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Donald Trump has been on a roll, but not the good kind. In the last month the former president has a) had Thanksgiving dinner with two anti-Semites, one of them also a white nationalist incel; b) launched a premature third presidential campaign; and c) watched as his business was found guilty on 17 counts of fraud. The big guy needs a win, and last week he didn’t get one. After crowing about a “MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT,” the surprise turned out to just be lame-looking NFTs. Even TrumpWorld wasn’t feeling it, and that now extends to the conspiracy theorist freaks at QAnon.

As per Vice, after Trump announced a line of $99 digital trading cards, the reaction among those who believe in some wackadoodle pedophilic cabal involving the likes of Tom Hanks were decidedly unimpressed. The reviews were not kind. On Telegram, one person deemed it a “sh*t storm debacle.” Another called it a “foolish NFT cash grab,” while yet another saw it as nothing more than Trump “shilling NFTs for campaign funds.”

It’s a shame as the ridiculous NFTs seemed to be aimed at QAnon types in particular. In the video announcement, Trump said the cards “feature amazing ART of my Life & Career.” But did it? Some of them depict as an astronaut and a fighter pilot. (In real life, Trump was able to dodge the Vietnam War draft.) But few from his target audience were impressed.

“This is shady sh*t,” wrote one person on a pro-Trump message board. That prompted another to write, “A f•cking NFT? He needs a new PR team.” “a dogshit play.” Another called it: “Cringe and tacky.”

Not everyone was left feeling deflated. After Trump posted another video on his rinky-dink Twitter clone, vowing to “shatter the left-wing censorship regime” if re-elected, some claimed that that was his real “MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT.” Another went even further, making the auspicious claim that it was some 4-D chess plan to destroy NFTs.

“The invention of NFT was always an attempt to clamp down on free speech,” a QAnon supporter argued on Telegram. “What Trump is doing is clever, we all know the liberals will hate anything Trump supports. By creating his own NFTs he has destroyed liberal support for NFTs and thus shut down any notion that any Democrat can support the creation of the NFT legal internet censorship structure.”

Still, even they couldn’t argue that his dumb NFTs were good.

(Via Vice)

Donald Glover has a history with Spider-Man. Back in 2015, he voiced Miles Morales for two episodes on Ultimate Spider-Man. Two years later, he had a small role in Homecoming, the first Tom Holland solo outing. He played a character named Aaron Davis, who didn’t get to do much but who might have later: Davis, in one Marvel timeline, becomes Prowler, a baddie who’s eventually seduced by the good side. That never happened. But what is happening is Glover is taking on a different Spidey villain.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Glover is set to star in and produce a film about Hypno-Hustler, an obscure nemesis who first appeared in 1978. In the comics, he’s the lead singer of a band called the Mercy Killers, who use their music to hypnotize audiences then rob them blind. The project is still in the early stages, but it will feature Hypno-Hustler front and center, with Holland’s Peter Parker not likely to swing by. The script will be written by no less than Myles Murphy, the son of Eddie Murphy.

The Sony wing of Marvel has been on a Spidey villain spree. Along with the two Venom films (and, to a lesser extent, Morbius), they have both Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web in the works. Glover, meanwhile, wrapped up Atlanta, whose final two seasons aired mere months apart.

(Via THR)

What is Quentin Tarantino’s finest film? For some, it may be his breakthrough, Pulp Fiction. For others, it may be his most recent one, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Still others might say Inglourious Basterds. It’s got Jews killing Hitler, it’s got strudel, and it even ends with Brad Pitt saying, “This might be my masterpiece.” But there’s a way it might have been even better: Had it featured Adam Sandler killin’ Nazis with a baseball bat.

On a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s podcast Club Random (as caught by Variety), Tarantino confirmed a long-standing rumor that the Sandman was the original choice to play Sergeant Donny Donowitz, aka “The Bear Jew.” He’s the member of the mostly Jewish squadron who beats German soldiers to death with a club. He’s also one of the soldiers who actually guns down Adolf Hitler. He even shoots Hitler’s corpse in the face until it’s mashed potatoes. Eli Roth did a fine job playing the Bear Jew. But imagine a world where Happy Gilmore killed Hitler.

“I wrote the Bear Jew for Adam Sandler,” he recalled. “When I was doing Little Nicky, he’s telling me like, ‘Oh man, I get to f*cking beat up Nazis with a bat? F*cking script! F*cking awesome! I can’t fu*cking wait! I can’t f*cking wait!’ He was like telling every Jewish guy, ‘I’m going to f*cking play this guy who beats up Nazis with a f*cking bat.’”

