Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films — and to a lesser extent his protracted Hobbit trilogy — are some of the most beloved cinematic artifacts of the 21st century. But what about Amazon’s incredibly, absurdly expensive Lord of the Rings TV series? The show bowed last year, and while the company was confident enough in the reaction to grant it a second season, there’s one problem: A lot of people who started watching it never finished it.
In a new Hollywood Reporter piece on Amazon’s streaming service (in a bit teased out by Gizmodo), sources tell the publication that in America, the splashy, orc-filled show only had a 37% completion rate. That means the majority of people who fired it up, expecting more Middle-Earth magic, never made it to the end of its eight-episode run.
Overseas was a little better, but not great either, reaching a 45% completion rate. For context, hitting 50% would be solid turnout but still not ideal, especially for something that cost Amazon so much dough.
Again, that doesn’t Amazon is pulling the plug. Not only did they grant it a second round, but Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke even defended the low completion rate.
“This desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — it’s not reflective of any conversation I’m having internally,” she said. She also added that the second season will be a bit more dramatic. “That’s a huge opportunity for us. The first season required a lot of setting up.”
Of course, if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, there’s no rush to finish their Lord of the Rings show any time soon. They paid a fortune for it and it’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon.
Liam Neeson may be a beloved Hollywood figure, but in 2019 he almost permanently torpedoed his affable ass-kicker image. While promoting his thriller Cold Pursuit, he revealed a bizarre story about how, when he was younger, a friend of his was sexually assaulted by a Black person. He said that prompted him to take to the streets with a weapon, hoping to find a “Black bastard” who would “come out of a pub and have a go at me…so that I could kill him.” He quickly apologized for the anecdote, which he said was supposed to show how he overcame youthful racism and became a better person. He later made fun of it on an episode of Atlanta — a move that took some doing on creator/star Donald Glover’s part.
“When I got in touch with him, Liam poured his heart out,” Glover said. But Neeson was reluctant to return to his screw-up. “He was like, ‘I am embarrassed. I don’t know about this. I’m trying to get away from that.’ And I was like, ‘Man, I’m telling you, this will be funny! And you’ll actually get a lot of cream from it because it’ll show you’re sorry.’ He asked me to let him think about it. Then he sent me an email saying, ‘I don’t think I can do it and best of luck with “Atlanta,” blah-blah-blah.’ ”
But Glover wouldn’t give up. Neeson had told him that after the incident, he reached out to people like Morgan Freeman, Spike Lee, and Jordan Peele. “So I was like…Jordan Peele!” Glover recalled thinking. “I hit Jordan Peele up and I was like, ‘Look, man, I got this idea. He said that he trusted you. Tell him it’s a good idea!’”
That’s what Peele did, and soon Neeson was playing a fictionalized version of himself on the Season 3 episode “New Jazz,” which bowed lat year. In the episode Neeson has a run-in with Brian Tyree Henry’s Paper Boi at a bar called, appropriately, the Cancel Club.
“You might’ve heard or read about my transgression,” Neeson-as-Neeson tells Paper Boi. He continued:
“You know, what I said about what I wanted to do to a Black guy, any Black guy, when I was a younger man in London. A friend of mine had been raped and I acted out of anger. I look back now and it honestly frightens me. I thought people knowing who I once was would make clear who I am, who I’ve become. But with all that being said, I am sorry. I apologize if I hurt people.”
You can watch the Atlanta episode in question on Hulu.
As the old proverb goes, the tongue is mightier than the sword. Rapper NLE Choppa knows this firsthand. After all years of both private and public displays of admiration, NLE manifested a collaboration with Lil Wayne. However, his mastery of the English language doesn’t stop there.
Hailing from Memphis, Tennesee, the “Mo Up Front” rapper has his own secondary language of unique slang terms to help spice up any conversation. NLE Choppa stopped by the Uproxx studios to share a few of his favorite Choppa Language phrases. During the chat, the musician opens up about commonly used words not just in his hometown but other southern cities he often visits, including Atlanta, Georgia.
“Trim is an Atlanta slang that I kinda picked up on, but I’ve kind of made it my slang,” said NLE. When asked to use the word in a sentence, he gleefully said, “I ain’t gonna lie, this new car that I brought is trim.”
