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‘Veep’ Creator Armando Iannucci And Sam Mendes Are Making A Satirical Superhero Comedy Show Which Will Likely Have A Ton Of Swearing

As Hollywood continues to churn out bloated superhero movies (and cancel others without warning) it seems like audiences are a little burnt out when it comes to their favorite powerful beings. That, and the fact that several VFX artists have been speaking out about being overworked, seems to signify a shift in how we look at the superhero industry. So now would be the best time to create a satirical workplace comedy about the people who are actually making these franchises, right?

HBO has ordered a new series from the mind of Armando Ianucci, the creator of Veep and the less-loved but still fun Avenue 5. Director Sam Mendes, known for 1917, Skyfall, and once being married to Kate Winslet, will direct and executive produce the series. The Franchise will follow a crew who makes superhero movies and the subsequent obstacles they are forced to face when millions of dedicated fans are breathing down their necks to over-analyze every shot. The plot description, according to Variety:

The half-hour project takes a wry look at superhero movie-making. It follows a hopeful crew trapped inside the dysfunctional, nonsensical, joyous hellscape of franchise superhero movie-making. If and when they finally make the day, the question they must face — is this Hollywood’s new dawn or cinema’s last stand? Is this a dream factory or a chemical plant?

Iannucci is also a noted superhero fan, making his comic debut earlier this year with an issue of Spider-Man, so he likely knows the ins and outs of the superhero game. Mendes on the other hand was originally asked to direct The Avengers but never got around to it (he’s a busy guy). Now is his chance to get into the industry!

(Via Variety)

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Kevin Durant Reportedly Told Joe Tsai To Choose Between Him Or Sean Marks And Steve Nash

Despite more than a month passing since Kevin Durant’s trade request was issued and no team meeting the lofty package requested by the Nets, the superstar is still not changing his stance on wanting to be dealt this offseason.

To this point, we hadn’t heard much about the specifics of Durant’s frustration with the Nets — although it was assumed to be partially related to the lack of an extension agreement being reached with his friend and co-star Kyrie Irving — as Durant has been unusually tight-lipped about his situation on social media and his own podcast. However, on Monday, word broke from Shams Charania that Durant and Nets owner Joe Tsai met again in London, with the future Hall of Famer once again making clear that he wanted a trade away from Brooklyn, but with a very interesting subplot.

Apparently, Durant told Tsai to choose between him or the team’s GM-coach combo of Sean Marks and Steve Nash.

In a face-to-face meeting with Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai over the weekend, All-NBA star Kevin Durant reiterated his trade request and informed Tsai that he needs to choose between Durant or the pairing of general manager Sean Marks and coach Steve Nash, sources tell The Athletic.

Durant stated he does not have faith in the team’s direction, sources said.

It’s a rather incredible move by KD, made all the more interesting considering Nash was hired in part because of his relationship with Durant from their days in Golden State when Nash was a player development coach — and because Durant and Irving wanted Kenny Atkinson fired for a more star-friendly coach. One would think that if it was just about Nash, that move would’ve been made immediately and this whole thing would be handled, but Tsai has given Marks the keys to the franchise and allowed him to wield an incredible amount of power over the basketball side of things.

Charania also notes that Tsai and the Nets have been fully detailed of Durant’s reasoning for the request, with Shams simply noting the star wants “a change of scenery,” so it seems that this might go a bit beyond the leadership of the basketball operations department. There will be plenty of people who think it’s not a hard decision to pick KD over a first-time coach who has not exactly excelled in the role and the GM, but Marks is highly respected around the league and the Nets would be hard-pressed to get a top executive to join their team if it’s clear that the star of the team has hiring and firing power over executives.

This adds just another fascinating layer to the Nets saga, and if anything it only puts more pressure on Marks to get this right because now if the trade goes through the story becomes Brooklyn choosing him over KD. If that’s the case, it’s incumbent on him to succeed in the post-KD/Kyrie/Harden rebuild and reward that decision with at least a conference finals run, which would top the furthest this group has gone with their stars.

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The Warriors Had Chris Mullin Help Unveil Their TMC-Era Classic Edition Uniforms

Aside from their recent stretch of four titles in eight seasons, arguably the Golden State Warriors’ most iconic run of the past 40 years was spearheaded by Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond during the early 1990s, when they made the playoff three times in four seasons and nabbed a Western Conference Semifinals appearance in 1990-91.

