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Warning: This post contains spoilers for Avatar: The Way of Water.

There’s a quite a long time between the original Avatar and its first sequel. How long? Long enough that Jake and Neytiri have teenage children. (One of them is 18. Perhaps Na’vi age quicker than humans.) But while most of the film is very impressive CGI, there is a degree of realism there. Cameron really did have his actors, in mo-cap doodads, hold their breath under water for Guinness-breaking lengths of time. He also insisted on casting real kids as the Na’vi kids, though he was worried that by doing so they’d succumb to something he called “the Stranger Things effect.”

What is “the Stranger Things effect”? It’s a term coined by Cameron, made public during an Entertainment Weekly interview, in which kid actors suddenly age a ton between seasons of films, as happened to the gang on the Netflix blockbuster (which Cameron adores). He didn’t want that to happen to his young charges, among them Trinity Jo-Li Bliss (7 when she was cast as Tuk, now 13) or Jack Champion (12 when cast as Spider, 18 now). He worried that if he spent too much time in between shooting sequels, they’d wind up “growing like a weed.”

Had he done that, Cameron said, “you get — and I love Stranger Things — but you get the Stranger Things effect where they’re supposed to still be in high school [but] they look like they’re 27.” He added, “You know, I love the show. It’s okay, we’ll suspend disbelief. We like the characters, but, you know.”

You could argue that CGI could have taken care of all that. But Cameron doesn’t do things the easy way. Perhaps it’s all part of the plan, and the fourth sequel will have Tuk and Spider be much older (provided none of them are killed by Stephen Lang’s now-Na’vi Col. Quaritch). Then again, he did cast Sigourney Weaver as a teenager.

(Via EW)

Twenty-five years ago, James Cameron released his epic “Titanic,” achieving a rare feat in Hollywood: a box office smash that was also loved by critics. “Titanic” won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and raked in $1.8 billion at the box office, making it the third-highest-grossing film of all time.

Even though his film is one of the most acclaimed in Hollywood history, Cameron still can’t help himself from getting involved in the great debate about the film. Did Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jack Dawson, die unnecessarily at the end of the film?

Specifically, could Jack have fit onto the door Rose floated on instead of getting hypothermia and drowning?

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Cameron has previously dismissed the discussion surrounding the scene. “I’ve never really seen it as a debate, it’s just stupid,” Cameron told the BBC in 2019. “There’s no debate. But if you want to unearth all the dumbass arguments associated with it.”

Around the same time, he noted that Jack’s death was an artistic choice so the size of the door doesn’t matter.

“It was an artistic choice, the thing was just big enough to hold her, and not big enough to hold him,” he told Vanity Fair. “The film is about death and separation; he had to die. So whether it was that, or whether a smoke stack fell on him, he was going down. It’s called art, things happen for artistic reasons, not for physics reasons.”

Regardless of how Cameron feels about the scene, the debate has raged on. “Mythbusters” proved that Rose and Jack could have fit on the door together. But they would have had to fit a life preserver beneath it to improve its buoyancy. Good luck putting that together in the frigid water.

America’s leading science communicator Neil deGrasse Tyson has also poked holes in the scene’s logic by noting that Jack would have put up more of a fight to stay alive. “Whether or not he could’ve been successful, I would’ve tried more than once. You try once. ‘Oh, this is not gonna work. I will just freeze to death in the water.’ No, excuse me,” Tyson told HuffPost. “The survival instinct is way stronger than that in everybody, especially in that character. He’s a survivor, right? He gets through. He gets by.”

Although, after Jack saves Rose from trying to jump ship earlier in the film, he notes that it’s impossible to think in such cold water.

“To tell you the truth, I’m a lot more concerned about that water being so cold,” Jack told Rose in the film. “Water that cold, like right down there—it hits you like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body. You can’t breathe. You can’t think.”

Even though Cameron dismissed the discussion in the past, he has to be a bit bothered that the pivotal scene in his film is questionable enough to cause a rigorous, 25-year debate. So now he’s launched a thorough investigation into the scene to settle it once and for all.

“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all,” Cameron told Postmedia while promoting his new film, “Avatar: The Way of Water.”

