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Will Smith left his mark on the Oscars (and on Chris Rock’s cheek) earlier this year when he unexpectedly took the stage and delivered the slap heard ’round the world. Smith spoke about it recently in a new video, offering apologies to Rock and to Questlove, whose Oscar win for Best Documentary Feature was overshadowed by the physical altercation that immediately preceded it. Those in Smith’s life have been careful when it comes to addressing the topic — neither Willow nor Jaden Pinkett Smith talked about it on the first post-slap episode of Red Table Talk — and now Willow has spoken about it for the first time.

In a recent Billboard interview, Smith’s daughter noted the aftermath of the incident didn’t “rock me as much as my own internal demons” and added, “I see my whole family as being human, and I love and accept them for all their humanness. Because of the position that we’re in, our humanness sometimes isn’t accepted, and we’re expected to act in a way that isn’t conducive to a healthy human life and isn’t conducive to being honest.”

Meanwhile, Willow is fresh off announcing a new album, Copingmechanism, and dropping the single “Hover Like A Goddess.”

Check out the full feature here.

Back in 1988 or so, Back to the Beach used to play on a never-ending HBO loop. It was always on and was kind of the perfect mid-day, nothing else to do movie for a kid my age at the time when the internet didn’t exist yet and I wasn’t old enough to drive a car. Paramount is releasing a brand new Blu-ray to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Back to the Beach and, I’ll admit, I was a little bit wary in a, “Will this still be good?,” way. Anyway, I had a fantastic time watching this again. It, strangely, works better in 2022 than it did in 1987.

Starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, at the time it was a tribute to ’60s beach movies with some cameos from the stars of Gilligan’s Island and Leave it to Beaver sprinkled in. But today, it really works as a snapshot of the 1980s featuring the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Fishbone, and of course Pee-wee Herman singing “Surfin’ Bird.”

Lyndall Hobbs directed Back to the Beach and, speaking to her about it now, she seems bittersweet. She’s extremely proud of what she accomplished on a tight schedule and budget – and feels she made some good choices in the aforementioned cameo department with names that still hold up today (well, except OJ Simpson). As she mentions, Siskel and Ebert gave the film two thumbs up, but she isn’t even sure how they saw it because, at the time, the film kind of got buried and she says there weren’t even any critic screenings. It wasn’t until its cable run that Back to the Beach took off, but, as she says, that really didn’t help her career.

So I had not seen this since it was on HBO. This movie makes a lot more sense to me now, if that makes sense. I had a great time rewatching it…

Yeah, it does. No, it’s witty. It holds up. It’s bizarre. I saw it not so long ago, too, and it was like, Gosh. This was really funny. And had some really good, cute stuff and some good jokes and just a really nice feeling and some great music that you know.

Well, I’m going to take it a step further. I’m going to say not only does it hold up, I think it plays better in 2022 than it does in 1987. What do you think of that?

Oh, well, excuse me. I’m very happy to hear that. That’s fantastic. Honestly, how about just whack it on back out there?

It’s summer. Everyone can go back to the beach.

People have been having such a hideous time for so long…

Well, that’s true.

And it’s ongoing as we know, so what about a bit of absolutely preposterous nonsense that’s fun and adorable and cute to watch? Anyway, that’s just my five cents.

At the time, I know Siskel and Ebert loved it. But I think the audience didn’t quite understand what it was. And since then, a lot of movies like this have been made…

Right, right, right. No, I think it did start something and you’re right. Listen, a lot of people were snobs. Also, let’s be frank, Siskel and Ebert managed to get it. Paramount, somehow, completely ditched it and there was not even literally a single press screening. The press were not allowed to see it. There was no opening, and for whatever reasons, Paramount decided to never release a single solitary, fabulous photo of me directing on the beach with my gorgeous daughter on my hip. The film was given zero push. So the fact that it was enjoyed by so many was great, but it wasn’t really launched in the way that had originally been planned. People just still come up to me and go, “Oh, my god”…

Are you surprised by that? Are you surprised? Like you just said, it didn’t get much of a push at the time, but it’s still a movie people like and want to talk about.

Well, not particularly. No. I think I did a pretty wonderful job, frankly.

Right, but there are other movies that I think people did wonderful jobs on that aren’t talked about today. I don’t think it’s a done deal that you get talked about today just because the movie is good. Does that make sense?

You’re right. You’re right. You’re right. I’m not sure. It hits some sort of nerve of just innocent, fun times that we like to associate the summer with. We like to think of it as America was a fun time where you can go to the beach and also, beach movies were things. So I guess there’s dumb nostalgia. Look, yes, I guess it does surprise me a little bit. Yeah.