To honor the franchise’s Run TMC Era, the Warriors debuted throwback uniforms for the upcoming season on Monday with help from Mullin himself. From 1988-89 through 1992-93, Mullin made five consecutive All-Star teams and four All-NBA berths with the Warriors and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010.

Accompanying these slick kits is a throwback court as well for whenever Golden State opts to turn back the clock.

The Warriors have some pretty rad jerseys throughout their history and these are near the top. That center court logo is absolutely sick and the nostalgia associated with Run TMC’s electric play-style affords these retro jerseys quite the positive connotation.

Among the Los Angeles Lakers simplifying their looks a few years back, the Phoenix Suns‘ gorgeous “The Valley” jerseys, and Golden State’s Run TMC look, the Pacific Division is crushing the jersey game. Let’s just get the Sacramento Kings to bring back their early 2000s jerseys and we’ll really be cooking with gas.

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A ‘The Bear’ Parody Revolving Around PB&J Will Help Fuel Your Wait For Season 2

The Bear‘s a food-fueled frenzy that captured the loins of the internet to transform the Hulu show into a breakout hit. Jeremy Allen White’s now moving far beyond Lip on Shameless, and that’s the case even though he hates Chicago pizza. Still, there’s the music and the question of whether Carmy will get down anytime in the near future.

Yet while you consider those very important issues, there’s a new The Bear parody to deliver the same mess with none of the great taste. Over on Twitter, avid comedian Tommy Bayer showed off his new PB&J (with water)-focused parody. It’s not quite as stressful as the original, but when a one-faced sandwich ends up in the wrong place during a freakout, you’ll maybe imagine how the O.G. show would never. Still! It’s fun.

These Chefs probably won’t receive the ultimate compliment of an actual Chef’s kiss, but I can admire their dedication to their cause. We could probably stand to see a mean Joel McHale berating someone in the corner with peanut butter at some point in the second season, and man, this parody is evidence that The Bear‘s long tail won’t quit anytime soon.

What do we know about Season 2, so far? Zilch, but surely, FX and Hulu will want to strike while that kitchen is hot. Hopefully, we’ll hear some concrete production news before too long.

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Beyoncé’s ‘Break My Soul’ Rises To No. 1 On The Hot 100 And Becomes Her First Solo Chart-Topper In Years

Beyoncé’s new album Renaissance has been an absolute event. The instant-classic album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and now Beyoncé is on top of the singles chart, too: On the new Hot 100 dated August 13, “Break My Soul” is No. 1 for the first time.

The song, up from No. 6 on last week’s chart, is Beyoncé’s eighth No. 1 solo single and first without a featured artist since “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” in 2008. (Worth noting is that the Beyoncé-featuring remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage” was No. 1 in 2020, while Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé’s duet version of “Perfect” topped the charts in 2017.) It is now Beyoncé’s third No. 1 without a featured artist, following “Single Ladies” and 2006’s “Irreplaceable.”

“Break My Soul” is just the second 2022 song by a solo female artist to go No. 1, after Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” which was on top for the previous two weeks.

This is the 43rd total week Beyoncé has had a No. 1 song, which is the seventh-most of all time. She’s currently behind Mariah Carey (87 weeks), Rihanna (60), The Beatles (59), Drake (54), Boyz II Men (50), and Usher (47).

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Lil Uzi Vert’s Outside Lands Stage Crasher Got One Heck Of A Souvenir

Generally speaking, crashing the stage at a concert is a bad idea. Security guards tend to get pretty jumpy whenever a fan climbs into an artist’s space uninvited — and for good reason, considering all the shenanigans that can happen up there (even the performing act isn’t always safe). But, every so often, drunk and/or overconfident showgoers emerge unscathed with triumphant stories to tell their friends — if they can remember anything the next day — and, even more occasionally, a great souvenir or two for the road.

That was the case during Lil Uzi Vert’s set at Outside Lands this past weekend, where a young man found his way onstage just as Uzi was set to perform their verse from Playboi Carti’s “Wokeuplikethis.” Although security acted quickly to surround the intruder, Uzi paused the show, asking the guards to wait one second, asking the fan for his phone, and offering to take a selfie with him. Security then directed him safely off the stage so Uzi could get back to performing. It looked like it could have been a tense situation, but ultimately, everything turned out okay.

