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One of the best things about Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One coming out to “save Hollywood’s ass” is that it means the number-one movie in America will no longer be Sound of Freedom. The surprise box office hit about child sex trafficking has been championed by far-right dopes like Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson, while “some critics say the film appeals to the QAnon movement, which posits a false conspiracy theory accusing progressive elites of pedophilia,” according to the New York Times.

Sound of Freedom star Jim Caviezel went on Steve Bannon’s podcast to discuss an upcoming screening of the film for Donald Trump — and to spread a conspiracy theory about liberals draining blood from children.

“I also want to say to Donald Trump, then when you watch this movie, you will be at peace and at rest because you, more than anyone, have done incredible things Jesus talks about, that you know faith without works is dead,” The Passion of the Christ actor said. “I believe Donald Trump was selected by God Almighty, and I’m talking about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit God.”

He continued, via Raw Story:

Caviezel also talked about a QAnon theory that claims liberal elites — often in Hollywood – drink the blood of infants to obtain their adrenochrome. “That’s why the devil wants to kill him, wants to hurt them. It’s always been this way since Pharaoh and then to Herod and now but more than ever and enslaving them and doing many, many things including organ harvesting and adrenochroming. And I will say that until I’m, you know, I’m dead,” he said.

If Jim could get his hands on that sweet, sweet blood, he would finally make the “biggest film” in history. But the elite won’t share any!

(Via Raw Story)

Happy 72nd day of the WGA strike! With the studios threatening to step away from the negotiating table until writers are homeless and the Screen Actors Guild poised to join the picket line, maybe it’s time to laugh a little.

Writer (and WGA member) Todd Spence shared a 2007 clip from Late Night with David Letterman that perfectly sums up the absurdity of the writers strike and proves that essentially nothing has changed in over a decade.

As Billy Preston sang, “Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’.” Quadrupling 0% is easy math. Yet the writers and actors are asking for stability and security in the very same environment that the studio heads all recognize is disruptive. Back in 2007, it was about streaming rights. Today, it’s still about streaming rights with the added terror of AI replacement on the horizon.

The Milken Institute estimated that the 2007-2008 strike cost California around $2 billion. When its report was released in 2014, it came with the note that even more could be at risk if the Screen Actors Guild contract issue wasn’t resolved. Nine years later, the studios are set to cause an immense amount of pain, including their own, because they won’t pony up the equivalent of one CEO’s salary for a few thousand writers to be able to make their mortgage.

Good thing it’s easy to laugh. Also, Letterman remains the GOAT of metaphorically spitting in his greedy bosses’ faces.

House music in Nashville? Say less.

On a mission to curate experiences that activate the transformation of oneself, community, and the planet, Deep Tropics is set to make its unparalleled return August 18-19 in the heart of Nashville. And while we’ve been dazzled with the glamorous appeal of music festivals throughout the world — like the serene mountain music of High Sierra Festival and the tropical spicy pool parties of Splash House — let’s just be perfectly honest here: Deep Tropics has got it going on.

Aside from inviting fans from all corners of the globe to its immersive and interactive art and music experiences, it’s an incredible feat for a festival to deliver sustainability goals when promoting a large-scale event.

As the festival gears up to enter its fifth year, it’s also going on three years of producing a climate-positive, large-scale event thanks to its non-profit organization, Deep Culture Inc. Together, the two have successfully offset their carbon footprint through tree-planting initiatives, while its zero-waste program achieved a 93% waste diversion last year.

Continuing the efforts this year, Deep Tropics has partnered with Virgin Hotels Nashville, currently earning the top spot as the “greenest hotel in the city” as it actively measures the efficiency of the building while also reducing energy, water consumption, and its overall carbon footprint. The collaboration will further explore Deep Tropics’ mission for an environmentally conscious experience for festival-goers, as well as housing the artists and crews that work behind the scenes to make it all happen.

