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James Mangold On ‘Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny’ And Why He Could Use A Glass Of Scotch Right Now

James Mangold is careful the way he puts his words. And, mine, frankly. Mangold is a director who has made two movies about Wolverine, but has, probably, not experienced a fanbase quite as touchy as those of famed archeologist Indiana Jones (of course played by Harrison Ford for the fifth time in a feature film, not counting his cameo in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles). To his point, I’ve seen a lot of information out there about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny that’s just plain wrong. “Oh, they make Indiana Jones a sad sack.” It’s true Indy’s arc starts at a “low point” after a personal tragedy (Mangold corrects me when I say “starts in a bad place”), but we’ve seen Indiana Jones at low points many, many times before. Remember the time in Raiders when he’s drinking himself senseless and almost gets himself killed? In Mangold’s opinion, this is what was missing from the script when it got to him. There will always be an artifact to chase, but what is Indiana Jones’ arc here?

There’s also a lot of bad information about Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena. I’ve seen, “Oh, Indy takes a backseat to Helena and they want Helena to become the new Indy.” It’s an odd conclusion to come to when, for a good portion of the movie, Indy and Helena are straight-up enemies – stealing the Dial from Indy so she can sell it at an auction on the black market. Helena is in this adventure for the money and, as we know, Indiana Jones thinks historical artifacts should be in a museum. (Well, at least he thinks that after the events of Temple of Doom, when Indy was in it for “fortune and glory.” Helena does share a spirit with that version of Indy.) And not to give too much away, but the last sequence of this movie has nothing to do with Helena and everything to do with Indy, to the point I even teared up a bit. Mangold wants to be clear, this is an Indiana Jones movie. (And I agree.) And I get why he’s “careful” about the way things are worded.

Now, something that’s true about Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the plot is audacious. It really goes for it. This is an endlessly entertaining movie that has a pace similar to Temple of Doom where there’s not a lot of time to catch your breath. Though, an inherent problem with Indiana Jones is the first three movies are also pretty audacious, but they are so ingrained in our memories we kind of forget that. These are all grounded movies until they are not and Dial of Destiny is no different in that respect. What starts as Indy racing to find the Dial, an ancient device that may have mysterious powers – trying to keep it out of the hands of both Helena and a group of Nazis lead by Mads Mikkelsen’s Jürgen Voller – transforms into a fantastical adventure where, as Mangold says ahead, the artifact is going to show us what its powers can do.

This movie is audacious. There are scenes where I think there’s no way it’s going to do that, and you do it.

Well, that’s good. I feel like that’s what these movies always were.

Yes, I agree.

I’ve had many conversations with Steven about this and certainly Harrison – and the ending of Raiders is wild. If you’re talking about the ending. But the fact is the movies themselves really relish in taking very sharp turns, cutting very sharp turns on the ski slope, if you will.

To that point, a few months ago I watched Raiders with someone who had never seen it before. She thought the ending was crazy. I think for a lot of people that ending is so ingrained, we don’t think about how wild it is.

Well, and it’s de rigueur, to speak French, for this series of films. I think because the films are about the relics. About mysterious power and majesty and mysticism that surrounds them. And it almost goes without saying, the old expression of playwriting is a gun in the first act always goes off in the third. And in an Indiana Jones movie, it’s the relic in the first act always goes off in the third.

Yes, it does.

The relic is inevitably going to show its power at some point in one of these pictures.

I am curious, how many titles did you go through? Did you have this one pretty early?

We went through a ton.

What’s an example?

No, I can’t do that.

Oh, come on.

I don’t mean I can’t do it because of some corporate secrecy oath. I can’t do it because I can’t remember.

Okay, let me word it this way, how close did you come to trying to use the word “final,” or something like that? I realize Last Crusade kind of screws all that up…

Because Last Crusade. You couldn’t say last because Last Crusade did it and wasn’t. “Final” is in every movie from Halloween

Right, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Every horror movie has, at least, the 17th installment is called “Final” something. So you think, you can’t go “final.”

We knew early on it was announced Mutt Williams would not be in this movie. Without giving it away, how long did it take to come up with what you did come up with? Was, “Oh he’s off some doing something,” considered? Were there other options or was this always going to be it?

