GoneTrending

Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx made his directorial debut in 2016 with All-Star Weekend. “Wait,” you might be wondering, “why have I never heard of All-Star Weekend? Follow-up question: why is there a photo of Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder above these words? One more: do you validate?”

I’ll answer these in order:

1. You haven’t heard of All-Star Weekend, which follows two friends (Foxx and Jeremy Piven) who attend the NBA All-Star Game, because it was never released;

2. The comedy also stars the very rich Downey Jr., who played an egotistical Australian method actor who gets “pigmentation alteration” surgery to portray a Black character in the critically-acclaimed 2008 Hollywood satire, as a Mexican man;

3. No. Sorry.

“It’s been tough with the lay of the land when it comes to comedy,” Foxx told CinemaBlend about whether All-Star Weekend will ever be released. “We’re trying to break open the sensitive corners where people go back to laughing again… We hope to keep them laughing and run them right into All-Star Weekend because we were definitely going for it.” In 2017, Foxx explained how he got Downey Jr. to agree to the role. “I called Robert, I said, ‘I need you to play a Mexican.’ I said, ‘Sh*t, you played the black dude and you killed that sh*t.’ We got to be able to do characters,” he said.

After 14 years of being in basically nothing but Marvel movies, Sherlock Holmes, and, uh, Dolittle, it would be nice to see Robert Downey Jr. do anything different. But does that include playing a Mexican man? As long as All-Star Weekend sits on the same never-seen shelf at Batgirl and I Love You, Daddy, I guess we’ll never find out.

(Via Variety)

Earlier this month, Britney Spears found herself in a spat with ex-husband Kevin Federline after he claimed her sons were distancing themselves from her. Nicki Minaj didn’t at all care for how that went down, so now she has sided with Spears and shared some unflattering words about Federline.

On the August 16 episode of Minaj’s live Queen Radio show, Minaj started:

“Do you understand what kind of a clown you have to be to be a whole grown f*cking man and as soon as you see somebody happy and getting married and moving on and being free and feeling good in their own skin, to do the very thing that you know is going to attempt to break them down? Going to the media. Only cowards use the media against a famous person who they once loved, they procreated with, they once were being taken care of by, using the person’s fame as this constant ‘gotcha’ moment, and you think you’re not going to f*cking have karma from it? You think it’s OK? You think that anybody is going to feel sorry for you?”

She continued with praise and more empathy for Spears:

“She loves her kids more than life itself. As soon as y’all see people feeling strong and good and confident and happy, and you no longer have them by the f*cking balls, you want to take your little goofy ass and do some motherf*cking interview. How dare you. How dare you encourage this woman’s children to be a part of your nonsense. And when they look back, they’re going to say, ‘Why? Why? Why did we do this?’ They’re kids, they don’t know how detrimental this is, but you know, c*cksucker. Leave her the f*ck alone!”

Listen to Minaj discuss Spears and Federline below.

At this point in Mehmet Oz’s Senate race, the (arguable) snake-oil salesman seems to be intent upon tanking himself, which takes a lot of legwork away from progressive candidate John Fetterman. Trump got really mad, too, about his endorsed candidate somehow still trailing in the polls after Fetterman got knocked off the campaign trail for months while recovering from a stroke. And in this edition of “Dr. Oz really shouldn’t have chosen PA for a Senate run,” the former TV host is following up on mispronouncing the name of a popular PA grocery store and having a really bad excuse for doing so.

How did Oz manage to one-up himself this time? In video footage (from a weekend campaign event) published by The Daily Beast, Oz was asked to reveal how many houses he technically owns. The answer from Oz: “Legitimately, I own two houses.” He also vaguely alluded to possible rent properties, but the Beast brought receipts (from public records) to list how many houses that Oz “legitimately” owns, and that would be a whopping 10 properties.