The partnership will kick off with a Tropical Traveler PLUS Welcoming party on Friday, August 18th in the hotel’s exclusive speakeasy, The Late Great. Additionally, attendees can expect to continue practicing the festival’s reusable cup and zero-waste program on-site, take part in the pre-festival clothing swap for new reusable festival fashion, and attend wellness programs and educational workshops throughout the weekend that foster a deeper connection between music and sustainability.

On the music side, Deep Tropics has helped Nashville sing a new tune by bringing the sweltering beats of house and techno right in Bicentennial Park. This year, the festival will feature three stages and star the likes of SG Lewis, Gorgon City, LP Giobbi, Major League DJz, What So Not, and more.

Tickets to Deep Tropics are available here, while special select room rates at Virgin Hotel Nashville for Deep Tropics attendees can be booked here.

A few days ago, tennis star Naomi Osaka gave birth to a daughter, her first baby with rapper Cordae. Cordae first confirmed the news last weekend, when he told his audience at Canada’s Calgary Stampede, “My daughter Shai was just born a couple of days ago, so I want to dedicate this performance to my baby girl Shai. Love you, I’m going back home.”

Now Osaka has shared her first social media post since the child’s birth, and it includes the first photo of the baby. We don’t see the baby’s face in the picture, but we do get a look at her adorable and on-brand outfit: a onesie with pink and green tennis rackets and balls embroidered all over. The post also features a photo of Osaka looking down at her pregnant belly in what might be a Cordae recording setup, based on the musical equipment in the shot.

Osaka wrote in the post, “Well that was a cool little intermission, now back to your regularly scheduled program [tennis ball emoji] [peace sign emoji] [hearts emoji].”

As for what’s next for the couple, Osaka’s caption seems to suggest she’s going to start preparing for a return to tennis. Cordae, meanwhile, recently dropped a collaboration with Juice WRLD.

Ice Spice’s emergence into fame was so instantaneous that it was hard to keep up with. She’s already collaborated with Taylor Swift for the “Karma” remix, as well as Nicki Minaj for “Princess Diana” and “Barbie World.” She performed at the BET Awards and has been dominating the charts.

Her rise can be accredited to TikTok, after her track “Munch” went viral and got an unofficial remix by Cardi B. Her songs afterward, “Bikini Bottom” and “In Ha Mood,” kept up the momentum. Of course, Lil Nas X dressing up as her for Halloween certainly helped give her traction as well, along with Drake’s rumored diss of her that she had no trouble countering.

TikTok has always been on Ice Spice’s side, especially after her collaboration with PinkPantheress for “Boy’s A Liar,” which became ubiquitous on the app and then in real life, too.

About her quick elevation into celebrity, Ice Spice said, “I don’t think anybody is ever fully prepared for fame. There’s no book on how to do it. I feel like everybody could just learn as they go, like most people do in their careers. A lot of people be trying to compare me to people that are way older than me or people that have been in this sh*t way longer than me.”

There was plenty of intrigue over the contract Austin Reaves would get this summer. A former undrafted free agent who turned into a crucial piece for the Los Angeles Lakers in their run to the Western Conference Finals, Reaves seemed set to receive a monster payday, with reports indicating the Lakers would be willing to match an offer sheet worth nine figures.

That ended up not happening. Reaves didn’t sign an offer sheet from another team, instead agreeing to a 4-year, $54 million extension with Los Angeles that sure seems like a team-friendly deal. And apparently, the team has high hopes for what he can accomplish, as Lakers coach Darvin Ham told Chris Haynes and Marc Stein of the “#thisleague UNCUT” podcast that he sees an All-Star appearance on the horizon for the former University of Oklahoma standout.

“I’m putting it on record right now: Austin Reaves will be an All-Star at some point soon,” Ham said. “I think what you saw, him getting invited to be a part of the World Cup team was the first step in that direction. Everything you saw him do last year, the kid is a flat-out competitor, one of the greatest human beings you could ever be around, always fun, keeps things simple, but yet works at his craft, is fearless in the biggest of moments. And my plan is to continue to feature him, he’s our starting 2-guard. I think there’s a lot more levels he’s gonna get to before it’s all said and done, and he’ll be an All-Star and a world champion with me in the room with him.”