“We have since done a thorough forensic analysis with a hypothermia expert who reproduced the raft from the movie and we’re going to do a little special on it that comes out in February,” Cameron continued. “We took two stunt people who were the same body mass as Kate and Leo and we put sensors all over them and inside them and we put them in ice water and we tested to see whether they could have survived through a variety of methods and the answer was, there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive.”

Cameron is doing all he can to end the “Titanic” debate, but no matter what kind of research he shows, the scene he filmed will always have a hard time passing the eye test when someone sees it for the first time. But, that’s not so bad, the scene always passes the heart test which, in art, is all that matters anyway.

And, as we know, Jack’s heart will always go on.

Since it was popularized in the 1950s, the Christmas carol “Little Drummer Boy” has been performed by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and David Bowie, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and more. It’s a sweet, beloved classic that tells the story of a little boy who was invited to go see baby Jesus but had nothing to offer as a gift except his drumming.

But in all of the renditions of this song, there’s never been one quite like this.

For King & Country’s live performance of “Little Drummer Boy” takes the carol to a whole other level. If you like big sound and big drums and big lights, this will be a treat for you.

(And if anyone knows what that funky accordion-piano instrument the lead singer plays is, do tell.)

For King & Country (stylized as “for KING & COUNTRY”) is a Christian rock duo from Australia composed of two brothers, Joel and Luke Smallbone, who we see singing lead here. The platinum-selling duo have won four Grammy awards for their music. Their Christmas album, appropriately titled “Drummer Boy Christmas,” also includes other classics such as “Joy to the World,” “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “Silent Night,” as well as two original songs.

If you’d like to hear the studio version of the duo’s “Little Drummer Boy,” here’s the official music video for it. No flashing lights for this one, but it does include an actual little drummer boy:

Dwayne Johnson spent a decade-and-a-half trying to get Black Adam off the ground. Little did he know it would arrive at a fateful time: When it dropped in late October, it had to prove whether the DCEU, as it was run up till then, was worth preserving. The answer was clearly no. Black Adam underperformed slightly but just enough to have new DCEU heads James Gunn and Peter Safran do a massive, already controversial overhaul. Details are still forthcoming, but already Johnson’s semi-superhero is not a part of it — for now.

As caught by The Hollywood Reporter, Johnson took to Twitter (another place going through massive, unsettling changes), where he announced that Black Adam 2 ain’t happening any time soon.

“James Gunn and I connected, and Black Adam will not be in their first chapter of storytelling,” Johnson wrote. “However, DC and Seven Bucks have agreed to continue exploring the most valuable ways Black Adam can be utilized in future DC multiverse chapters.”

Johnson’s post was conciliatory and cautiously hopeful, filled with praise for Gunn and Safran, whom he emphatically wished well. It was also bittersweet. He noted that he’d spent 15 years of “relentless hard work” to make Black Adam, noting that even if it helped decide the fate of the DCEU, the “fan reaction” proves they “did great.”

Gunn and Safran have made some brash, shocking decisions as they prepare a new path for the DCEU, but they haven’t burned bridges. They may have ended Henry Cavill’s reign as Superman, but they want to at least keep him around. Aquaman may be on the chopping block, too, but that doesn’t mean star Jason Momoa won’t be reassigned as a different superhero. Black Adam, though, they may simply bring back. In other words, it’s not good, but it could be worse.

(Via THR)

If the holiday season is all about peace, love, and forgiveness, Marjorie Taylor Greene must have missed the memo. Like carving into under-seasoned, white-ass turkey for Thanksgiving, the Georgia congresswoman’s holiday traditions are just a little different than most people’s — and we couldn’t have dreamed up a better gift.

While MTG and equally batty Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert are often on the same wrong side of every argument, they’ve always seemed a bit more like frenemies. This was confirmed earlier in the year when they got into such a vicious verbal spat that they apparently had to be separated, like preschoolers fighting over the same Crayon. Now, the gruesome twosome are at it again — this time over their split alliance toward wannabe SOTH Kevin McCarthy.

The spat began where most trouble with MTG starts: Jewish space lasers! While speaking with conservative sh*t-disturber Charlie Kirk on the topic of McCarthy and the divide between Marge, who supports him, and Lauren, who does not, Boebert totally went there and declared “I don’t believe in this just like I don’t believe in… Jewish space lasers.”