As expected, Fetterman was ready to scorch his opponent for (once again) pretending to be a man of the people and floundering. “I’ve never spoken to a PA resident who doesn’t know how many houses they have let alone be off by 8,” the former Braddock mayor (who earned a mere $1,800 annually for that position) wrote on Twitter. “I can’t tell if he’s trying + failing to sound like a regular person (with ONLY TWO mansions) or if he genuinely has no idea.”

You can see the full list Oz’s “legitimately” owned properties here, and they include enormous mansions in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania but also a few NYC condos, a NJ condo, and three pieces of residential real estate scattered throughout Turkey. Oh, and there’s another mansion on a Florida beach, which is rather amazing because Oz waded right into this mess despite, you know, all of this being a matter of public record.

(Via The Daily Beast & John Fetterman on Twitter)

Ahead of her new album, Holy Fvck, Demi Lovato sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to discuss the pop-rock-influenced project. In the interview, she opened up about her past struggles with addiction and seeing people around her die at a young age.

She revealed that she touches on this more in a song called “Dead Friends,” saying, “I’ve made friends of all ages. I’ve lost friends that were around my age, and those hurt so deeply because we’ve been in the trenches together. I had a lot of survivor’s guilt after my overdose because […] right after that, Mac Miller died, and it just put everything into perspective for me of, ‘That could have been you, that almost was you, and how are you going to live your life now?’ And it affected me a lot.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Lovato noted that her family has been an “incredible” support system as she navigates her recovery and sobriety.

“I’ve had members of my family struggle with addiction,” Lovato said, “so they are very understanding of it, and they know what it’s like. Do they worry to this day? Absolutely. That’s never probably going to go away with what I put them through. And put myself through. And as a consequence of that, they ended up suffering.”

Check out the full interview here.

Holy Fvck is out 8/19 via Island Records. Pre-save it here.

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

Joe Rogan has once again proven that he is not messing around when it comes to defending abortion rights. While the controversial podcaster has sided with Republicans so many times that he’s had to shoot down theories that he’s a “secret conservative,” Rogan significantly deviates from conservatives when it comes to the topic of abortion.

During a heated discussion with Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, Rogan completely shut down the right-wing satirist’s talking points when Dillon attempted to defend forcing rape victims to give birth, which Rogan opposed.

“There’s also women who have been raped, who should not have to f*cking carry some rapist’s baby,” the podcaster said.

“I’m not gonna argue with you on that point,” Dillon said before doing just that. “But I will say there are people who have been born of rape and are alive right now and are pro-life and they go around speaking, talking about how ‘I had a right to live’ and they will go out there and make an argument, a pro-life case. And they’re a rape — They’re born of a rape.”

Rogan, who has a 14-year-old daughter, was not having any of it. Via Mediaite:

“Like you don’t have the right to tell my 14 -year-old daughter, she has to carry her rapist’s baby. You understand that?” Rogan pushed.

Dillon began to argue back before being cut off mid-sentence, “To look that woman in the eye who was born of a rape-”

“Do you understand that?” Rogan repeated, “That’s a 14-year-old child? If you — a 14-year-old child gets raped, you say that they have to carry that baby?”

“I don’t think two wrongs make a right. I don’t think we — don’t think murder is an answer to — I don’t think murder fixes a rape,” Dillon concluded.

Again, this isn’t the first time that Rogan has used his sizable platform to defend abortion. Last month, he dressed from head-to-toe as a Founding Father and blasted the Christian right for taking away women’s rights. Clearly, he’s not backing down.

(Via Mediaite)

Zac Efron has been taking on some very interesting projects as of late. The former Disney Channel star had a “sick” travel show where he loved eating carbs and was constantly in awe of everyday people doing their jobs. It was riveting! Efron also starred in this year’s Firestarter adaptation and was recently cast in a wrestling biopic about the tragic Von Erich family. Next up, Efron will star as a lone man who just wants to give his friends a beer. The only problem is that it’s 1967 and all of his friends are currently serving in the Vietnam war. But that does not derail him!

