female corporate executive, an actress, a couple of mothers, including a country club wife, a misfit and a yogi,” but it’s unclear if any of the newcomers

Recently, Posey appeared in Ari Aster’s nightmarish tale Beau is Afraid, so she’s already in the right mindset. Plus Jason Isaascs knows how to be really evil thanks to his Harry Potter training so he could potentially be our season three “villian.”

Natasha Rothwell, who played spa manager Belinda Lindsey, will be returning to the Lotus grounds, but as of right now, no other casting announcements have been made. So yes, technically, Nathan Fielder could still be on the map, but that would turn this into a whole different type of show.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Stanley Cups are blowing up right now — and no, we’re not talking about the Stanley Cup. Though, that would make slightly more sense. We’re talking about those big 40 oz. tumblers that keep your beverages cool or warm. People are lining up outside of Target in the middle of the night to get their hands on the latest drop, people are flipping Stanley Cups on the aftermarket for grossly inflated prices, and grown-ass adults are getting into fights over limited edition colors and collaborations. We haven’t seen a trend like this since — well, I guess sneakerheads are just as bad as Stanley Cupheads? And don’t even get us started on allocated whiskey release days at liquor stores. What are we calling this community? Stanley Cupheads? Stanley Stans? We like Stanley Stans.

Anyway, an ultra-hyped hydration flask isn’t anything new, we’ve all known someone who has gone through a Nalgene or Yeti phase or can’t go anywhere without their portable tumbler. But we haven’t seen fandom this rabid (and seemingly instant) before, so what’s behind it? We’re here to break it all down for you.

What Is A Stanley Cup?

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The Stanley Cup is a double-wall vacuum-insulated tumbler. It comes in all sorts of sizes, form factors, and colorways, but the one that is trending is specifically the Stanley Quencher H2.0 FlowState — the big 40-ouncer. They retail for about $45-$50 but certain collaborations and colorways are made in limited quantities and can resell on aftermarket sites like StockX and eBay for as high as $250.

That’s a lot for a tumbler.

How Did The Hype Start?

The Stanley Cup phenomenon is aimed squarely at Zoomer and Millenial women in the lifestyle space. The hype first began on the e-commerce platform, The Buy Guide, a site started by three women (think of TBG as a sort of curated version of Amazon). According to TBG, the Stanley Cup was one of the first products it sold as the owners of the site were all fans, and through word of mouth, the product was a hit. This was all unbeknownst to the Stanley brand, who discontinued the cup in 2019. As TBG began to grow, it eventually sent one of its remaining Stanley Cups to The Bachelor star Emily Maynard Johnson, who then posted the cup to Instagram. Someone at Stanley saw the popularity and linked up with TBG to wholesale 10,000 Quenchers. According to Retail Dive, The Buy Guide — which has a userbase that is 97.7% of women — sold 5,000 cups in four days. After the hype started to snowball, the remaining 5,000 were gone in an hour.

After Stanley saw how big the cups were becoming amongst women in the 25-35 demographic, the brand started actively marketing towards them. That marketing push led to the brand linking up with TikTok and Instagram influencers, and stars like Lainey Wilson for limited-run collaborations and now the Quencher is the hottest hydration flask. You’d assume one durable hydro-flask would be enough for people. But because this is a collector’s item now, people who are into Stanley Cups often buy multiple tumblers.

How Big Is The Fandom?

Big, and you can see it all over social media.

This TikTok, which as of this article being published has been viewed over 19 million times, alleges that a shelf of limited edition Quenchers from Target sold out in four minutes. The customers attack the shelf like a pack of hyenas on the savanna and it’s a mix of men, women, and children. It seems the Stanley Cup hype has gone fully mainstream at this point.

Another TikTok, posted just yesterday that has already been viewed 3.2 million times, shows a family arriving at Target and lining up outside around 3:00 am to score a cup. The Target in question was only holding 40 cups in total and selling one per family.

You may have seen this wholesome video that went viral over the Christmas weekend that shows a young girl receiving a pink Stanley Cup for Christmas and breaking down into tears. It’s adorable but just for a second imagine how you would’ve reacted if when you were a child someone gave you a thermos for Christmas. A thermos is the sort of gift your aunt’s weird boyfriend gives you. I know, because I received one this Christmas (it wasn’t a Stanley) followed by these words, “You drink water, right? You can take this with you and put your water in it.” Yes, Tom, I know how a thermos works.

Part of the reason the Stanley Cup fandom is so big is because it intersects with another big fandom — Starbucks drinkers. Starbucks is one of Stanley’s most frequent collaborators. Couple that with people who follow lifestyle influencers, Target shoppers (where most of the drops happen), and Bachelor fans, and you have a full-blown cultural sensation. The Stanley trend is here to stay until, of course, people move on to something else.

The musical-to-feature film pipeline is nearly complete. Both Wonka and The Color Purple had their day in the sun (a.k.a. opening weekend at the theater). Now, it’s Mean Girls time. As the painfully beloved villain Regina George, Reneé Rapp will showcase her comedic chops, which she will also do when she appears on Saturday Night Live.

But in the meantime, Reneé and Megan Thee Stallion’s new video for “Not My Fault” shared a heaping helping of what the film has to offer. Through the Mia Barnes-directed video, the pair bring the teen drama to life: burn book, peep-a-boo tank top, and more. With scenes from the forthcoming movie sandwiched between Reneé and Megan’s creative interpretation, it’s safe to say this should’ve been the first teaser of Means Girls.

Both musicians draw inspiration from the film’s plot and clever back-and-forth banter for the lyrics. For the record’s title, Reneé used a stand-out conversation with the fictional characters. But Megan took it a step further as she raps, “It’s funny how the mean girl open all the doors / I’ve been told y’all I’m the black Regina George / Bikini top, booty shorts, Megan-core / You was hating back then, now you finna hate more / I’ve got influence, they do anything I endorse / I run sh*t, to be a bad bitch is a sport.”

Watch Reneé Rapp & Megan Thee Stallion’s video for “Not My Fault” above.

Mean Girls is slated to hit theaters on January 12. Find more information here.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.