Well, ’80s nostalgia, or its influence, never goes away for some reason. Speaking of Paramount, Top Gun is the biggest movie of the year this year. And Back to the Beach packs more ’80s culture into this movie than I think it does ’60s culture.

You’re right about that. No, absolutely.

Stevie Ray Vaughan and Fishbone, and Pee-wee Herman are in this movie. Were those your decisions?

That was on me. I loved Pee-wee Herman. I loved Fishbone. With Fishbone, they were like, “We’re doing a number with Annette?” I thought it was so surreal and crazy that they went along with it, which was great. And so that was an insanely mad, surreal combo. But, yeah. And Stevie Ray Vaughan is just a classic. I was thrilled when he said yes. That was a coup, I thought.

Tony Dow just passed away but he is in this movie. He and Jerry Mathers are basically playing Siskel and Ebert-type characters.

Well, that was adorable. That was sweet. In a funny way that almost made me a tiny bit sad. It was kind of like, “This is what they’re doing now. Why can’t they have a show of their own?” But, look, everybody just had a great attitude towards it. I don’t know. I guess there’s something about the beloved Frankie and Annette that everybody was just predisposed towards. Everybody kept saying “Yes”, which was surprising.

That’s interesting, because I’ve been thinking about this a lot since I re-watched this a few days ago. If Leave it to Beaver were an ’80s show, I feel today they would have their own show. I think people remain relevant longer, maybe because of social media. But you brought all these people back like Bob Denver and Alan Hale Jr…

Let’s not forget O.J. Simpson.

Yes, he is also in this.

Yeah. We probably shouldn’t crow about that, but he was perfectly charming at the time and professional. But there were also some very witty lines in there. The kid has some witty lines. The late Chris Thompson who created Bosom Buddies, he did the big re-write on it and there was some funny stuff that still makes me laugh that’s just silly, but quick and funny and witty. So I think people respond to that, too.

Annette Funicello was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis the year this came out. I don’t know if she had any symptoms while filming, but it is nice she got to do this movie while she still could.

Absolutely. No, there were no symptoms at all. I had no idea. She, obviously, didn’t mention it, but was brave enough and obviously, well enough to do it. But I think a year or two later she went downhill, unfortunately and it was… yeah. Incredibly sad.

Because there were talks about doing another movie and I read she basically said she couldn’t do it.

Right. Exactly. I’ve subsequently thought a TV show Back to the Beach where Frankie is now the grandfather, and then there are the kids and then the grandchildren are all hanging out at the beach and he took over the bar, but haven’t really pursued it. But it does occur to me that it’s probably time for some corny TV show like that with all sorts of new people and surfing.

So how were Frankie and Annette on set? The plot sets up Frankie as this kind of loser who just talks about his glory days on the beach. I kind of wonder how he was about that, ego-wise?

No, look, they were completely fine. They never added a word of a complaint or, “What if we changed this word?” Frankie and Annette were just absolutely professional beyond belief. Complete gems. Ready. They really, really were just complete pros and Frankie does have his moment in the end. He’s the Big Kahuna again there, on the board. So I think he was thrilled with that. He’s got a good sense of humor, Frankie. He’s smart. He got it.

You said you were a fan of Pee-wee Herman. Do you just call Paul Reubens and say, “Hey, do you want to be in this?” He had just done Pee-wee’s Big Adventure…

You know what? He was completely thrilled to do it. It was one night of shooting. There are not a lot of words. He did mime, but he didn’t have to mime a lot of words. No, he was totally into it. There was never a problem, really, getting anyone. I can’t think of anyone we tried to get that we couldn’t. They saw that it was a cute, fun, witty script. That side of things was great. When I turned it into a musical, I didn’t get any extra time or budget. So the fact that I brought it in on time and on budget was pretty great, but everybody worked like dogs and it wasn’t an easy shoot. It was really beyond exhausting and grueling, but we got that. It happened. And lots of long nights shooting.

Before we go, is there anything else that sticks out? Like, “well, this weird thing happened.” Like, Don Adams is in this…

I barely had time, unfortunately, to chat and hang and schmooze with these people. I know tons of my friends and people who worked on it would have all sorts of stories. “Oh, my God. We were having lunch and Don said this.” I didn’t have time for that. I had to be so focused. So all the cute things that happened off-set, I wasn’t privy to because I was working like a dog. All I can say is everybody had a ball and let’s do another one. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, but it was a pretty fun experience except that, as you say, at the time, it wasn’t a big hit. So if it’s not a big hit at the moment, it didn’t help my career. But, subsequently, it somehow lasted. So that’s very nice to know.