Watch NLE Choppa’s full Choppa Language 101 for Uproxx Music video below.
Outside of his NLE Choppa’s Choppa language, be sure to check out his dream NBA team roster with musicians or his UPROXX Sessions performance of his single, “23,” here. You can also watch his Behind The Video episode for the track here.
NLE Choppa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Donald Trump may have kept quiet during his historic arraignment on Tuesday, but social media was another matter. The first American president to ever be indicted on criminal charges has been a loose cannon maniac on his rinky-dink Twitter clone, where he’s done things like whip up his base to “PROTEST” his legal woes and, when the big day finally arrived, give a play-by-play en route to the courthouse. Trump may think he can do whatever he wants with no consequences, but the judge had other ideas.
GAG ORDER WATCH IS ON
Trump has been given a warning about his social media post by the judge in Manhattan. This is not a gag order (yet) but a warning. We KNOW Trump will not obey such rules, and when he next makes threats, he WILL get gag order
— Tomi T Ahonen Observes Arrestmas Solemnly n Bigly (@tomiahonen) April 4, 2023
During the arraignment, when Trump pled not guilty to 34 separate felony counts, the prosecution brought up his habit of firing off incendiary tweets, including about Judge Juan Marchan. They implied that he should issue a gag order, which would refrain anyone from mentioning the case as it’s going forward.
Marchan replied that he wouldn’t be giving a gag order, at least at the time. But there was a “but”: He then addressed Trump and his legal team, sternly telling them, “I don’t want to see this anymore,” referring to him riling up his base with reckless posts about anyone involved, including himself and Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg.
Trump’s attorney tried to push back, arguing that “selective leaks” about Trump regarding the case were “harming” him. He needed to be able to “defend himself” by siccing his infamous base on those working in the justice system. Judge Marchan was not moved.
It wasn’t the only time Judge Marchan chided Trump during the court appearance. At one point he warned him that he could be removed if he was disruptive. MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin reported that Trump “noticeably” sighed upon hearing that warning, then said, “I know.”
NBC News: In court, Trump showed no discernible emotion. He did, however, noticeably sigh when the judge warned he could be removed if he was disruptive.
Perhaps the reality of what he was facing finally dawned on Trump, who, apart from not being able to carry on a second presidential term after losing re-election, has never faced any real comeuppance for his actions. Anyway, we’ll see how long he lasts before dropping some self-incriminating post.
Indie music has grown to include so much. It’s not just music that is released on independent labels but speaks to an aesthetic that deviates from the norm and follows its own weirdo heart. It can come in the form of rock music, pop, or folk. In a sense, it says as much about the people that are drawn to it as it does about the people that make it.
While we’re at it, sign up for our newsletter to get the best new indie music delivered directly to your inbox, every Monday.
Boygenius — The Record
Even if you’re not interested in Boygenius, it’s likely your social media timelines were engulfed in The Record discourse. However, it’s much more pleasant to listen to these songs without tuning into the internet’s opinions; listen to “Satanist” in a field and feel the world around you become electric. Their best moments are ones like those, laden with noisy instrumentation and pop melodies, like on the infectious “Not Strong Enough,” which opens with a startling image: “Black hole opened in the kitchen / Every clock’s a different time.”
The Beths — “Watching The Credits”
Expert In A Dying Field was one of the best indie-rock records of 2022, and this track was recorded during the making of that album. It’s a great example of their signature brand of emotive power-pop; the instrumentation is infectious and ebullient, while Elizabeth Stokes sings of disillusionment: “I spend all day putting out fires / Listening to choirs singing / The end is nearing.”
Panchiko — “I Know”
It’s been over 20 years since cult-followed band Panchiko called it quits. 2000’s D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L is a significant record to many internet users, and now their new song “I Know,” an entrancing dose of dream pop, is exciting a lot of them now. In a press release, they described writing it: “Sat on the sofa. Surrounded by snacks. Games consoles and music machines were sampled, lyrics mumbled and 3 chord progressions were strummed over drum loops and blips & bloops.”
Scowl — “Psychic Dance Routine”
Scowl are getting ready to release Psychic Dance Routine, a scathing EP to follow their ruthless 2021 full-length debut How Flowers Grow. Following singles “Opening Night” and “Shot Down” is the title track, a tame but electrifying burst of post-hardcore. “I could be animal, for you I can’t resist / No spirits in my dreams / No psychic dance routine,” Kat Moss lilts, her voice volatile.