Well, of course. When you’ve got a wide-open canvas before you, there are always options. But the reality is you want the story to focus on the characters that are in the picture. And so saying someone’s out wandering off in the periphery seems sadder purgatory than actually making them a story point in the film and using their character’s existence as a tremendous source of drama for some of our lead characters.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Helena, you know who she reminds me of? She reminds me of Indiana Jones in Temple of Doom, before he learns the lessons in Raiders, when he keeps talking about “fortune and glory” and he’s kind of just an asshole.

“Fortune and glory.”

Right, Indy’s an asshole in Temple of Doom. And that’s her character in this. She’s in it for the money.

Yes. And I think she’s also… A lot of the most ambitious and brilliant people can be channeled to good or channeled to not good. And she’s a force of nature that comes into the picture and it’s up to Indy to give her some lessons – life lessons.

She even has a young partner she caught trying to steal from her, which is very much like Short Round.

Yes.

Speaking of Short Round, we see some familiar faces in this movie — was there any script iteration where Ke Huy Quan might be involved? Who’s obviously having quite a moment right now. I think people have always wondered what happened to Shorty?

I didn’t need more adults in the movie. I was looking for a kid. So for me, the adventure was to find… But, also, Everything Everywhere was nowhere and not in my mind when this movie was happening, because it was probably shot at about the exact same time, maybe concurrently.

I’ve read you retooled the script quite a lot. What was the main thing you had to retool?

Well, it wasn’t like it was a carburetor or an exhaust pipe or a muffler broken. It was that I wasn’t sure that we had fixed what the movie was actually about on a thematic level.

How so?

Meaning that you can always come up with a plot. There’s some person nefarious doing something that’s dangerous and the protagonist sets off to stop them, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Right.

But what’s the movie about? What’s the resonance of the film about? And when I was invited to come aboard, what I told Harrison and Steven and Kathy and everyone else involved was that I felt that it’s no secret that Harrison, at that point, was in his late 70s. And I felt like that’s going to be right there front and center in the face of our audience. That the hero they’ve followed for 42 years is an old man now. And that doesn’t have to be a bug. That can be a feature. That can be what our movie is about, which is a hero at twilight whose entire life behind him has created both great adventures and triumphs that he carries with him, but also hurts and regrets.

When we see him in 1969, it starts with him in a very bad place. So is that what you added?

No, I don’t call it bad place. But at a low point, yes.

To be fair, the first time we see him in 1969, he’s waking up on his recliner with a bottle of scotch…

Not a bottle, a glass of scotch.

Okay, a glass of scotch.

After four days of a junket, the idea of waking up on a Lazy Boy with a glass of scotch in my underwear sounds awesome.

That’s fair.

But the reality is, what I always feel like I have to say, although I trust you, Mike, but especially with folks who exist in the world of 28-character commentary, is that it’s not “putting him in a bad place,” it’s starting him at a low point.

Honestly, a low point is a better way to put it.

So he can find his mojo again and have one last ride. The idea isn’t to dump on him.

I didn’t at all get that it was from this movie.

The idea is as old as Aristotle, to start a character one place so he ends up in a different one. And what so many fans seem to never understand is, if you don’t start a character some place that’s a little bit of a distance from the ending, then you basically just have a fashion video of some heroic dude or dudette running around being awesome from scene one until scene 120 and there is no dramatic arc. What is it they’re encountering?

Right.

What emblem they wear on their chest? How cool they’re going to look today? The reality is that if you want to make a movie that has humanity, you have to give your characters what is, in old-school terms called, an arc.

Speaking of that, I will say this is the first time in any Indiana Jones movie I teared up. The last scene got me. So I think you achieved your goal of what you were trying to do.

We love this guy! We love this character that Harrison created. And also George and Steven and Larry Kasdan and many others contributed. But I believe after having spent the last couple years in his intimate company, that Harrison’s particular obsession with undermining the obvious, with digging out humor – even if it’s at the expense of his character – which he’s done since the very beginning of his career. Even with other characters like Han Solo, there is such an ability of fearlessness to know that the audience is going to like him and track him, even though he isn’t 100 percent boy scout. And he isn’t always brave and he is a little bit goofy in social situations and frightened of snakes and hesitant and sometimes even whiny … that we love him all the more! Because there’s so much character and humor and heart in this quote, unquote “hero,” as opposed to just bravery and power.

‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ opens June 30th. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

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Latto, Like The Rest Of Us, Wants To Live Like Rihanna And Doesn’t ‘See Myself Doing Music Forever’

Latto is the cover star for the Cosmopolitan “Skin Issue,” but she only agreed to pose nude after confirming it would be “tastefully done.” She was just as thoughtful in her answers for the accompanying interview, including her goals beyond her chart-smashing music career.

“I want to get in my acting bag, because I see myself going out like Rihanna,” Latto told writer Julee Wilson. “I don’t see myself doing music forever. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I’ve been doing it for so long already. Sometimes you just want more. I just did my first little acting gig the other day and I fell in love with that. I like more serious roles.”

Cosmo noted that Latto will be a guest star at some point during the upcoming sixth and final season of Grown-ish, premiering next Wednesday, June 28, on Freeform.

Earlier in the interview, Latto explained why she keeps her boyfriend’s identity private and was asked if she wants children someday, which led to another Rihanna reference.

“I want to be a mom so bad. Let me tell you, I think moms are superheroes. Man, I literally idolize motherhood. Like, with Mother’s Day, I get all my friends that have kids, my grandmas, my aunties, cousins, anyone who’s a mom around me, I send them flowers and gifts. I don’t play,” she said. “I send my assistant to Chanel to get, like, 10 bags for everybody I know. I’m obsessed. My TikTok algorithm is all moms talking about their experiences and packing like, ‘Get ready with me.’ Moms cleaning up after their kids. It’s so weird.”

Latto continued, “I’m not going to feel like I made it for real until I have my kids, I’m married, I just got my house out in the country, and I’m just ducked off with my little family.”

After Wilson quipped that “Rihanna’s got everybody out here having baby fever,” Latto added, “Yes. That’s why I love RiRi down. Cardi did it too. And Yung Miami. I feel like they kind of supersede the stigma that it’s over for women when you have a baby — like your career is over. They give me inspiration for real. They make me feel like I can do it too one day when the time is right, you feel me?”

Rihanna welcomed her first child, a son, with ASAP Rocky in May 2022. The polymath power couple are expecting their second child, as Rihanna revealed she was pregnant during her Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show performance in February.

See outtakes from Latto’s Cosmo cover below.

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Harrison Ford Is Clearly Disgusted By The Thought Of Retiring

If you want to make Harrison Ford visibly irritated, take away his pilot’s license or ask him whether he’s going to retire.

When asked by Chris Wallace for the June 23rd episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, Ford gave a stony look and said, “I don’t do well when I don’t have work.”

That’s been apparent based on his busy schedule. The 81-year-old acting legend has hung up the whip in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but he currently co-stars in the dramedy Shrinking and the Western 1923, and he’s slated for two more Marvel projects where he plays Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. In other words, Indiana Jones won’t, but Harrison Ford will return…

As opposed to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Dial of Destiny offers a deliberate sense of closure for the character and doesn’t ignore the character’s (or the actor’s) age.

“I wanted us to confront the question of age straight on. Not to to hide my age, but to take advantage of it in the telling of the story,” Ford said. When asked if it was “bittersweet” to say goodbye to a character he first brought to life 42 years ago, Ford shook his head and said, “No. It’s time for me to grow up.”

Welcome to adulthood, Mr. Ford.

(via Variety)

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Amen And Ausar Thompson Are Ready To Showcase Their Games In The NBA

When Amen and Ausar Thompson step foot inside Barclays Center for Thursday evening’s NBA Draft, they’ll be on the verge of fulfilling a longstanding, life-altering dream, preparing to enter the league as a pair of top-10 picks for franchises entranced by their immense intrigue. Both Amen and Ausar are widely expected to be selected in the upper half of the lottery and have been rumored as high as the top five.