So with Don Adams, you could say you … missed it by that much.

[Laughs] Exactly.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert cannot stop letting everyone know that she didn’t pay attention to the U.S. civics portion of her GED studies. Whether she’s botching Samuel Adams and John Adams, not knowing what a pronoun is, or fiddling around with the branches of government and ignoring most of the Bill of Rights (she does love that Second Amendment, though), Boebert keeps those hits coming despite frequent schooling from the at-home audience.

Boebert’s got another doozy for the world. While excitedly showcasing her CPAC Texas speech from the weekend, she ended up pulling off a linguistic flub that rivals Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “Gazpacho Police” and “Peach Tree Dish” debacles. In doing so, Boebert (presumably) meant to slam Hunter Biden as “compromised” but went with “comprised!” instead.

This, naturally, made people wonder what Boebert’s own noggin is “comprised” of. The leading candidates appear to be “cobwebs, crickets, & conspiracy theories.” However, “air” and “moldy cheese” also make strong contenders. Add in some “hate,” and it’s a recipe for embarrassment.

The most telling aspect of all: Boebert actually deleted the tweet, which is a rare move for her. She even withstood the mockery after calling for more time to read bills before voting on them. Then again, the exclamation mark after “comprised” made this entry a little messier (and cringeworthy) than usual.

The Trump toilet photos are real.

No, this unfortunately (?) has nothing to do with the fabled pee tape. Rather, back in February, Axios published an excerpt from New York Times senior political reporter Maggie Haberman’s book, Confidence Man, that claimed “while President Trump was in office, staff in the White House residence periodically discovered wads of printed paper clogging a toilet — and believed the president had flushed pieces of paper.”

Trump denied the report, calling it a “fake story.” He also gave Haberman one of his oh-so-clever nicknames: Maggot Haberman. (It’s still better than Biden’s nickname for Trump.) But on Monday, Axios published photos of what appear to be illegally shredded documents in the can. One picture “shows a commode in the White House,” a source told Haberman, while the other is “from an overseas trip.” You can see both photos here, in case you want to start a new week with (clean, thank god) toilet photos. You do you.

Haberman’s sources report the document dumps happened multiple times at the White House, and on at least two foreign trips. “That Mr. Trump was discarding documents this way was not widely known within the West Wing, but some aides were aware of the habit, which he engaged in repeatedly,” Haberman tells us. “It was an extension of Trump’s term-long habit of ripping up documents that were supposed to be preserved under the Presidential Records Act.”

A spokesperson for Trump told Axios, “You have to be pretty desperate to sell books if pictures of paper in a toilet bowl is part of your promotional plan,” which isn’t a denial, exactly. Trump’s obsession with toilets and water pressure suddenly makes sense.

Haberman’s book, Confidence Man, comes out on October 4.

(Via Axios)

Fans of celebrity relationships had a loss to mourn a couple days ago, when it was revealed that Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian had broken up after nine months of dating. Now, Kanye West has decided to take the mourning a little more literally with his celebration of the relationship’s end.

On Instagram this morning, Ye shared a fake front page of The New York Times, which features mostly just a giant headline reading, “Skete Davidson Dead At Age 28,” with “Skete” being the nickname West has used with Davidson since the start of his and Kardashian’s romance. Below the headline is a subhead, a jab at Ye’s former collaborator and Davidson’s current friend, Kid Cudi: “Kid Cudi meant to play funeral but fearful of bottle throwers.” That’s a clear reference to Cudi’s recent performance at Rolling Loud, which he ended early after audience members repeatedly threw things at him on stage.

West has made it clear on many occasions that he’s not a fan of Davidson and his relationship with his ex-wife. He perhaps most notably showed that with a video for “Eazy,” in which an animated Davidson gets kidnapped and buried. If that was intended as an intimidation tactic, it didn’t seem to work, as Davidson apparently thought it was pretty funny.

Doja Cat made a significant personal change last week when she went ahead and shaved her head and eyebrows, explaining her reasoning at the time, “I don’t like having hair. I’ve never liked having hair. I cannot tell you one time, since the beginning of my life, that I’ve ever been like, ‘This is cool.’ I just do not like to have hair.”

Since she debuted the look, she has been met with fans asking if she is doing alright, which Doja has found annoying.