The joke got a chuckle out of Florida Man Matt Gaetz and his hair, which REALLY pissed Marge off. So much so, Raw Story reports, that she tweeted out a 25-message rant in which she attempted to take down her frenemies, who she claims are bluffing about having any plan — or power — to block McCarthy’s nomination:

“It’s time for my friends in the Never Kevin Caucus to stop lying to the base just bc they don’t like Kevin McCarthy. They do not have a plan and there is no consensus candidate. Sabotaging the country for personal reasons is not brave or righteous, it’s selfish and foolish.”

Actually sabotaging the Capitol, on the other hand, is another matter. And an entirely different outcome had Greene and Steve Bannon been in charge.

If you’ve got an hour and a full bottle of aspirin (or bourbon), you can start scrolling through MTG’s full rant — with visual aids — below:

(Via Raw Story)

It’s no secret that food waste is doing a number on both our wallets and our planet. Food is the single largest contributor to landfills. Plus, producing all of that wasted food uses more than 20% of the U.S. supply of freshwater, and it creates as much greenhouse gas emissions as 33 million passenger cars.

As if all this weren’t bad enough, it’s awful (and absurd, really) to think that while this surplus of food literally rots, families go hungry.

Many people are taking it upon themselves to offset this issue, whether that’s incorporating everyday lifestyle changes or hosting pop-up dinners for those dealing with food insecurity. While these individual efforts are great, corporations also need to implement solutions. This is especially true considering U.S. retail stores generate about 16 billion pounds of food waste every year.

Kroger, one of the largest grocery chains in the country, established its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation back in 2018 with a simple mission in mind: to create communities free from hunger and waste by 2025.

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According to the foundation’s website, “35% of food produced in the U.S. is thrown away, yet 42 million Americans struggle with hunger.” That’s why more than $48 million has been directed toward organizations and nonprofits working to address food waste—from those focused on providing disaster relief to those creating more sustainable food systems. And a huge portion of the foundation’s efforts goes toward improving food access to underserved communities.

Some of their more well-known partners in the effort include: Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, ReFED, The Recycling Partnership and the World Wildlife Fund. But Zero Hunger | Zero Waste also heavily contributes to a wide range of innovative start-ups like reHarvest Provisions, which uses imperfect produce to create “superfood smoothie pops,” and Journey Foods, a software company that helps food manufacturers make their supply chains more sustainable.

“By working with specialized organizations and innovators across the country, we are strengthening community bonds to create a world where everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food and where no surplus food is wasted,” said Denise Osterhues, president of Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, in a statement. “With our collective passion … we look to the future with renewed determination and hope.”

Large corporations in the past have been guilty of deflecting blame when it comes to climate change, often putting the onus on consumers to take action. But really, a meaningful impact requires that everyone take responsibility and do their part. Which makes it great that such a mega-retailer is actually acting on principle and making a real difference.

If you’re looking to support the effort, Zero Hunger | Zero Waste accepts donations (which are tax-free) on its website. Or alternatively, it suggests to round up to the nearest dollar when you check out at a Kroger store, volunteer at your local community food bank or participate in a local cleanup effort.

And if you don’t have a Kroger store in your neighborhood, you can also shop at one of Kroger’s store banners such as Ralphs, Dillons, Harris Teeter, or Fred Meyer.

Chicago’s “Letters To Santa: The 24-Hour Music and Comedy Marathon” happened again this year across 24 hours on December 19th and 20th. Truth be told, at press time, Spencer and Sammy Tweedy were playing an experimental set in the event’s final hours. In short, it’s a benefit that raises money for families in need at Christmastime, where they get surprised on Christmas Day with “armloads of gifts” (and $10,000.) Along with the younger Tweedys, this year’s performers included Jeff Tweedy, Dave Grohl, Ty Segall, Chris Kattan, Bonnie “Prince” Billie, Steve Albini, and others.

For his livestreamed set, Dave Grohl pulled out a deep cut that hadn’t been played in a dozen years. Along with Foo Fighters classics like “Times Like These” and “Everlong,” Grohl’s five-song acoustic set also included the Nirvana rarity, “Marigold.” A B-side to the “Heartshaped Box” single and part of the In Utero deluxe release, it was a song that Grohl actually wrote in 1992 when he was with Nirvana and the band played sparsely with Kurt Cobain doing backing vocals to Grohl’s lead. Grohl wrote the song and eventually played it on tour with the Foo Fighters in 2006, and it appears on Skin And Bones, the Foo Fighters’ live album. It’s a very deep cut, a classic to die-hard fans (I had it on a bootleg CD when I was a kid), and one of the songs that were referred to on the Foo Fighters Instagram video as one that, “He wouldn’t normally play.”

