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Scream VI was the first Scream movie without Neve Campbell. And hopefully the only.

Kevin Williamson, who wrote the screenplay for Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4, shared his thoughts on Campbell not returning for Scream VI after the actress declined a salary offer that she thought “did not equate to the value” she brought to the horror franchise.

“I know exactly where she’s coming from,” he said on the Happy Horror Time podcast, according to Variety. “I know her well. I love and adore her, and that’s what she did and it’s great for her. I love everyone involved with Scream and all I can say is pay her the money. Yes, you heard it, everyone. That’s what I would do. I would give her the money.” He added, “I’m sure there’s a number they can agree on that will make them both happy so hopefully one day they will figure that all out, and who knows. One day.”

Campbell, who plays Sidney Prescott in the meta-horror series, previously told People that the salary dispute would not be an issue if she was a man. “I honestly don’t believe that if I were a man and had done five installments of a huge blockbuster franchise over 25 years, that the number that I was offered would be the number that would be offered to a man,” she said. “And in my soul, I just couldn’t do that. I couldn’t walk on set feeling that — feeling undervalued and feeling the unfairness, or lack of fairness, around that.”

You can listen to the podcast with Williamson below.

(Via Variety)

Busta Rhymes and Coi Leray already demonstrated impressive lyrical chemistry when he remixed her hit single “Players.” But that chemistry is even more advanced on “Luxury Life,” where the two rappers trade dynamic back-and-forth rhymes over a sample of The Whole Darn Family’s “Seven Minutes Of Funk.” In fact, it’s the very sample from Jay-Z’s second Reasonable Doubt single “Ain’t No N****” with Foxy Brown, which used a similar rhyme scheme. Busta and Coi even sing the hook in the same style, which was originally lifted from the Four Tops’ “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got).”

The video is similarly an ode to the ’90s, with Busta and Coi sticking up a diner in a visual homage to Pulp Fiction (a scene that gets referenced quite a lot in hip-hop, such as in Sleepy Brown and Outkast’s “I Can’t Wait” video), then battling it out in a dojo with references to The Matrix. There’s also a pull of Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s fight scene from Game Of Death. Busta loves his movies, it’s nice to see him keep that trend going while passing the torch to the next generation.

So far, Busta’s last two videos have featured BIA (“Beach Ball“) and Coi Leray… can we get a Rah Digga reunion, too??

Watch Busta Rhymes’ “Luxury Life” video featuring Coi Leray above.

When Beyoncé tells the world to stop, typically it does. However, that wasn’t the case for Hairspray actress Sarah Francis Jones. In fact, the excitement from the Grammy Award record holder’s final Renaissance World Tour stop in Inglewood led the actress to give birth to the Beyhive’s youngest member.

While attending the recording artist’s September 4 birthday performance at SoFi Stadium, Jones recorded herself having a grand ol’ time dancing and singing along but by the end of the night, the audience around her was a medical team as she was set to deliver her baby girl. During an interview with KTLA, the star revealed that initially, she thought the sharp aches she was experiencing when at the concert were false labor pains (medically referred to as Braxton Hicks).

“I said, ‘Something’s happening.’ Usually, I like to dance at the concert, and I was like, ‘OK, I need to sit down for a second,” said Jones.

But as the discomfort increased, Jones and her partner, Marcel Spears, knew it was time. “The biggest contractions happened during ‘Virgo’s Groove.’ As the concert went on, we were like, ‘I don’t know about this.’ By the time we got to the car into the parking lot, it was full-on intense,” Spears added.

Jones vlogged the experience on her official Instagram page. In the video, as she participated in the ‘Eerbody On Mute’ challenge, you notice a shift in her bubbly personality.

Although Jones and Spears’ baby girl is indeed a Virgo, just like Beyoncé, their daughter missed the cut-off date to share the same birthday with the star as she was officially born on September 5. Friends and family of Jones, as well as fellow Beyhive members, took to the entertainer’s comment section to offer their well wishes.