Now, please do not take this as a license to go jumping on just any stage, even Uzi’s. Just because the Philly rapper was nice this time doesn’t mean they want their safety taken for granted or their kindness abused. And with anyone else… well, if you play stupid games, you win painful prizes. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

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Peter Jackson Almost Got Hypnosis To Enjoy ‘Lord Of The Rings’ As A Fan Again

Bringing the Lord of the Rings to screens is now Amazon’s problem, but Peter Jackson will never truly be able to shake free of the J.R.R. Tolkien series and its seismic impact the films had on the Hollywood landscape. Amazon Prime’s hefty budgeted TV series is gearing up for release later this summer, but the director of three film adaptations of Tolkein’s work is certainly interested in how the series will shake out.

And unlike those movies — and a few Hobbit-related films to boot — Jackson won’t have anything to do with the show. Which means he can enjoy them as a fan. Well, maybe. It’s extremely hard to separate work from ring-related recreational viewing when you already have several films set in the same universe. And it’s something Jackson has grappled with in the Tolkien-verse before.

As IndieWire detailed, Jackson appeared on the Hollywood Reporter podcast Awards Chatter and lamented that he put so much time and effort into the film trilogy that he never truly got to enjoy them as an impartial observer.

“When we did The Lord of the Rings movies I always felt I was the unlucky person who never got to see as a coming-out-of-the-blue film,” Jackson says. “By the time there were screening I was immersed in it for five or six years. It was such a loss for me not be able to see them like everyone else.

Jackson’s award-winning efforts for the films were obviously worth all that work, but he claims he really did try to figure out a way to enjoy them for himself. And he landed on one thing: hypnosis.

“I actually did seriously considered going to some hypnotherapy guy to hypnotize me to make me forget about the films and the work I had done over the last six or seven years so I could sit and enjoy them. I didn’t follow through with it, but I did talk to [British mentalist] Derren Brown about that and he thought he could do it.”

It’s difficult to say that Jackson is kidding when he uses words like “seriously” and also name-drops a hypnotist, so it’s safe to say that he really did some preliminary digging here. But it would be extremely interesting to live in a world where a legendary director was living out his own Severance-like existence just so he can enjoy Lord of the Rings movies like the rest of us.

[via THR]

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The Biggest Question Facing Each Team In The AFC North

Picking a winner in the AFC North is not always easy, as the division specializes in having four teams that beat up on one another in a season-long war of attrition. That’s especially the case this year, as all four teams have legitimate aspirations of making it to the postseason, and the only team that might not be able to make it, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are masters of finding a way to outperform what’s expected of them.

Today, we’re taking a look at the division and identifying the biggest question that each team faces.

Cleveland Browns: Who is their quarterback?

The Browns acquired Deshaun Watson in a gigantic trade with the Houston Texans — then decided to give him a monster contract extension — with the full understanding that he was going to face some sort of suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy in light of numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. After being handed a 6-game suspension by an arbiter, the league decided to appeal, and we should find out the results of that soon. Perhaps he will avoid getting handed the indefinite suspension of at least one year he wants, perhaps the 6-game suspension sticks, who knows. But one thing is for sure: The Browns made their bed by going all-in on Watson, and for some period of time, they are going to have to lie in it. We’ll see how long presumed backup Jacoby Brissett will start as a result.

Cincinnati Bengals: Can their defense build on a heroic playoff run?

I feel pretty confident that Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, and Ja’Marr Chase are going to continue to all be very good, in part because their offensive line should be better. Their trio of offseason acquisitions up front — La’el Collins, Alex Cappa, and Ted Karras — are not world-beaters, but should keep Burrow from running from his life, which he had to do far too often in 2021. But ultimately, the thing that got them to the Super Bowl last year was a defense that was just lights out in the postseason. They only allowed 313 yards against the Rams in the Super Bowl, while their second half and overtime performance against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs was the stuff of legends. Outside of losing standout defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, the team brings back basically everyone, although they do need to figure out a contract extension with star safety Jessie Bates. Between all that and a draft class with three defensive players in the first three rounds, Cincinnati may be dangerous on defense.

Baltimore Ravens: Will Lamar Jackson’s contract situation loom over the team all year?