Watch Dave Grohl playing “Marigold” below.

It doesn’t take a foreign policy expert to realize that things are not looking great for Vladimir Putin. He’s finally admitted to his Ukraine war brewing up an “extremely complicated” set of circumstances, and word on the street is that he’s plotting to flee Russia if/when he loses his war, and there are reports of him feeling increasingly “vulnerable” as Ukraine continues to reclaim territory. Now, Russian State TV talking heads are apparently seeing the darkness at the end of the tunnel, and they’re lashing out on TV towards anyone who dares to mention peace negotiations.

As The Daily Beast reports, on-air freakouts reveal “a very real fear that propagandists — along with military and government officials — would be forced to answer for their war crimes, including public incitement of these actions on state television.” Working for Russian State TV media is not an ideal path these days for sure. One TV editor recently (and bravely) interrupted a broadcast to protest the war, and she faced consequences. For those who remain propagandists, an even bigger price may be coming.

Via The Daily Beast, that’s led to Putin’s remaining allied talking heads declaring the need for their own type of tribunals (for those who want peace):

In recent days, multiple state TV programs have warned that Russia’s defeat in this war would lead to war crimes tribunals at the Hague or elsewhere, arguing that the only way of escaping that fate is ensuring Russia’s victory, by any means necessary. During Friday’s broadcast of NTV’s program Our Own Truth, host Roman Babayan led panelists into discussions about the need for Russia’s own war crimes tribunals, which should be set in motion in anticipation of an impending victory over Ukraine.

February will see the one-year anniversary of Putin’s Ukraine invasion with no real indication that Russia can actually win, despite Putin’s massive draft. And on a more frivolous note, the Kremlin still has not addressed the report of Putin pooping and falling down the stairs. I guess they’re busy fielding other important accusations.

(Via The Daily Beast)

In recent days, “nepo baby” has been a major buzzword (or “buzz term,” more accurately) online. Essentially, it refers to celebrities with famous relatives and implies the opportunities for success that they have received are primarily thanks to the fame of their families. (The “nepo” is short for “nepotism.”) Vulture recently ran a thorough, in-depth feature that cataloged most of the nepo babies in American pop culture, but what about music specifically? There’s a pretty sizable list in that industry, too.

(For the purposes of this list, “nepo baby” is not a judgement term and simply refers to musicians whose parent or parents worked in the entertainment industry or were otherwise noteworthy/affluent.)

Indeed, there are some famous nepo babies in the music world. A few that immediately come to mind are Miley Cyrus (daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus), Jaden and Willow Smith (children of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith), Norah Jones (daughter of Ravi Shankar), Robin Thicke (son of Alan Thicke), and Nancy Sinatra (daughter of Frank Sinatra). There are plenty beyond that, though, including some you may not have realized had at least one famous relative. Let’s take a look:

Coi Leray

Father: Benzino (rapper, producer, co-founder of The Source)

Leray has been one of the promising rappers of the past few years, plain and simple. In 2021, XXL put her on their esteemed “Freshman” list and she dropped her defining single “No More Parties,” which was her first song to place on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and be certified platinum by the RIAA. She also made some noise this year with Trendsetter, her debut album that included features from Nicki Minaj, HER, Lil Durk, and others. She also appeared on a 2022 cover story for Uproxx. NBD.

Clairo

Father: Geoff Cottrill (Chief Marketing Officer at Top Golf, previously of P&G, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks)

Through accusations of being an “industry plant,” Clairo has proven that she really does have the musical goods and that she deserves all the acclaim she’s received. Her two albums, 2019’s Immunityand 2021’s Sling, both earned spots on numerous year-end lists, while the former got her on the Hot 100 chart for the first time and the latter was her first top-20 album in the US.