See their responses below.

d4vd’s rise to fame happened at the speed of light. This hyperbole accurately describes how the 18-year-old Houston native went from an active video gamer who uploaded clips of himself playing Fortnite to YouTube (where he tallied 15 million views in total) to a touring musical act who is set to hit the road with SZA for her second leg of the SOS Tour. It’s all happened in the blink of an eye, but don’t be mistaken, d4vd is extremely talented as his debut EP Petals To Thorns proves.

The nine-track project is one that d4vd used to excellently capture a rise and fall in love. The petals — the first half — represent the good moments, while the thorns and final half of the project capture the bad and the eventual end of the relationship. Just three months after releasing Petals To Thorns, d4vd is back with another project: The Lost Petals. This new body of work contains just five songs and lives as the aftermath of the events on Petals To Thorns.

Together with the arrival of The Lost Petals, Uproxx caught up with d4vd to talk about his rise in the music world, The Lost Petals, touring with SZA, and his future plans for both music and gaming.

You’ve had a quick rise to fame, which can be a bit rattling for anyone. How have you adjusted and does it feel a bit normal now?

Yeah, it’s always been normal. I feel like I’ve acclimated well. I was home-schooled for four years so being outside was like a need for me. I was inside the house for way too long. So as soon as the time came for me to start going on tour, things like that, going on press runs, [and] traveling to different countries, it was like boom, this is what I needed to get out of the house. So I ran with it.

If you had to take all your influences, what qualities would you take from each one to make the artist you are? Like who most inspired your writing? Singing style? Artistic direction?

My biggest writing inspiration isn’t even in music. It’s an author from Japan named Hajime Isayama who wrote Shingeki no Kyojin, most famously known as Attack On Titan. Yeah, so Hajime Isayama for my writing, sonically it’d be Chet Baker and Michael Jackson. My stage presence? Michael Jackson and maybe XXXTentacion.

You’re a couple of months removed from your Petals To Thorns project. What would you say you’re most proud of about it?

The theme. I feel like sonically, it made sense, and the theme was very clear. I tried my best to tell the story with it. Having all the songs made already, without even having the intention of making a project that had to be cohesive, is mind-blowing to me. Everything was already done before I even had an idea of making an EP. But just being me and being a storyteller, it kind of just worked anyway. So I’m very proud of storytelling. Looking at the rose, having the thorns all representing love, just the theme of going through a relationship from top to bottom. It was just cohesive.

Now we have your The Lost Petals project, which fits into the world of Petals To Thorns. Do they fall in line with the original project or would you say this is more of a different perspective?

If we’re talking experience-wise, Petals To Thorns is the concert, you’ve been at the show, and “The Bridge” is leaving the show and now, The Lost Petals is that post-show depression. So it’s very sad, there’s not one single happy song. The way “The Bridge” left off, this [The Lost Petals] picks up and then it’s kind of like the conclusion. It’s like a closing of the book, two chapters being Petals To Thorns and The Lost Petals]. We’re closing that book and we’re moving on after that.

What would you credit most to your success?

My faith in God bro because God did amazing things early on. The way it kind of worked instrumentally with the gaming and everything. It’s like all the full circle moments of me wanting to be a professional esports player so bad that I was like tunnel vision into that one goal. But then, as soon as the copyright strikes hit, the gaming kind of pushed the music and the music started to push the gaming and they kind of worked together and they both went up at the same time. I don’t know, it would not have happened if it weren’t for those copyright strikes.

You’ve had a couple of tours already in your career, and now, you’ll be joining SZA on her SOS North American Tour. What experience do you hope to take from that may be different from the others?

The audience, of course. Playing in front of 10,000-15,000 people, that’s gonna be insane. I feel like getting used to not being so close to the crowd because it gives you a chance to really be a performer. When you’re that close to the crowd, really feeding off of them, but [at arenas], sometimes you can’t see everybody especially when you’re on that big stage and it feels like it’s just you up there. I feel like the nerves kind of go away when you can’t see. I feel like I’ve had the most nerve-wracking experience when I’m playing in front of maybe three people doing a little acoustic performance or even doing a music video shoot. But when it’s that many people it kind of becomes you and I’m just excited to see myself progress in that stage.