The Greatest Beer Run Ever will follow Chickie, based on the real-life John “Chickie” Donohue, who actually traveled from New York to Vietnam in the ’60s, just to bring some good old-fashioned American beer for his friends. That’s patriotism! As per the official description:

To show support for his neighborhood friends serving in Vietnam, Chickie Donohue (Zac Efron) decides to do something totally outrageous: travel to the frontline by himself to bring the soldiers a little piece of home — their favorite can of American beer. However, what started as a well-meaning journey quickly turns into the adventure of a lifetime as Chickie confronts the reality of this controversial war and his reunions with his childhood buddies thrust him into the complexities and responsibilities of adulthood. Based on an incredible true story, The Greatest Beer Run Ever is a heartfelt coming-of-age tale about friendship, loyalty and sacrifice.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever will hit select theaters and on AppleTV+ on September 20th. The film also stars Russell Crowe, Bill Murray, Jake Picking, Will Ropp, and Kyle Allen. Check out the trailer above.

NFL teams look for ways to change things up during training camp, with a popular way for teams to get more data points on their strengths and weaknesses being joint practices with other teams. As of this writing, the New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers are in the midst of their second day of practices with one another, and apparently, said practices have featured a whole lot of fighting.

Things started to get tense on Tuesday, when a pair of scraps led to players on both teams getting kicked out of practice. New England lost wide receivers Kendrick Bourne and Kristian Wilkerson, along with center James Ferentz. Carolina, meanwhile, lost defensive tackle Phil Hoskins and defensive back Kenny Robinson.

It’s certainly not what you want to see — Patriots receiver DeVante Parker, per WCVB in Boston, was quoted as saying “It’s what happens when we’re competing and trying to get better. Things are going to happen, but we’ve got to keep on going to the next play.” The two sides got a chance to bury the hatchet and focus on ball on Wednesday morning, but unfortunately for those who did not want the teams to get into it, the teams got into it.

According to reports at the practice, Carolina running back Christian McCaffrey didn’t take too kindly to this hit.

Things apparently popped off from there, with the two teams engaging in some pushing and shoving. Eventually, Panthers back Chuba Hubbard and Patriots defensive lineman Deatrich Wise got tossed.

According to ProFootballTalk, there was another altercation that ended with Robinson getting tossed again and Wilkerson getting carted off the field.

On the other field, reports vary as to whether Patriots returner Kristian Wilkerson went down from a non-contact injury or was laid out on a kickoff return by defensive back Kenny Robinson. Either way, Robinson stood over Wilkerson, which Patriots players took exception to and another fight began.

The two teams are slated to play a preseason game on Friday.

Dr. Oz wants you to know he’s really relatable, okay?

Just because he calls vegetable plates “crudites,” mispronounces the name of a popular Pennsylvania grocery chain, and lives in a New Jersey mansion instead of the state he’s campaigning to govern doesn’t mean he’s an elitist millionaire who can’t commune with the common folk. And to prove it, he’s going on Newsmax to moan about how exhausted he is and how hard it is for him to remember his own children’s names.

Oz dropped by the network to explain his very public, very embarrassing grocery store gaffe to host Shaun Kraisman this week. For anyone who hasn’t seen the video, Oz visited a local Wegman’s where he seemed appalled that crudites (what regular working-class Americans would call a vegetable platter) now cost $20 a pop. His opponent, John Fetterman, has had some fun at the TV doctor’s expense, even fundraising off the now infamous video, but the people of Pennsylvania aren’t as forgiving, especially because Oz mispronounced a beloved cultural staple in their great state.

When asked why he called Wegmans “Wegners,” Oz tried to deflect by pivoting to his stale campaign talking points. But, when Kraisman just wouldn’t let up, the Republican hopeful blamed long hours and a short memory for his blasphemous blunder.

“I was exhausted, ” Oz told Kraisman. “When you’re campaigning 18 hours a day … Listen, I’ve gotten my kids’ names wrong as well. I don’t think that’s a measure of someone’s ability to lead the Commonwealth.”