It’s quite the endorsement for Reaves, even considering that his head coach is obviously going to praise his game. As Ham noted, Reaves will suit up and play competitive basketball before he returns to the Lakers for next season, as he’s one of the guards that USA Basketball selected for the upcoming FIBA World Cup.

It’s National Fry Day! Or… is it? Last Year Rally’s/Checkers petitioned National Fry Day to be changed from July 13th to the second Friday of July, this way we could refer to it as “Fry-Day.” That’s cute, but this year the second Friday of July happens to land on July 14th, a day after the official National French Fry Day. So… what are brands to do?

Only the best possible thing ever: give us a “national fry weekend!”

This year most deals begin on July 13th and run until the end of the weekend. To help you navigate the price breaks, we’re running through all the best National French Fry Day deals. Considering we just launched a big fast food French fry ranking last month, we’re not just going to list the deals — we’re going to rank them by how good the fries taste.

Let’s dive in!

Unranked: Hooters

At Hooters you can score free curly fries, waffle fries, or tots with any entree purchase on Thursday only.

I’ve never had Hooters fries, so I’m leaving this one unranked. Good deal though!

9. Burger King

On Friday receive a free order of fries in any size with any purchase using the BK app.

These French fries get a two out of five. Too salty! If they’re piping out of the fryer they are pretty good, but they’re rarely piping hot.

8. Rally’s/Checkers

Rewards app members can score a free order of XL fries from Checkers or Rally’s from July 14th to July 16th. I guess Rally’s is being stubborn about the whole “fry-day” thing.

People love these fries, so I’m tempted to rank them higher but … Popeyes does this style better. The dominating tasting note on these fries is dirty oil.

7. Del Taco

Members of Del Taco’s Rewards program get a free order of medium fries with a minimum purchase of $3 from today until July 16. So order two value menu tacos and you got yourself a whole meal going for just $3! That’s a steal.

Out of five, we’re giving these fries a three. Good, not great. They are crinkle, so they have that going against them, but they do have a nice buttery flavor to them.

6. Wendy’s

Beginning today until July 16th, Wendy’s will give you a free order of fries with any in-app purchase.

These fries get a three out of five, they’re fine, but could be better. Still, free always tastes good — so who are we to complain? The fries have a mix of earthy notes and salt, with a sort of buttery aftertaste.

5. Carl’s Jr/ Hardee’s

This is a crazy one. Purchase fries for full price on the app of July 14th and be granted free small fries each day for the rest of the year with a minimum $1 purchase. This may be the best French fry deal of all time!

The fries get a three out of five, but the deal gets a 10 out of five! If we were talking about Criss-Cut fries, Carl’s Jr would rank a lot higher. The stock fries are fine, they have a natural skin-on flavor and a nice balance of salt.

4. Jack in the Box

Jack in the Box loyalty members get a free order of regular or curly fries with a minimum $15 purchase. That deal is straight-up wack — if you’re spending $15 at JiB, you’re probably already getting fries. But I guess more fries are never a bad thing.

The regular fries get a 3.5 and the curly score a four. These options are both delicious! The OG fries are buttery and crispy, and the curly fries have a nice balance of black pepper, garlic, and onion flavors.

3. Fatburger

Order online using the code FrenchFryDay23 and get a free order of Fat or Skinny Fries today through the weekend. This deal extends in-store but we’re not sure how you’re supposed to go about ordering it. Do you just say FrenchFryDay23 after your order? Maybe!

Both get a four out of five — Great fries!

2. Smashburger

Any purchase today will score you a free order of Smashfries, French fries, or sweet potato fries.

Our ranking is as follows: four, four, and four! If I had to choose between the three, I’m going with Sweet Potato Fries for the novelty. They’re sweet and salty, an unbeatable combination!

1. McDonald’s

Place your order through the McDonald’s app and get a free order of fries, which we give a ranking of five out of five.