Stepping off music for a second, you said that music and gaming have worked hand-in-hand for you. What are some plans you have for the gaming world next?

I want to leak too much, but I literally just left a meeting about gaming. I’m working a lot on Fortnite stuff, the new Fortnite season is dropping, and everybody’s on the game again. Gaming is going back on the radar, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is dropping. I’m working hand in hand and being more in the gaming space and telling a story because that’s where I came from. I’m more of a gamer than a musician, it’s telling that story even more. I’m working on scoring and a lot of soundtracking, too. The thing is with the Fortnite montages, I would make a Fortnite little montage and then make a song for it. So I was really doing scoring before I was even thinking about actually scoring. So having the opportunity to go back into my roots, and just be able to make music for the game that I’m such a fan of is insane to me. Maybe a concert in a Fortnite. A lot of stuff is coming gaming-wise, and 2024 is about to be lit on the controllers.

You’ve achieved a lot in such a short period of time, what are some goals you have for yourself going forward?

I want to make the best music possible. I feel like this past week I made my best music. I feel like I’m finding what I want to do. In terms of the artistry. I produced on a song for the first time two days ago. I’m getting used to being back on the keys playing piano again and finding myself instrumentally. So just becoming a greater artist. I’m not very sentimental, but I really do enjoy the evolution of self rather than the fruits that come from it. I feel like the best goal for me is just to be a better me. So, 2024 is all about evolution. I feel like it’s gonna be very evident in the music, the visuals, and the creative surrounding everything. It’s going to be next level.

The Lost Petals is out now via Darkroom/Interscope Records. Find out more information here.

Elon Musk reportedly became so obsessed with his “robotaxi” concept that he demanded that Tesla engineers start building the driverless vehicles despite the fact that the electric car company was, and still is, far behind on it’s questionable Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology. The revelation comes from Walter Isaacson‘s upcoming biography, Elon Musk, in an excerpt that cements Musk’s compulsive fixations and wild mood swings.

According to Axios, Musk was supposed to be focusing on Tesla’s plan to deliver the first $25,000 electric car to consumers, which would have been a “game-changer” to the entire automotive industry. Instead, Musk became hyper-focused on creating an autonomous robotaxi that he theorized would make its owners up to $30,000 a year and “eliminate the need for people to even own cars.”

Musk became obsessed with the idea in November 2021 and began instructing his engineers to begin building the vehicle with some very concerning specifications: “No mirrors, no pedals, no steering wheel. This is me taking responsibility for this decision.”

When the Tesla engineers raised obvious safety concerns and suggested building a model that could have a steering wheel and pedals that are easily removed, Musk reportedly went into a “cold mood.”

“Let me be clear,” Musk slowly said. “This vehicle must be designed as a clean robotaxi. We’re going to take that risk. It’s my fault if it f–ks up. But we are not going to design some sort of amphibian frog that’s a halfway car. We are all in on autonomy.”

Ultimately, the Tesla designers found a “non-challenging way” to convince Musk to “cover his bet” by including the necessary safety features they proposed and not have the robotaxi completely rely on FSD.

(Via Axios)

Victoria Monét hit the road on Wednesday (September 6) to kick off The Jaguar Tour in Detroit. The run is in support of her new album Jaguar II, which boasts features from Kaytranada, Lucky Daye, Earth, Wind & Fire, Hazel Monét, and Buju Banton.

She’ll be trekking through North America through this month as well as October, before heading over to the United Kingdom for some gigs in November. As for openers, she’ll be bringing along Alex Vaughn, Ambré, Kendra Jae, Lavish, Leon Thomas, Tanerélle, and Tone Stith on select dates.

Find the full tour dates below.