Normally signing the quarterback who you acquired with a first-round pick and became a league MVP to a lucrative, long-term contract extension is pretty standard practice. But so far, the Ravens have been unable to come to terms on a new deal with Jackson, who is in the final year of his deal. Now, Jackson is saying all the right things about getting a deal done and he hasn’t tried to force any hands by sitting out until a new deal is done, but he has made clear that he has a cutoff date to get a deal done with the team. Jackson doesn’t seem like the kind of guy whose play will suffer based on his contract situation — he’s really good, he knows it, and everyone around him knows it — but with how the NFL works, every single time something happens with the Ravens, questions will pop up about whether or not Jackson’s lack of an extension is to blame. Of course, there’s a pretty easy way to avoid that: Baltimore can just pay him, and based on the long-term deals that guys (who, it must be mentioned, are not former MVPs) like Watson and Kyler Murray got this offseason, it’s going to be for a whole lot of money.

Pittsburgh Steelers: What does their offense look like with someone other than Ben Roethlisberger at QB?

To put it plainly, Roethlisberger has held Pittsburgh’s offense back the last few years. He was old, slow, immobile, and lacked any sort of arm strength that could keep a defense honest, but because he’s a franchise legend, Big Ben kept starting games, but even with his numerous flaws, at least the team had a pretty good idea of what it was going to get out of him. Now that he’s gone, the Steelers need to figure out which member of its quarterback room is going to be the man: first-round pick Kenny Pickett, longtime backup and occasional starter Mason Rudolph, or free agent acquisition Mitchell Trubisky. It’s safe to assume that Pickett, who was a Heisman finalist at the University of Pittsburgh, will be the starter at some point down the road, but can he win it from one of the veteran guys in camp? And once they get that all sorted out, how does their offense change from what it was with Roethlisberger pulling the strings?

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Brad Pitt Apparently Keeps A ‘Sh*t List’ Of Actors He’ll Never Work With Again

He’s making a list. He’s checking it twice. He’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice. Brad Pitt is coming to your movie — unless you cast someone he doesn’t like.

While accepting the 2022 Excellence Award Davide Campari at the 75th Locarno Film Festival, Aaron Taylor-Johnson discussed what it was like working with his Bullet Train co-star, Brad Pitt, who he called a “humble and gracious human being.” Taylor-Johnson believes Pitt is “in a new chapter of his life” and that he “just wants to bring light and joy into the world and be around people who are there to have a good time.”

The Nocturnal Animals and Avengers: Age of Ultron actor continued:

“You work with many actors and after a while you start making notes: ‘I am definitely not working with this person ever again.’ Brad has this list, too: the ‘good’ list and the sh*t list.”

Great. Now I’m going to spend the rest of my day wondering who’s on Brad Pitt sh*t list. It’s not Sandra Bullock, who he recently called “an old friend” who he “could call for favors over the years, and I have done many, many times and she’s always there.” It’s not his favorite actor Robert De Niro, either (they were both in 1996’s Sleepers). So, who could it be? It’s gotta be someone who Pitt has only worked with once and — I know!

It’s the taxi from Meet Joe Black. Such a diva.

(Via Variety)

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Alex Jones, Who Has Learned Nothing From That $50+ Million Verdict, To Take Aim At… Obama?

If you thought Alex Jones getting hit with over $50 million in damages would stop him from spreading wild conspiracy theories, think again. The InfoWars host stopped by Steve Bannon‘s podcast on Monday morning, mere days after being humiliated in court, and proceeded to gin up a wild new conspiracy theory about… Barack Obama?

When asked by Bannon if he’s “concerned” about the midterm elections, Jones opined that Obama could unleash a terrorist attack to tilt the results in the Democrat’s favor.

Via Raw Story:

Jones replied: “I’m worried that the Biden controllers, the third administration of Obama — I’m worried that Obama and his people may provocateur some type of big terror attack. They might launch a cyber attack and blame it on the Russians. They might start a major war.”

“I mean, they’re going to have an October surprise or a group of October surprises,” he added. “You can bet your bottom dollar on it.”

According to Jones, all of the polls are showing America is heading for a “realignment” because people are tired of “leftism” and “Hollywood,” so the Democrats are going to have to pull some sort of “shenanigans” to not lose in the midterms. Of course, this is a particularly interesting theory coming from Jones (and promoted by Bannon) considering both of them were heavily involved in the January 6 attack, which one might describe as some sort of “shenanigans” to change the results of an election.

It’s almost like the two of them have experience with trying to overturn democracy, but eh, it’s probably just a coincidence.

(Via Raw Story)