In a later Instagram Live session (not the same one she debuted her shaved head), Doja said (as NME notes), “I’m rich, I’m fine. Just the whole ‘Are you OK, queen?’ sh*t makes me want to rip my… I guess the hair that I have left out, and that would be my pubics. It makes me want to rip by f*cking pubic hair out, I absolutely hate it.”

In another clip, she added, “I made ‘Mooo!’ I have a song called ‘B*tch I’m A Cow’ and I got famous off of that, so it’s just funny to me that people are shocked or taken aback by me being bald and having no eyebrows.”

When Beyoncé released Renaissance, it immediately became the talk of the music world for reasons both good and bad. It’s an album that people haven’t been able to stop listening to and now the charts reflect that: On the new Billboard 200 dated August 13, Renaissance debuts at No. 1, making it Beyoncé’s seventh solo no. 1 album. All of Beyoncé’s solo albums have now debuted at No. 1.

Renaissance finds itself on top thanks to 332,000 equivalent album units earned, which is good for the second-biggest week of the year, beaten only by the 521,500 units Harry Styles’ Harry’s House had during its debut week in May. It’s therefore also the biggest week for an album by a woman this year. Renaissance is also the first 2022 album by a woman to top the Billboard 200: The last one was Adele’s 30.

It’s only been about a week since Renaissance came out but the album has already undergone some significant changes. First, Beyoncé vowed to change the lyrics of “Heated” after a negative response to the use of an ableist slur. The album also made use of Kelis’ “Milkshake” but that musical nod has since been removed due to Kelis’ discontent, with her saying recently, “This was personal on many levels which people don’t understand.”

Multiple times per week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts and ratings) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

10: TIE. Industry (HBO series on HBO Max)

This debauched take on the finance industry does not approach American Psycho territory, thank goodness. Rather, this drama will appeal to both the Euphoria and Succession audiences while charting the rise (and potential fall) of young go-getters in London. This is only for mature audiences, and this season sees the return of the principal cast (Sarah Parish, Nicholas Bishop, Caoilfhionni Dunne, and more) with all of them jockeying for better positioning as recent grads at a sought after company that’s highly competitive, even when one’s got their foot in the door. Watch out for those Oxford men, as The Great Gatsby once warned us all.

10: TIE. The Gray Man (Netflix film)

Netflix poured out at least $200 million for their latest blockbuster, and what a cast. Ryan Gosling (who’s also on the verge of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie) stars along Chris Evans’ stache and Regé-Jean Page, but don’t forget about Ana de Armas reminding us that she’s much more than a Knives Out ingenue and a 5-minute Bond girl. There’s action and spectacle and spy drama galore here, and the Russo brothers produce, so you know that you’re in quite a ride while watching Gosling attempt to dodge a (handsome) merchant of death and knowing spinoffs are on the way, too.

9. Prey (Hulu movie)

If you’re looking for a down and dirty return to the Predator franchise’s roots, then you’re in luck. It’s a very simple story about Predator versus (you know) prey, and it fights a bear that does not want to give up. There’s a female Comanche warrior who’s here to kick some ass, and boy, there’s a lot of violence in this installment. That’s surprising, considering the Disney involvement, but it’s certainly loyal to the franchise.

8. The Bear (FX series streaming on Hulu)

Is it time for Season 2 yet? People are still discovering this lean and mean kitchen-based drama, and for good reason. Jeremy Allen White is still giving those brooding eyes and intense orders while he leads his fellow Chefs through all manner of arguments and chaos. An exploding toilet only complicates matters, and now, I’m craving spaghetti. After a second viewing, I adore Ayo Edebir even more, and I want her character to lead a franchise one day. Also, there’s still one major lingering question that this show needs to settle next year.

7. Purple Hearts (Netflix movie)

This low budget entry stole some #1 Netflix streaming focus from The Gray Man, but both sets of clicks are going to the same place, and the audiences likely overlap, too. This story follows a convenience marriage between a Marine (who’s set to ship out) and a musician, but I think we can all guess how this takes a turn for genuine love. Romantic stories generally don’t bring too many surprises, and this one’s a crowd pleaser that pulled in love from couples with similarly-deployed situations.

6. Reservation Dogs (FX series streaming on Hulu)

Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi’s love letter to rural Oklahoma rascals continues. This story takes back ownership of the portrayal of Indigenous characters and turns pop culture upon its head in such an enjoyable way. We are big fans of the show here and the frybread recipe, but seriously, you should take the plunge of this rip-roaring ride and surrender to comically low stakes of crime for these characters because they’re irresistible, even with names like “Cheese.”