09/08/2023 — Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
09/11/2023 — Boston, MA @ Royale
09/13/2023 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
09/15/2023 — Washington, DC @ The Howard Theatre
09/16/2023 — Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of Living Arts (TLA)
09/18/2023 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
09/19/2023 — Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
09/21/2023 — New Orleans, LA @ Joy Theater New Orleans
09/22/2023 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues
09/24/2023 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
09/26/2023 — Denver, CO @ Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom
09/28/2023 — Las Vegas, NV @ 24 Oxford
09/29/2023 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
10/01/2023 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park
10/03/2023 — San Francisco, CA @ The Regency Ballroom
10/06/2023 — Portland, OR @ The Wonder Ballroom
10/07/2023 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
10/09/2023 — Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
10/11/2023 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
10/22/2023 — Chicago, IL @ House of Blues

The highly anticipated USA-Canada matchup will indeed be happening on Sunday in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but it will not be in the gold medal game as expected. Instead, the two North American squads will be playing for the bronze after Serbia dominated Canada early on Friday morning and then Germany took down Team USA in a thriller.

The two teams went back and forth throughout the first half, with Germany leading by two after the first quarter and the Americans leading by one at halftime. The offenses shined early for both sides, with the two teams attacking each other and putting on quite the shot-making display. Mikal Bridges had 15 points at the half (but just two in the second half), while Franz Wagner and Anthony Edwards would score 22 and 23 points respectively on the game showing off their varied offensive skillsets.

However, in the third quarter the German side took control, as Dennis Schröder orchestrated the offense, Andreas Obst became a flamethrower from deep, Wagner continued to be a problem with his size on the wing, and Daniel Theis and Isaac Bonga gave the Americans fits inside.

In the fourth quarter, it was Edward once again leading the charge to get Team USA back in the ball game, as he threw down a vicious dunk (and tried another shortly after that led to free throws) and buried a huge three to cut the deficit to one possession.

However, while Germany’s offense got a bit muddled late, the USA squad was unable to ever reclaim the lead, getting the deficit down to as few as one point before Obst again buried a three off a baseline inbounds play, shaking Tyrese Haliburton and sending him to the floor before knocking down a huge shot.

That was followed by an early dagger from Schröder, who hit a stepback from the midrange over Austin Reaves (who they hunted relentlessly on defense late) to put Germany up six with 40 seconds to play.

Reaves would redeem himself with a quick two on an outlet and then drew an offensive foul to give Team USA a chance at again cutting the deficit to one score, but they couldn’t make it happen and by the time they did get another bucket, time had all but run out. All Germany had to do was get the ball in with half of a second on the clock and the celebration was on for a massive moment for German basketball and heartbreak for Team USA.

Obst finished with 24 points and six assists to lead all scorers, while Schröder had 17 points and nine rebounds to continue his stellar tournament. Franz Wagner had 22 points and five boards and his brother Mo chipped in 10 off of the bench. As a team, Germany had 30 assists on 41 made baskets, as they carved up the USA defense all night with their activity and size.

Edwards finished the night with 23 points and eight rebounds, doing all he could to get Team USA through to the gold medal game. Once again he found himself needing more help than he got down the stretch, but really the story of this game was Team USA’s inability to get stops. Germany had 100 points in the first 32 minutes of the game and piled up 113 overall, as their size and strength (coupled with a good shooting night) proved too much for the Americans. However, it can’t even be chalked up to hot shooting, as Team USA actually shot more efficiently from three (12-of-25) than Germany (13-of-30), they just couldn’t handle the Germans at any level defensively. Jaren Jackson Jr., for all his immense abilities on defense, is not the anchor inside against big teams the Americans need and there are too many weak points to attack on the perimeter when Team USA puts out their best offensive lineup — as Haliburton and Reaves were repeatedly targeted.

The Americans will now face Canada for the bronze in a highly anticipated matchup that loses a good bit of its luster now that it’s not for gold, but still features a ton of NBA talent and will be fascinating to see how both teams get up for that game considering the stakes aren’t what they expected. Germany will take on Serbia in a gold medal game few predicted, but it’s one that should be highly entertaining as Serbia has been a buzzsaw in this tournament, led by Bogdan Bogdanovic, while Germany is coming off of the biggest win their basketball program has had and will be riding high.