Jenny Lewis — “Psychos”
Jenny Lewis is back with the announcement of her first album since 2019. Joy’All arrives in June and “Psychos” is a pleasant taste. Against a mellow, twangy sound, she sings softly, “I am a rebel / All American made / Jesus Christ and the devil / Yin and yang.” Each line captures the acerbic wit she’s known for: “I’m not a psycho / I’m just trying to get laid.”
The Drums — “I Want It All”
There’s a subtle darkness to The Drums, whose brand of indie rock exudes ecstasy. Their new song “I Want It All” opens with the dismal lines, “I sensed a hesitation / The first time that you held me / So I closed the eyes of my heart / So I didn’t have to see.” Despite this, the sound is bright and dreamy, as if to disguise the pain.
Cheekface — “Popular 2”
Cheekface make catchy, jingle-like anthems about our current dystopia. “Popular 2” is an entertaining hit at surveillance culture: “I just want to be popular to watch / In the movie you put on from the camera on your porch,” Greg Katz quips. You’ll be tempted to chant along: “This is private property! This is private property!”
Clairo — “For Now”
https://clairecottrill.bandcamp.com/track/for-now
On Bandcamp, Clairo shared this new piano-driven track “For Now,” a stripped-down love song that used simplicity to its advantage: “Loving you is simple, sweet / And I’m bound to fall,” she lulls earnestly, unafraid of ultimate vulnerability, which feels like a return to her earlier material.
Hand Habits — “Something Wrong”
“Something Wrong” is an off-kilter ballad, blazing with a vibrating rhythm and a texture of electricity. “I’m aching / To see you again / Mistaken / Beginning inside of the end,” Meg Duffy intones with a confrontational voice. In three minutes, the sound culminates into a hypnotizing mess that ends jarringly.
Jess Williamson — “Hunter”
Jess Williamson’s “Hunter” is a country gem, made beautiful with her stunning vocals crooning breathtaking lines like, “It’s a life of delusion and love is the cure.” The images she conjures are poetic and tangible: “My love is purе as the universe / Long as an ashtray,” she sings arrestingly.
The Game of Thrones star posted to her Instagram Stories Monday night, slamming the ridiculous amount of Ozempic ads lining subway stations across New York City. Turner shared a screenshot of a Tweet that read, “The ozempic ads plastered across the Times Square subway station can f*ck all the way off,” before captioning the photo “WTF”.
Instagram @SophieT
Ozempic is a drug designed to help improve blood sugar levels in people with Type 2 diabetes but it’s also being used (without FDA approval) as a weight-loss medication. Plenty of celebrities and social media influencers have either copped to relying on the injections to lose weight quickly or been suspected of taking the drug, leading to a surge in usage. At one point, so many people were requesting Ozempic that the rise in demand led to a national shortage which impacted diabetes patients that relied on the drug for their well-being.
While many tout the benefits of Ozempic (and similar weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro) Turner seems worried the brand’s marketing tactics are crossing over into the fat-shaming realm. The actress has been open about her struggles with an eating disorder that became so severe, she needed a live-in therapist to keep her accountable. She’s spoken out about Hollywood’s obsession with unhealthy body standards in the past and it sounds like she’s adding Ozempic to the list of problematic diet fads on her takedown list.
The Dallas Mavericks are rapidly approaching the end of their season, as they will watch Tuesday night as the Thunder take on the Warriors in San Francisco to find out if they’ll be 1.5 games or 0.5 games back of the 10-seed when they play again on Wednesday against the Kings.
It’s rather stunning that the Mavs are in 11th right now, just one year removed from a Western Conference Finals run. While not everyone expected them to be a top contender again, very few thought they’d find themselves in jeopardy of missing the play-in tournament entirely. With three games to play and OKC owning the tiebreaker, the Mavs likely need to win out to have a chance at making up the gap to the Thunder — and get some help in the process.