5. Harley Quinn (HBO Max series)

HBO Max is going through some stuff right now, to say the very least. Let’s hope that Harley and King Shark are not on the line because this show is so much more fun than any animated comic book adaptation has any right to be. Keeping this show going wouldn’t even be fan service because it’s simply straight-up good, as well as profane and violent and much breezier and bingeable than that gritty Gotham that every other linked production seems to want to visit today.

4. The Sandman (Netflix series)

Neil Gaiman’s seminal comic book series finally lands on the small screen after three decades of manifestation, all while the successful Audible epic reading keeps lugubriously flowing. Tom Sturridge plays the spiky-haired-and-jawed Morpheus, and he’s diving through space and time and dimensions after vowing vengeance against those who stole years from him. Gwendoline Christie is Lucifer, and Patton Oswalt voices Matthew the Raven, and this is a breathtaking tapestry infused with mythology, all wrapped up like a (wait for it) dream.

3. Paper Girls (Amazon Prime)

Kids on bikes (from the 1980s) facing off with sci-fi threats may remind you of Stranger Things, but this production holds its own while adapting the Brian K. Vaughan comic book. This isn’t a nostalgia trip, though, it’s a splendid rendering of friendship and the inner lives that we all lead, some of us more vivid than others. The leading young ladies of this story take a trip into the not-fantastic future and face off with their future selves, and this story is much more than a nostalgia trip.

2. Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head (Paramount+ series)

In an age where music videos don’t appear on MTV anymore, it’s a grand privilege to revisit these slackers as they stay innocent, for the most part, while cracking the most banal jokes that you’ve heard (and missed) for a long time. Yes, the fire controversy still lingers in the background, and there’s nothing new here, but that’s the best part of this returning production. Don’t call it a reboot, it’s been in our heads for years (thank you, LL Cool J), and all hail the Spirit of Cornholio.

1. Better Call Saul (AMC series streaming on AMC+)

Well, this prequel’s almost over, and finally, we got to see Walter White and Jesse Pinkman return to the franchise, but where does that leave Jimmy/Saul/Gene? People have lots of theories, and hopefully, we’ll find out the definitive answer of whether Kim Wexler lives or dies, and most importantly, whether she’s living her best life without that big sack of baggage (and mutual chaos). Did I really say that out loud? Yes, I did, but I was only talking about Cinnabon. Maybe. God, we’re all going to miss getting worked up about this show.

Dejounte Murray and Paolo Banchero stepped on the basketball court with one another over the weekend at Isaiah Thomas’ annual summer hoops tournament, Zeke-End. The game led to one notable moment when Murray got Banchero to jump in the air with a pump fake and eventually went off the glass to himself for a dunk.

After the game, Banchero posted that clip — directly from Murray’s IG — to his Instagram Story, where he revealed that he saw Murray unfollowed him across social media. He decided to call Murray out for this, but still made it a point to call him family.

Well apparently something’s up here, because Murray seems to be pretty upset with Banchero. The recently-acquired Atlanta Hawks guard and 2022 NBA All-Star thinks something happened with Banchero after he became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and despite the fact that the two go back — both guys are from Seattle — Murray accused Banchero of no longer being a “humble kid,” and now, he says “I lost all respect.”

A clip hit the internet shortly after Murray made this post that showed him talking some junk at Zeke-End, as he called Banchero a “little boy” and “soft.”

There’s no word on whether or not any specific thing happened between these two that led to this, but one thing is for sure: these two are making me excited for the four games the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic will play this season.

Rookies in the NBA, particularly those who go high in the draft, will have a few moments every year that remind fans why they are such highly-regarded prospects. But far more frequently, those young dudes will take their lumps, as the jump from college to the NBA is the biggest jump that someone can take in the sport.

The worst of these are affectionately known as welcome to the NBA moments, and on many occasions, these come when they get matched up against the very best guys in the league. In a surprise twist, Paolo Banchero got to experience one of those moments before he even played in an official NBA game, thanks to Dejounte Murray and an annual summer tournament put on by Isaiah Thomas.

Banchero and Murray went up against one another during a game at Zeke-End this weekend, and at one point, Murray got Banchero to bite on a pump fake. Instead of just shooting, Murray had a little fun at Banchero’s expense before tossing himself a lob off the glass and throwing down.

Murray even posted the video to his Instagram account and told Banchero “WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUES!!!!!!”

Hopefully for Banchero’s sake he’ll be able to find a way to get Murray back when the Orlando Magic and the Atlanta Hawks play during the 2022-23 season.