Despite some controversy surrounding the emerging technology, Time Magazine is showcasing the most influential people in AI for their next cover. Some musicians — like Sting or Ed Sheeran — are not interested in this advancement of technology; others, like will.i.am or Lupe Fiasco, are on board with it.

However, the most active supporter of AI in music might be Grimes, who’s featured on Time‘s list. The blurb mentions Elf.Tech, her platform which allows fans to upload a capella vocals, and recreate them in her voice using AI technology. Her recent song, “I Wanna Be Software,” was a love letter to the digital realm.

Also on the list is Holly Herndon. Her blurb explains “her digital twin,” Holly+. “Working with technologists, Herndon created a vocal deepfake of herself in 2021 by extensively training a neural network on her voice. Now, any amateur musician can use Holly+ to transform their pedestrian voice into hers, perfectly tuned and ethereal,” it reads.

After making Elf.Tech, Grimes tweeted about being worried that fans were making better songs than her. “I am actually kinda stressed that ppl r starting to make competitively (or maybe better??) quality grimes sounding songs than I do but it’s also the most wonderfully poetic way to die and respawn in another career,” she wrote.

The AFC team with the best FanDuel odds to win the 2024 Super Bowl is the Kansas City Chiefs (although maybe not after last night), while the Philadelphia Eagles are the favorites in the NFC. Drew Carey did not pick either team to win the Super Bowl. He chose the team with the worst odds, and another that’s close to the bottom.

To be fair, Carey didn’t know which teams he was backing when he punched holes into the Punch-A-Bunch predictor for a segment on The Price is Right. For the AFC, he involuntarily picked the Houston Texans, who are tied with the Arizona Cardinals with the worst odds to win the Super Bowl (if you wager $250 and they win, you get $45,000). In the NFC, Carey is unfortunately aligned with the Washington Commanders. “Oh man… You know what? Don’t risk your money,” he said while showing the card to the studio audience.

Carey added, “It’s also nice to know who not to bet on.”

The Price is Right host must be disappointed that he didn’t pick the Cleveland (which famously rocks) Browns — but glad he didn’t choose the Baltimore Ravens. “I will always hate the Ravens,” he once said (the old Browns were moved from Cleveland by evil Art Modell to become the Ravens before the new Browns returned to Ohio). “Always. Of course, we hate Pittsburgh in Cleveland, but that’s healthy. Believe it or not, I think we hate the Ravens more.”

For what it’s worth, the Browns have the 13th best Super Bowl odds.

It’s Barbie’s world if you’re still in doubt. As the 2023 VMAs return to Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, on September 12, rapper Nicki Minaj will be on double duty for the evening. In August, organizers announced Lil Wayne, Demi Lovato, Stray Kids, Karol G, and more would grace the ceremony’s stage for the evening. However, there was one substantial pink omission: the head Barb herself. Today (September 8), that has changed.

On X (formerly Twitter), the event organizers revealed that the “Last Time I Saw You” rapper would not only be performing for the crowd mixed with music professionals and fans, but in addition to that, she would serve as the evening’s host.

“BAAAAAARBZ @NICKIMINAJ IS PERFORMING AT THE 2023 #VMAs, AND she’s our emcee for the night!! Watch her LIVE ~ TUESDAY at 8p on @MTV [pink bow emoji],” read the post.

Minaj is up for several awards at the 2023 VMAs, including Video Of The Year (“Super Freaky Girl”), Artist Of The Year, Best Hip-Hop (“Super Freaky Girl”), Best R&B (Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love In The Way”), and Best Visual Effects (“Super Freaky Girl” – Visual Effects by Max Colt and Sergio Mashevskyi).

Last year, Minaj also performed a mashup of her biggest hits. She was also bestowed the coveted Vanguard Award, the highest honor from the event.

The 2023 MTV VMAs will take place on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on MTV. To watch, tune in via MTV.com live stream or on Paramount+. Find more information here.