They’re 6’6 wings who each averaged better than 16 points, six boards, six dimes and two steals at Overtime Elite last season, and brandish a 7-foot wingspan, ethereal explosiveness and passing ingenuity. Amen is regarded as the best athlete in the class and projects as an unceasing pick-and-roll explorer who complements his scoring with sagacious, highlight-reel playmaking. Ausar also loves to pile-drive to the rim and set the table for his peers, and is lauded for his malleable defensive exploits.

When they walk across that stage to actualize their dreams and begin a new journey showcasing these multifaceted skill-sets, they’ll be clad in suits catered specifically for them by renowned fashion designer Waraire Boswell. And after Amen and Ausar don their Draft-day attire, American Express will release 500 varsity jackets in navy, cream, and blue inspired by their suits, available exclusively to Amex card members.

In the lead-up to Thursday, Dime caught up with Amen and Ausar to talk about the collaborative process with Boswell, their background in fashion, and the skill-sets they’ll bring to the NBA, among other topics.

What excites you about this opportunity with Amex and what appeals to you about the creative process behind it all?

Amen: What’s really exciting to me about the whole thing is just being able to work with Bos on the suit because he’s worked with a lot of important people and made a lot of nice suits. And just seeing the creative process, that we could put input, he could put input and then we made something that’s going to be there on the special day. That’s really what excites me about it, seeing it come to life.

Amen, you mentioned that you’re giving input, Bos is giving input. What’s that connection been like for the two of you?

Amen: He’s trying to see what I like, I’m trying to see what he’s used to doing. And he’s very open to whatever I have to say and I’m open to see what he has to say, too, so it’s been a team effort, I’ll say, for sure.

Did you have any sort of vision going into this for the suits? What was it like getting the ground running with this?

Amen: Nah, I went into it not really knowing what I wanted, just looking at options really. I didn’t know what I wanted, but we had options and that’s how we came up with what we really wanted.

What kind of things do you like when it comes to the style, aspects and design of the suit? What have you tried to offer from your perspective during this process?

amen thompson ausar thompson
American Express

Ausar: I like how the suits Bos designs are simple, but at the same time, they look really nice, too. They kind of have a simple pop to it. I don’t know how to describe it, but I really like what he did with the suits. I’m excited to wear them, happy for the opportunity.

I imagine it’s a pretty intriguing and cool process. Is this your first dive into high-end fashion?

Ausar: This is of my first times in high-end fashion, I guess. I didn’t know it was high-end fashion until now [laughs].

I don’t know if it is either! I don’t wanna mislabel it.

Ausar: This is my first time definitely being involved in this, but I’m definitely interested to up my fashion later on – but casual, though, at the same time.

Amen, you seem to do such a good job out of pick-and-rolls attacking for yourself downhill and creating for others as a playmaker. What are you looking for when you’re running ball screens? What are the reads you’re trying to execute and establish that scoring vs. passing balance? What’s that process like for you?

Amen: It’s really just having a feel for the game. I know when to get my teammates involved and I know when it’s time to go score myself. Sometimes, you got a set idea of what you want to do. But if that gets taken away, you gotta have counters. So, I feel like that’s really what comes into pick-and-roll, getting to the cups and being able to facilitate or score.

Was there a time for you throughout your basketball upbringing when you felt like things kind of clicked for you as a pick-and-roll creator?

Amen: I feel like it’s always been pretty inherent for me. Since I was younger, I always was able to get my teammates involved and also go score.

Ausar, just watching some of your tape – and this isn’t to say otherwise for you, Amen – your offensive versatility pops. Is there a role or a scheme you prefer?

Ausar: I would say you could play me on or off the ball. I feel comfortable in either role, whether I have to facilitate, come off screens, facilitate, or get a bucket or catch on the wing, shoot, catch, rip, cut backdoor to get a bucket. I feel like I have a lot of dimensions.

Defensively, for both of you, is there a way you think is best for your usage, maybe playing on the ball at the point of attack versus being a helper at the nail or playing inside as the low man, etc.? Where do you feel most comfortable defensively?

Ausar: I would say I feel most comfortable on the on the ball, point of attack. I feel like on the ball, I’m a really good defender. Off the ball, I feel like I’m a really good defender, but I enjoy being able to shut someone down on the ball. So, I would say on the ball, point of attack.