Alas, it was not to be. When Tarantino finally got around to filming Basterds, it coincided with Judd Apatow’s Funny People, in which Sandler played a self-hating sorta-version of himself.

“Here’s the problem. [Judd] wrapped up all the good Jews [for Funny People],” Tarantino explained. “That was the problem. Seth Rogen and all the good Jews were doing ‘Funny People.’ I’m killing Hitler with baseball bats and there’s no good Jews available! David Krumholtz, nobody! All the good Jews were all wrapped up! I’m doing the Jewish male fantasy!”

Mind you, there were many good Jewish actors in Basterds, Roth and B.J. Novak among them. And Basterds is still one of his finest works. Still.

(Via Variety)

Fifteen Decembers ago, just like this December, James Cameron had a gigantic movie out in theaters. It was called Titanic, and it was for a very long time the highest grossing movie ever made (not adjusted for inflation). Eventually it was unseated by another movie: James Cameron’s Avatar. Will its belated sequel unseat it? Too early to tell. In the meantime, people are still talking about Titanic, particularly its ending, particularly whether Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack had to eat it. But Cameron, long annoyed by this debate, finally has a concrete answer for that.

In a new interview with The Toronto Sun (as caught by Deadline), Cameron addressed the biggest debate about 1997 money-gobbler: Whether both Jack and Kate Winslet’s Rose could have fit on that door in the middle of the Atlantic. His answer: No. And he even did a scientific test to prove it.

“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all,” said Cameron. “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.”

Here’s how it worked:

“We took two stunt people who were the same body mass of 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’s test contradicts a previous test done in 2012 on the show Mythbusters, which concluded that Jack’s death was “needless.” But it’s Cameron’s film, and not only has he scientifically proven that Jack had to die, but his death fit in with the story’s themes.

“It’s a movie about love and sacrifice and mortality,” Cameron said. “The love is measured by the sacrifice.”

(Via The Toronto Sun and Deadline)

The Weeknd can now add another award to his extensive collection of accolades. Today, The Slaight Family Foundation awarded the pop icon with their coveted Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award.

The Humanitarian Spirit Award is given to one Canadian artist, duo, or group each year, recognizing their social activism and philanthropy, as well as their support of humanitarian causes.

“That this is a Canadian award sits deep with me,” The Weeknd said in a statement. “Allan and The Slaight Family Foundation are known across the country for their generous philanthropy, and it means a lot to be acknowledged, and is an honor to be recognized along with the legendary Canadian artists who received this award before me.”

Over the course of the past few years, The Weeknd has donated to several causes, including $100,000 to Uganda-based maternity and children’s medical facility the Suubi Health Center, $50,000 to the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Toronto, as well as donations to Black Lives Matter and the Equal Justice Initiative.

Back in September, he met a young fan with cancer backstage at one of his shows.

The Slaight Family Foundation’s CEO and President Gary Slaight explained how he chose The Weeknd as this year’s recipient.

“The global success of Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye makes every Canadian proud,” said Slaight. “What Abel has done with his success is something that we can be doubly proud of–and this is to improve the lives of people in need, in Canada and around the world. His altruism, in a word, is exemplary.”

On top of the award, The Slaight Family Foundation will make a $50,000 donation to a cause chosen by The Weeknd.

Phoebe Bridgers has made an annual tradition of releasing covers of songs for the holidays that benefit various charities. This year, Bridgers dropped a version of The Handsome Family’s “So Much Wine” and the proceeds went to Los Angeles’ LGBT Center.

In previous years, she collaborated with Jackson Browne for 2018’s take on McCarthy Trenching’s “Christmas Song.” The following year, she worked with Fiona Apple and The National’s Matt Berninger on Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night.”

Bridgers, who recently wrapped a two-night run in London playing Sally in a live performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas, spoke to NME about why she’ll continue to release the yearly covers. The reason has a bit of a surprising backstory.

“I like f*cked up holiday songs,” Bridgers told the publication. “I always have. I remember being so inspired when I went to Nashville and saw where Elvis had done his Christmas album and, because he’s a crazy person, he had to make it feel like Christmas in July.”

“It’s also a cool thing to do for charity every year, and it’s fun. I like tradition,” she added.

She has also dropped solo covers of Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December” and Tom Waits’ “Day After Tomorrow” in the six years that she’s kept the tradition.