Umm, we’d argue that being able to retain and recall vital information is actually an extremely relevant indicator of whether a person can (and should) hold office, but, way to dumb yourself down for the vote there, Dr. Oz. Celebrities, they’re just like us.

Blink 182 member Mark Hoppus was declared cancer-free last September, after years of fighting stage 4 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. In a recent interview with People, he opened up about his cancer and how it brought him back together with his former bandmates, Tom Delonge and Travis Barker.

In the interview, he recalled spending time with the two before beginning chemotherapy.

“It’s actually better than it used to be,” Hoppus says. “There was no agenda. There were no lingering grudges. It felt very back to what it should be: three friends sitting in a room.”

Hoppus says that reconnecting with Delonge during his treatments helped alleviate the pain. “Everybody’s in a really great place now,” Hoppus said, before teasing the possibility of a Blink 182 reunion with the original line-up. “I keep writing music, and I’m open to whatever the next phase of Blink is. I’m hopeful for the future. I’m just damn glad to be here.”

Though there have been no official announcements of a reunion, tour, or album featuring Blink 182’s original line-up, Hoppus remains close with Delonge and Barker. Recently, the three were present at the latter’s nuptials in Italy.

“Obviously it was a celebration for them,” Hoppus said, “but for me it was the first time that I traveled really after being sick and the first time doing normal people stuff, like going to a wedding, traveling, seeing friends — all the stuff that you’ve missed out on for the past two years, not only from being sick with cancer, but from the pandemic: happiness, joy, meeting, new people, seeing friends that you haven’t seen in awhile and catching back up, eating delicious food in gorgeous settings. As big a giant spectacle as it was, it felt very normal and very like family.”

Will Barton didn’t have to, Bones Hyland certainly didn’t expect him to. They were close at the time, but not to this degree of obligation, at least as far as Hyland knew. In the aftermath of a 2018 house fire, which took the lives of Hyland’s grandmother and cousin, and forced him to jump out of a second-story window and tear his patellar tendon, Barton FaceTimed the then-17-year-old to offer condolences.

Four years prior, in the summer of 2014, the two met when Hyland dazzled against Barton’s AAU program, Team Thrill, on the Under Armour Circuit. With vast, elegant shooting range, twirling handles, and indistinguishable flair, Barton saw similarities between himself and the precocious guard. Hyland was someone with whom he wanted to forge a lasting connection.

“He reminded me of myself, so it was like an instant bond,” Barton says.

Over the ensuing three and a half years preceding that house fire, they developed a close-knit relationship, yet never to the point Hyland anticipated a phone call from Barton.

“That phone call … it made (us) even closer. Ever since then, I always smile when somebody asks me, ‘How’s Will Barton to you?’” Hyland says. “First thing, before I answer any question, I always smile because it meant the world to me, for him to reach out to me. That’s something that I’ll take with me for life. He’s like a big brother to me. … That’s something you don’t find in another human being.”

Another pivotal moment occurred last summer, when the Denver Nuggets selected Hyland 26th overall in the 2021 NBA Draft. Barton was entering his fourth season as a starter in Denver, while Hyland hoped to crack the rotation during his first year in the league.

Initially, Hyland hardly saw the floor to open the year. The inactivity chipped away at him. He believed — rather, knew — he could play. He knew he could help a shorthanded Denver team and yearned for the opportunity. The problem: Hyland didn’t know when or if it would arise.

“I’m the type of kid like, I’m ready for anything,” Hyland says. “I want to get out there and perform every time.”

Despite their contrasting situations, Barton related to the youngster. As a gangly, energetic, and ambitious rookie nearly a decade earlier with the Portland Trail Blazers, Barton, for the first time in his basketball career, scarcely saw rotation minutes.

“That first year,” Barton says, “it was so hard for me, man.”