As such, there’s been rumblings about whether the team will shut down their stars and just punt on the end of the season, which Luka Doncic pushed back on immediately saying he’s playing until the Mavs season is done. However, that hasn’t stopped the conversation from feeling very final about the Mavs season, even in Doncic’s conversations with the media, most recently when he was asked how much the team misses Jalen Brunson, who is now starring for a Knicks team that is soon to lock up the 5-seed in the East. Doncic didn’t even try to hide how much he misses his former backcourt mate, unable to hide a smile as he spoke wistfully about Brunson.
How much does Mavs superstar Luka Doncic miss Jalen Brunson?
When the Mavs let Brunson walk to New York, everyone knew it’d have an impact, but not many thought it’d be as disastrous for Dallas as it’s been — particularly after they traded for Kyrie Irving to try and fill that void. The problems extend beyond Brunson’s absence, but not retaining him required the Mavs to move key roster pieces for Irving, further causing balance issues that have wrecked havoc on their defensive strength.
As for Brunson, he also sees what’s going on with his old team and is surprised to see them struggling as much as they are, but isn’t focused too much on what they’re doing amid the Knicks’ playoff run.
Jalen Brunson is asked if he’s surprised at how things have gone for the Mavericks this season:
“I am surprised. I honestly have no comment about that, but it’s definitely surprising.” pic.twitter.com/gTTZvBz7pM
You’d have been hard-pressed to find many that would’ve had the Knicks making a guaranteed playoff spot and the Mavs finishing outside the play-in coming into the season, but we are just a few games away from that being the reality and the Mavs needing to do some serious work this offseason to right the wrongs of this roster’s construction that started with not bringing Brunson back.
When Michael Todd started his freshman year at MLK prep school in Memphis, Tennessee two years ago, he only had one outfit to wear to school. High school kids can be incredibly cruel and Michael was mocked for three weeks for wearing the same clothes every day.
“I really don’t have clothes at home,” he told KTVI. “My mom can’t buy clothes for me because I’m growing too fast.”
Kristopher Graham, a football player at MLK Prep, thought the bullying had gone too far and wanted to do something to help. “When I saw people laugh at him and bully him, I felt like I needed to do something,” Kristopher said. He texted his friend Antwan Garrett asking for help.
The next day, Michael was taken out of third period and when he stepped out of the classroom he was approached by Kristopher and Antwan. He froze with nervousness when he saw the two football players stopped him by the lockers.
Football players give student clothes
“I want to apologize to you for laughing at you and I want to give you something to make it up,” Kristopher told Michael. The football players handed Michael a gift, bags full of shirts, shorts, and shoes.
Michael couldn’t believe the football players’ kindness.
“I’ve been bullied my entire life.” But getting the gift was “awesome,” he said according to USA Today. “The best day of my entire life, basically.”
Video of the gift exchange went viral and has been seen millions of times. A few weeks later, the three teenagers were invited to appear on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” where they were greeted by Will Smith who gave them $10,000 each.
Antwan plans to use the money for trade school to become a diesel engine mechanic and Kristopher wants to invest his portion.
Antwan helped Michael because he understood what he was going through.
“We weren’t expecting the video to go viral. We just wanted to make a change,” Antwan said according to Commercial Appeal. “I know how it feel not to have nothin’. I don’t have much, but it made me feel better by seeing somebody else have. I haven’t had like the best of life. Everybody struggles.”
“My life has changed from sleeping in a house without no lights. With what is going on the outside affected me in school,” Antwan added. “I didn’t want to be in school. I wanted to help Michael and make him happy and it made me happy.”
The good deed was also commemorated by the Memphis City Council who honored the teens with a resolution and a round of applause.
Kristopher and Antwan are wonderful examples of what can happen when teens are taught that they have a responsibility to one another. While countless kids mocked Michael for something well beyond his control, they saw his plight as an opportunity to drastically change his life by taking action.
Just imagine if everyone saw others’ misfortune as an opportunity to help instead of judge.
We’ve all been there. Standing in line to be seated at a fairly busy restaurant while your stomach growls in protest. But when two women left a concert August 22 in search of food, they had no idea they’d find themselves taking orders and cooking food. Sylvia Arrendondo and her mother Idalia Merkel went to a local Denny’s in Texas and were seated by another customer before realizing the restaurant was extremely short-staffed. Instead of taking their business elsewhere, they decided to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Arrendondo wrote about the unique experience on her Facebook page where she explained that only two people were working. One was serving tables and the other was the cook. As for the man that was acting as host, seating new guests, he had no idea what he was doing because he didn’t work there. He told Arrendondo and Merkel that his wife used to work at Denny’s so she started helping to serve tables and he decided to help get people seated.