Listen to Phoebe Bridgers’ cover of “So Much Wine” above.

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks have had rollercoaster of a season, entering Friday night’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers with a 14-14 record.

The Mavs have a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde aspect to them, as they will look like world beaters when everything’s rolling, but when shots don’t fall and they are out of rhythm they can look as bad as any team in the league. The good news from a Dallas perspective is that the contender Mavs showed up against the Blazers, particularly in the third quarter as they turned a 9-point halftime lead into a 25-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

The play that will be the central highlight from what figures to be a blowout win for the Mavs is a rare Luka poster dunk, as the Mavs superstar pumpfaked a three, faked a pass, and then drove the lane before throwing down a monster dunk we don’t typically see from the MVP candidate.

The dunk is tremendous, but the best part is Doncic’s reaction as even he seems surprised by how hard he threw it down. Luka’s a certified #sneakyathlete in that he’s a husky white guy that spends most of his time beyond the arc and below the rim, but on occasion he’ll remind you that he is still an NBA athlete (and a gigantic human being) and throw one down. This time just happened to be in traffic and with a bit more force than even he’s accustomed to having.

On the heels of his new album, Herbert, Ab-Soul has shared the video for “FOMF,” which is short for “f*ck out my face.”

On the song, Ab-Soul is affirmed in himself as he makes a grand return to the rap game after a six-year break between albums.

“I’m in a league of my own / Y’all need to leave it alone / I’ma just eat everything / I’ma just leave you the bones / Call it an even exchange / There ain’t no need to explain,” he raps on his opening verse.

In the song’s music video, Ab-Soul is seen taking over a baseball field with his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates Jay Rock, Isaiah Rashad, Zacari, Reason, and Ray Vaughn. Fans cheer the rap crew on from the seats in the baseball stadium.

Ab-Soul, along with Rashad and TDE labelmate Kendrick Lamar have all been outspoken about seeing a therapist. In a recent interview with Vulture, Ab-Soul shared how his therapist has helped him over the past few years.

“I felt like she understands,” he said. “It wasn’t the commercialized version of how therapy goes. ‘So how does that make you feel?’ She’s still my therapist to this day. That goes back to how our people are turned off with the mental-health conversation, going to therapy. It means you’re crazy, all of the stigma that we’ve been taught. But I feel it becoming more of the norm for people who don’t want to go to therapy, who want to go try to be their best self. I feel it. It’s happening.”

Check out the video for “FOMF” above.

Herbert is out now via Top Dawg Entertainment. Stream it here.

Billie Eilish is bringing her London show from June to theaters with a special music film. Directed by Sam Wrench, Billie Eilish Live At The O2 (Extended Cut) will play for one-night-only on January 23 and features six never-aired performances from her recent Happier Than Ever world tour in 4K Dolby Atmos.

“We’re professionally filming this entire show,” Eilish told the crowd at the time. “It’s the only time we’ve done that. There’s like a billion cameras in here.”

“I’ve always wanted to make a music film that truly captures the energy of my live show,” she also shared in a new press statement via Variety. “These past 16 months have been so special to me, to be able to be back out on the road, performing live and sharing rooms with so many amazing people all over the world. This film is a visual live experience and keepsake for us all, celebrating everything that I love about this tour, and most of all, everyone who came out to see me. This is my thank you.”

Tickets for the film go on sale via Trafagar Releasing on December 21 at 9 a.m. ET. More information is available here.

Watch Billie Eilish’s new trailer for Live At The O2 above.

The Boston Celtics got some good news this week as Robert Williams made his season debut on Friday night against the Magic, and that proved to be very important because in the third quarter starting center Al Horford was ejected for a Flagrant 2 when he reared back and swung and elbow into Moe Wagner’s “groin area” as it was officially called by the referee after review.

As Brian Scalabrine notes, Horford didn’t like how Wagner was positioning himself with his knee behind Horford’s knee, but that won’t serve as a good enough excuse to tee off on someone’s nuts. Horford looking shocked he was getting ejected was the best part, because he’s been in the league too long not to think that’s getting a Flagrant 2 after a review. “Unnecessary and excessive contact to the groin area” is a new one for me, but it is an accurate description of what happened, and while Wagner got a foul for his initial contact with Horford, it was the veteran that earned an early exit for his frustrated strike.

That could prove costly in a tight game with Orlando, particularly as the Celtics don’t want to play Williams too many minutes in his first game back, but at least they have some better depth at center than they have for the first 29 games of the season.