What about you, Amen?

Amen: I would say the same thing. I would probably rather guard on the ball, guard the best player, shut them down.

I know during the pre-draft process, there’s been a lot of talk around both of you fixated on your outside jumper. What are you focusing on to refine it and get ready for the league as you prep for the next stage of your career?

Ausar: With my jumper, I’ve just been taking everything a day at a time, getting better every day. People think of it as a weakness. I’ve never thought of it as a weakness, just something that I can get better at, something I’m getting better, and I’ve shown I’ve gotten better at. Just taking everything a day at a time and just never getting too high, never get too low, just being confident and shooting the ball when I’m open.

And Amen, what’s that been like with your jumper and continuing to refine it and get it to the place you want long-term?

Amen: It’s a process. It’s a process. I put the work in. I just stay very optimistic knowing my shot’s gonna be good.

The jumper has so many different components, right? The legs, the gather, the release, etc. Are there areas where you feel like you’ve really had breakthroughs as you’ve had time during this pre-draft process?

Amen: Just getting my timing right, my sequencing right, rhythm. Yeah, my rhythm, my rhythm, getting my rhythm right. When my rhythm’s right, I know. I see the potential to become a good shooter – a great shooter.

Ausar, same question for you, would love your perspective as well.

Ausar: I feel like when my rhythm is on, that’s when I’m making multiple, multiple, multiple [shots] in a row. I would say when I find my rhythm, when I focus on one shot at a time and don’t focus on the miss, don’t overthink it, just shoot it.

You mention finding a rhythm. Are there indicators when you know that you’re in rhythm and when that shot’s gonna fall for you?

Ausar: When I get my legs into it, quicker footwork rather than slow footwork, and then quicker footwork, get into the shot. Not necessarily using my momentum, but kinda, at the same time, using momentum. I feel like as a shooter you kinda have to do that.

Amen, same same question for you. Are there any specific indicators when you feel like you’re really on point with your jumper?

Amen: Yeah, like I said earlier, when the rhythm feels good, when everything is just feeling how it should feel, that’s when my jumper goes in the most.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

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Coi Leray Thinks Her Dad Benzino Would Stop Speaking To Her For ‘F*cking Years’ If She Ever Worked With Eminem

Coi Leray might not completely get along with her dad Benzino, but there are some lines she’s wary of crossing — especially when it comes to his former (?) rival, Eminem. Although Coi had nothing but positive things to say about the Detroit rapper after Benzino’s Twitter rant tearing him down, she recently revealed that a collaboration with him — however unlikely — would be a bridge too far. During an appearance on Math Hoffa’s My Expert Opinion, the host asked whether Coi would collaborate with Em and she said she would definitely talk to Benzino first.

“I would sit down with my father, first of all, and bring it up to him,” she said. “I wouldn’t even ask. I’d be like, ‘Yo, listen. This is what happened. I’m not even expecting an answer. I just need to tell you right away.’ Me and my father could never be speaking for f*****g years. If that was to happen, I’d be like, ‘Hold on, let me just tell you this. Let me bring it to your attention.’ hopefully, he’ll be like, ‘Yo, you know what? Do it.’”

That latter outcome would probably also be unlikely, since Benzino has had it out for Eminem since 2003, when the then co-owner of The Source launched a campaign of diss records against Em. However, much of hip-hop sided with Eminem over his rival, and Benzino dropped the feud — at least publicly — until last May, when he went on a tirade against Eminem being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, accusing the Hall of racism for skipping over other pioneering rap acts such as Eric B and Rakim, Lauryn Hill, and Nas.

You can watch Coi’s interview with Math Hoffa above.

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It Turns Out That Video Game Controllers Have Been Used To Control Military Equipment Like Submarines

As the story of the missing OceanGate submersible began to dominate headlines, people began raising eyebrows over the fact that the sketchy looking vessel used a $40 video game controller to navigate the ocean depths. During a CBS News report from last year, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush stunned reporter David Pogue when he pulled out the Logitech gamepad used to control the tiny submersible that’s roughly the size of a minivan.