The service industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and the subsequent “great resignation.” Complaints about low wages, poor management and rude customers that abuse staff members are just a few of the reasons cited by people who have left the industry. It may be surprising for some to learn that the federal minimum wage for tipped employees like servers and bussers is just $2.13 an hour. The rest of the wage is supposed to be made up of tips, which, depending on where you work, may be split at the end of the night between other workers. This act of splitting tips is called “tip pooling” and is calculated by number of hours worked.
Splitting tips after a long day of work dealing with customers who may not have been so kind would understandably make some people upset. But it didn’t take a deep dive on the treatment of restaurant employees for Arrendondo and the other customers who helped out. They saw two seemingly college-aged kids doing their best to keep the place running and they didn’t hesitate to jump in to help, completely unpaid.
When asked why she didn’t just leave, Arrendondo said, “We just looked at each other and it wasn’t even a question. We both knew what we had to do.”
“This was probably the most beautiful act of American unity that I have personally encountered,” Arrendondo told Upworthy. She added that the sole paid server would occasionally start to cry before being comforted by the cook, only to return the favor when he would get overwhelmed.
Talk about community.
These two kids had exhausted all of their resources, including calling their manager multiple times. And instead of customers getting angry, demanding better service or walking away, Arredondo and Merkel stepped up. The kindness of this group of strangers will surely stick with these employees and the people who were involved.
“The strength, courage and integrity by these two workers was beyond admirable. My mom and I have never been so proud and happy to help,” Arrendondo told Upworthy. “After all, we have all been there.”
Eventually after some convincing, the two employees shut the restaurant down and Arrendondo and Merkel went home much more tired than anticipated. Still hungry, but full of gratitude and pride.
Imagine spending every day exploring wondrous locations, eating expertly crafted meals, enjoying year-round indulgence … could there be anything better?
Taking a lifelong cruise might sound like something out of a dream, and an unrealistic one at that. But leaving the land behind and adopting a seafaring lifestyle is now more attainable than ever.
The cruise will definitely be the stuff of luxury, with its high-end spas, movie theater, yoga sun deck, state-of-the-art fitness center, art studio … it even has a bowling alley, for crying out loud. But being a “residential community at sea,” there will also be things like a library, post office, school and bank.
Perhaps the funnest part—in addition to extended stays in exotic locations—residents will have a say in where the vessel goes. “What a typical cruise line might do in one month or three weeks, we will take three to four months to do,” Storylines founder and CEO Alister Punton told CNN Travel, adding that the residents “have opportunities to have input into where the ship goes next.” These “residents choice” days allow those on board to choose the ports of call.
Is MV Narrative the only residential ship to sail the seven seas? No. The World has offered residential living since 2002, according to The Real Deal. Other lines, like Utopia and Victoria Cruises, also offer an all-inclusive lifestyle.
However, it could be the most eco-friendly. Travel and Leisure noted that the ship will run on clean-burning liquid gas and have a zero-waste farmers market selling local products. “We will definitely be the greenest cruise ship out there,” Punton shared with CNN Travel.
Travel and Leisure states the MV Narrative’s current listing price range from $1 million to $8 million to own, with a small number of 24-year leases available from $600,000, which works out to around $25,000 per year.
Of course, if you were to forgo any homeownership and chose instead to live the life of a nomad, a lifelong cruise could be an even cheaper and more accessible option. Earlier this year, retired couple Angelyn and Richard Burk made headlines by fulfilling their travel dreams of hopping from ship to ship … all for around $36,000. Yep, less than an average mortgage. It’s no wonder why this is such a popular trend for adventurous folks of retirement age.
This might be because people are attracted to having both adventure and the comfort of home, which Storylines provides. “At the end of a long day discovering a new exotic location, they can come home to friends and familiar surroundings and sleep in their own bed,” Storylines co-founder, Shannon Lee, wrote in an email to Travel and Leisure.
What a time to be alive, when you can travel the world and never leave home.
This article originally appeared on 08.18.22
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