Gracie Abrams

Father: J.J. Abrams (filmmaker)

In recent years, Abrams has become your favorite artist’s favorite artist. She’s joining Taylor Swift on tour in 2023 and she’s previously supported Olivia Rodrigo and The National. This is thanks in part to the strength of her 2021 project This Is What It Feels Like, which features some Aaron Dessner production and was well-received.

Maya Hawke

Parents: Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke (actors)

Hawke is best known for her breakout role in Stranger Things, but before the show, she was already working on a music career for herself. That’s been going well, too: Her two albums, 2020’s Blush and 2022’s Moss earned some critical praise, which, along with her acting chops, helped establish Hawke as a skilled multi-hyphenate.

King Combs

Father: Diddy/Sean Combs (rapper, businessman)

Combs has been grinding away at a music career for a few years now and it has really paid off. One of his freestyles previously caught 50 Cent’s attention and just this November, his single “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” topped Mediabase’s Urban Radio chart, actually passing his father Diddy’s Bryson Tiller collaboration “Gotta Move On” to claim the title.

King Princess

Relatives: father Oliver H. Straus Jr. (recording engineer) and great-grandfather Isidor Straus (US congressman and co-owner of Macy’s)

Nepo baby or not, King Princess has been one of the more notable breakout music stars of the past few years. Her debut single, 2018’s “1950,” has been certified platinum and she’s generally become a critical favorite. She’s even managed to transcend music by appearing as a guest judge on Is It Cake? earlier this year.

Samia

Parents: Kathy Najimy and Dan Finnerty (actors + Dan Band leader)

Samia built a strong foundation for herself with her 2020 debut album The Baby: It was one of the year’s best-received projects and it set the table for her upcoming second LP, Honey. Coincidentally, by the way, Samia’s video for The Baby lead single “Is There Something In The Movies” actually featured Maya Hawke.

Frankie Cosmos

Parents: Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates (actors)

Cosmos (whose real name is Greta Kline) is an established veteran stemming from the 2010s indie scene, having cemented herself as a mainstay figure through many Bandcamp releases and later a string of proper studio albums. Last year, she continued her string of beloved albums with Inner World Peace.

Buzzy Lee

Parents: Steven Spielberg (director/writer/producer) and Kate Capshaw (actress)

For years now, Lee has been plugging away and really making a name for herself in the music scene with various releases over the past decade. She’s earned herself some big opportunities, too, like working with Nicolas Jaar as Just Friends, collaborating on multiple occasions with Jpegmafia, and opening for Haim on their 2022 tour.

Elijah Hewson

Father: Bono (U2 singer)

While they haven’t broken out in the US quite yet, Inhaler, the band led by Hewson, is a phenomenon overseas: Their debut album, 2021’s It Won’t Always Be Like This, topped the charts in the UK and Ireland. It’s also easy to hear the genealogy in Hewson’s voice and sounding like a young Bono certainly hasn’t hurt, especially with the band’s rock sound that also bears some stylistic similarities to ’80s U2.

Stephen A. Smith is wired like a professional wrestler, a showman above all else who performs in front of millions — and millions — of folks on television. This makes it pretty unsurprising that Smith, on Tuesday’s edition of First Take, revealed that he is both going to WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles next year and really, really wants to have a role as a heel manager in the entire thing.

“I’m looking forward to going to WrestleMania in a few months, no doubt about that,” Smith said to the show’s guest, Ric Flair.

“Stephen A., I just got the word passed along,” Flair said. “Because WrestleMania’s in California, they know you love California, I think they’re entertaining the idea of having you manage one of these guys that can’t talk too well.”

Smith seems extremely open to the idea, but it comes with two extremely important conditions: he is allowed to work as a heel and he doesn’t get hit.

“Listen man, Bobby ‘The Brain’ Heenan, Paul Heyman and these guys, I would love to be one of these bad guy manager,” Smith replied. “I don’t know if you know that about me, Molly. I want to be the bad guy. I don’t want to be one of the goodie two-shoes guy. I wanna be the troublemaking, bad manager. I think I could pull it off, Ric Flair!”

Smith explains he’d need it in his contract that “no one can touch me” because “I’m too fragile,” which would take away from the dream of fans seeing Stephen A. getting hit with someone’s finisher. That said, Smith doing some mic work on the stage at WrestleMania could be great and given Smith was among the ones who broke the news Mania was headed to L.A., it feels like this could very well be already in the works.