While the jokes were flying over the submersible using an off-brand video game controller for its steering mechanism, Vice reported that using controllers to operate “serious military equipment” has become an increasingly common practice thanks to the device’s precision and ease of use:

Controllers are great off-the-shelf solutions because they’re cheap, and younger recruits are already familiar with them. It’s not just submarines. The U.S. Army has used Xbox controllers to maneuver bomb disposal robots. The British military has developed a driverless all-terrain vehicle controlled by an Xbox controller. In Israel, there’s a tank that uses an Xbox controller.

According to Vice, when the military isn’t using actual controllers on its equipment, it’s taking great pains to replicate them. The U.S. Army’s M-SHORAD combat vehicle has a controller that looks like an old school Nintendo 64 gamepad, and the Challenger 2 tank has controls that would make any gamer feel right at home.

Make no mistake, the OceanGate submersible took numerous risks with its voyage to the Titanic, but using a video game controller surprisingly isn’t one of them.

(Via Vice)

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Wants Everyone To Know She Hates ‘Nasty Little B*tch’ Lauren Boebert More Than Trump Hates Dogs And War Heroes

Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert’s feud has been percolating for some time. They first appeared to be fast friends (who both heckled Biden while he spoke of his late son, Beau), and then fissures began to emerge until a heated war of words in the bathroom made clear that these two can barely tolerate each other. And with the most recent update, it sure looks like that Greene feels more animosity than Boebert, and Greene wants everyone to know it, too.

To briefly recap, a Wednesday heated House floor conversation yielded multiple confirmations that Greene called Boebert a “little b*tch” straight to her face. The Daily Beast provided plenty of followup to the altercation, which revolves around Greene’s allegations that Boebert “copied” her articles of impeachment against President Biden.

More confirmation came from CNN, to which Greene made a telling on-camera expression despite outwardly declaring that she would “neither confirm nor deny.” Boebert then told HuffPost, “I’m not in middle school. This isn’t a copycat game.” She added, “Copying her would be her going and demanding a vote on the floor, and then me going and doing it right after.”

That Boebert statement does not exactly clear up the “copying” allegations, but I’m not sure why either one of them wants credit for articles of impeachment that are so silly, even Republicans rolled their eyes when Boebert made her relevant speech. Business Insider related how (via Semafor) Greene is definitely now doubling (tripling? quadrupling?) down on her sentiment, and here’s what she unequivocally declared for all to hear:

“She has genuinely been a nasty little bitch to me,” Greene told Semafor when asked about a confrontation between the two women on the House floor on Wednesday.

“I told her exactly what I think about her,” Greene said of Boebert, adding that she would “absolutely not” be reconciling with her House Freedom Caucus colleague.

So, do not hold your breath for these two to hug and make up, possibly never. And yes, this sounds like Greene feels even more strongly about Boebert than Trump does about dogs or war heroes, including John McCain (“I like people who weren’t captured”). To close (for now), here’s what Greene further told Semafor about Boebert’s impeachment shenanigans:

“It’s purely for fundraising. It’s throwing out red meat so that people will donate to her campaign because she’s coming up on the end of the month, and she’s trying to produce good fundraising numbers.”

The “fundraising” allegation does check out. When Boebert revealed her latest round of impeachment nonsense on Twitter, she (of course) tried to fundraise at the same time. Are we all caught up now? Let’s hope so.

(Via Semafor, The Daily Beast, Business Insider, CNN & HuffPost)

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Barack Obama Swears He Doesn’t Take Any Shortcuts When Building His Famed Year-End Lists Of The Top Music, Movies, And Shows

Barack Obama was the 44th President Of The United States for eight years, but his most eternal legacy might be as an ongoing curator of books, movies, and music. Obama shares his favorite offerings every December, and his “Favorite Music Of 2022” list included Ari Lennox, Bad Bunny, Burna Boy, Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Omar Apollo, Rema, SZA, and more. That’s before mentioning his 2022 Summer Playlist

Hasan Minhaj asked what all of us struggling to complete ordinary to-do lists have been thinking.

“Mr. President, when you do your end-of-the-year lists, do you really read all those books, watch all those shows, and listen to all those songs,” Minhaj posed to Obama for a sit-down interview posted to his YouTube on Wednesday, June 21.