These are insanely delicious and the best fries you can get for free on National French Fry Day. They’re crispy and buttery with a savory quality to them that makes them absolutely addictive.

The Boys and Call of Duty launched a crossover this week, and just like in the Amazon series, one character is already causing problems: Homelander.

The Supe is currently available to use in the new Warzone season for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but players are not loving the character’s powers. Like the show, Homelander can fly and shoot lasers out of his eyes, which is not exactly fun when your opponents are mere humans with guns.

Gamers have flocked to Reddit and Twitter to voice their concerns with Homelander’s Call of Duty debut, which they feel is breaking the game thanks to him being too damn powerful.

As if Homelander’s laser eyes aren’t bad enough, he reportedly has even more powers in the game, and Call of Duty fans are already sick of him.

Via Kotaku:

The Warzone subreddit is loaded with complaints from players, many of whom are saying the superpowers are out of place in the somewhat grounded military game. One of the abilities lets you super-jump incredibly high with no fall damage when you land, which can seriously change the way a final circle is tackled in the battle royale. “With the stupid addition of superpowers I need to completely change the way that I play this game,” replied one redditor to a player who claimed they lost their game because of the super-jump ability.

While basically dropping an evil version of Superman into a military shooting game does sound frustrating, you gotta admit it’s kind of funny, too. Completely ruining an experience with his terrifyingly overpowered presence is such a Homelander thing to do.

(Via Kotaku)

Coldplay released Music Of The Spheres in 2021. The Chris Martin-fronted band is still bringing the album is seemingly every hemisphere on their subsequent Music Of The Spheres World Tour — reducing their carbon footprint and covering Backstreet Boys along the way.

According to Coldplay’s official website, the seven-time Grammy winners are next scheduled to perform four nights in Amsterdam from July 15 to 19 before coming stateside. Their North American leg will begin at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington on September 20 and conclude at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on October 1.

That gives you plenty of time to study Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres World Tour setlist. There have been slight variations from show to show, but below is their most recent setlist from July 12 in Sweden (as logged by setlist.fm).

Act I: Planets

1. “Higher Power”
2. “Adventure Of A Lifetime”
3. “Paradise”
4. “The Scientist”

Act II: Moons

5. “Viva La Vida”
6. “Hymn For The Weekend”
7. “Jennifer’s Birthday Song”
8. “Charlie Brown”
9. “Yellow”

Act III: Stars

10. “Human Heart”
11. “People Of The Pride”
12. “Clocks”
13. “Infinity Sign”
14. “Something Just Like This”
15. “Aeterna”
16. “My Universe”
17. “A Sky Full Of Stars”

Act IV: Home

18. “Sparks”
19. “Magic” (with Luciia)
20. “Humankind”
21. “Fix You”
22. “Biutyful”

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

What is a mixtape? The answer might be uncertain in 2023 when albums, mixtapes, playlists, and “projects” all seem interchangeable. But Paramount Plus is looking to break down the format with its new documentary, Mixtape. Featuring interviews with mixtape legends like Lil Wayne, Jadakiss, ASAP Rocky, The Game, and many, many more, the doc attempts to define what the mixtape has meant to hip-hop for the past 50 years and track its evolution from actual, physical tapes, to downloads and streams blowing up careers. Check out the trailer above.

The part I find myself looking forward to most is DJ Drama‘s recollection of the 2005 police raid that upended hip-hop’s mixtape subculture after the Recording Industry Association of America became desperate to stem the tide of illegal downloads and rampant bootlegging. Drama was accused of racketeering, which he says in a clip in the Mixtape trailer made him “more famous than I ever was.” (You can read a little bit more about that incident here.)

Mixtape‘s August 1 release date is perfectly timed to join the ongoing Hip-Hop 50 celebrations currently going on, which include The Criterion Channel streaming classic hip-hop films, Sony Music dropping a compilation of its 50 years of contributions to the culture, and Mass Appeal’s producer EPs by Swizz Beatz and DJ Premier.