Veterans like Jared Jeffries, Earl Watson, J.J. Hickson, and LaMarcus Aldridge ensured DNPs would not extinguish Barton’s confidence. They preached patience and stressed that when it was his turn, is moment would come. Everyone spotted his talent in practice, even if playing time didn’t immediately reflect it.

“These guys not going to say I got game for no reason because I’m not even playing. So, they don’t have to just say that,” Barton says. “When those guys, my vets, be like, ‘Nah, for real, you can hoop, it’s gonna happen for you,’ it made me lock in.”

Barton applied the stories woven into his formative NBA years to calm Hyland. He recognized there was a tense anxiousness and excitement pervading the rookie’s demeanor. They sat down for an hour-long talk early in the year. Barton put his own spin on the lessons bestowed upon him when he broke into the league.

He underlined the vitality of mental toughness amid the rigors of a six-month regular season. Sometimes, five games might pass and Hyland would be glued to the pine; other times, he’d be the first sub or even thrust into a starting gig. Readying for the NBA’s mercurial nature was a necessity.

Everything Barton shared resonated. Hyland remembered the veteran swingman had navigated, almost to a tee, a similar scenario when he was trying to find his way with the Blazers. Anything imparted was not an empty platitude designed to half-heartedly appease him, these were genuine lessons born from personal experience.

“He was telling me, ‘Stay patient. Everything might not be working in your favor right now, but trust me, you’re gonna be out there,’” Hyland says. “I always listen to Will. So, to hear from him, it made me settle down a little bit.”

By December, Barton’s belief in Hyland started to pay off in a big way. In late January, Hyland solidified himself as Denver’s premier creator off the bench and invigorated its guard rotation. Over the final 20 games of the regular season, he averaged 14 points, 4.6 assists, and 2.9 rebounds on 65.6 percent true shooting (.478/.412/.839 split).

“He got it towards the middle of the season, towards the end and that’s when you really seen his game really pick up and you saw him be consistent,” Barton says. “That’s what I was looking for from him, just being consistent, because we all knew he could play.”

A trade this summer meant their run as teammates was short-lived. Barton and Monte Morris were sent to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith. The two did get a chance to work together again, however, as coaches at Under Armour’s Elite 24 high school tournament in Chicago.

Both are quick to spot their shared, discernible on-court zeal. So, their advice to these athletes harkens back to that overlap. Barton encouraged them to play with passion and understand that actualizing NBA aspirations requires more than mere talent — they have to nail the mental aspect and preparation required in the league.

Growing up, Hyland didn’t get the chance to showcase himself in front of NBA players and scouts like these folks do. He wants them to maximize this platform, take to the floor and let their game do the talking. They’re among a select number of high school athletes afforded this stage, so seize it.

“There’s nothing more refreshing for guys like us to see you playing hard, even with that elite talent,” Barton says.

Across a brief 15-minute conversation with a stranger, the unmistakable warmth and depth of Barton and Hyland’s friendship is illuminated. It features little head nods, side-eyes, and smirks between each other, harbingers of a profound, joyful kinship. Their words can only convey so much, and those nuances are subtle means to further emphasize their rarified rapport.

Domineering chuckles from one repeatedly drown out and interrupt the anecdote the other shares. They grow giddy discussing the commonalities of their games. Hyland bursts out in laughter almost every time the paralleling play-styles are mentioned, as if they’ve cracked up countless times about it together. Their words are purposeful and effervescent.

Barton speaks with reverence, clarity, and conviction about Hyland’s future, one he believes might include All-Star appearances.

“Bones, he could just be really special, man. Everybody sees it, and he sees it,” Barton says. “The sky’s the limit.”

Hyland speaks with admiration and gratitude about Barton’s importance in his life.

“Will had that humbleness to him, the same swag, everything. That was a connection. It wasn’t forced,” Hyland says. “It was just, ‘Well, we got that brother connection’ early on.

“I’m just thankful for our relationship. … I see myself in Will.”