“I do!” Obama responded.

Minhaj giggled and countered with, “No, you don’t!” But he allowed Obama to make his case.

“People, they believe the books and the movies, but the playlists, they somehow think — and this is mostly coming from young people like you. Somehow, y’all think you invented rock and roll. You invented hip-hop,” the former president explained. “And so the fact that my lists are pretty incredible, people seem to think, ‘Well, he must’ve had some 20-year-old intern who was figuring out this latest cut.’ No, man. It’s on my iPad right now!”

Obama later added, “I am very scrupulous about making sure that this is stuff that I actually like. I will confess that there are times — on the playlists, on the music lists — where I will get suggestions because it’s not like I got time to be listening to music all the time. Typically, at the end of the year, what happens is folks will be like, ‘Man, you need to listen to this. This is good.’ But unless I’m actually listening to it, watching it, reading it, I won’t put it on there.”

Minhaj and Obama spent the rest of the 29-minute conversation discussing how bleak the country’s outlook feels, reflecting on Obama’s most trying moments in office, and updating his Twitter bio.

Watch it in full above, and revisit Obama’s latest lists below.

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

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Kim Kardashian Won’t Reveal Her Celebrity Crush, But She Will Discuss Joining The Mile High Club

Last week, Kim Kardashian shared her “man list” of her biggest turn-ons. This week, she dropped by Hailey Bieber‘s “Who’s In My Bathroom?” YouTube series to discuss makeup sex, kissing, and the mile high club.

When asked by the model (and Justin Bieber’s wife) who her current celebrity crush is during a game of “Truth or Shot,” Kardashian responded, “I almost want to take a drink because I kinda want it to come true.” The mystery man doesn’t know about her infatuation with him. “I’m more into privacy these days,” she said before taking a shot.

Bieber also asked her guest whether she prefers angry sex or makeup sex. “Makeup sex,” she quickly answered. “Isn’t that, like, the best? ‘Cause it’s like, you missed each other and it’s passionate.” Later, talk turned to having sex in a plane.

Kardashian — who last dated comedian Pete Davidson — asked Hailey if she’s “ever joined the mile-high club,” to which she replied, “Yes.”

“Samezies,” the mother of four let out — a response that did not surprise Bieber, who said she knew she didn’t need to reciprocate the question. “Why do you not need to ask me that?” a slightly offended Kardashian wondered. “You own a plane,” the youngest daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin reminded her guest. “I thought you were just saying, like, ‘Of course you’re a whore!’” the Skims founder quipped, eliciting giggles from both girls.

It probably wasn’t with Pete. He’s too tall for an airplane (or even a private jet) bathroom. You can watch the video above.

(Via People)

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Latto Got Naked For A New Photoshoot But Made Sure That, Like Her Music, It Was ‘Explicit But Tastefully Done’

Latto is the subject of a recent Cosmopolitan profile, and during the interview, she discussed the thought process behind getting naked for the cover photo shoot.

She explained, “My label manager hit me and asked, ‘Are you open to doing this?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’m open. It just has to be tastefully done.’ That’s why during the shoot, my eyes are glued to the monitor. My lyrics are vulgar and explicit but tastefully done, at least in my opinion. I wanted the pictures to be as well. Not just boom-bam right in your face, but more like a tease. Like you’re imagining me being fully naked and not really seeing it for real. I like the fantasy aspect to it. I felt like the prettiest girl in the world, like that’s the best I’ve ever looked.”

Of the monitor Latto mentioned, the publication noted, “We placed a screen within eyeshot for Latto so she could see exactly what the photographer was capturing.”

Latto continued, “I’m young right now. I don’t have real responsibilities as far as kids and a husband. I feel like it’s the right time to embrace how my body looks — and before I have kids and wrinkle up, I’m showing it off while I can, boo. Everyone always asks what my parents think about the sexy clothes I wear. My mama is here for it. She loves it! She’s like, ‘Girl, do it now!’ She had me at 15 years old and wishes that she could have flaunted her body before kids. And then she turned around and had my sister at 19. She’s my biggest advocate.”

Read the full interview here.