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Madonna is one of the most dynamic and world-conquering performers in pop music history. So why did it take five decades into her career to make a movie about her life? (Fox’s Madonna: Innocence Lost does not count.) Sexist dudes, basically.

In a recent interview with Variety, Madonna was asked for an update on Little Sparrow, the Diablo Cody-co-written biopic reportedly starring Ozark and The Americans great Julia Garner as the Queen of Pop. “I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter. I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs,” she said.

As for why she decided to make this film, Madonna said, “I’ve had an extraordinary life, I must make an extraordinary film. It was also a preemptive strike because a lot of people were trying to make movies about me. Mostly misogynistic men.” She eventually decided to put her foot in the door and said, “No one’s going to tell my story, but me.”

Hopefully she’ll make an exception for Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

The auditions to play Madonna included daily choreography lessons, some lasting as long as 11 hours, “with Madonna’s choreographer, after which there are choreography sessions with Madonna, herself,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. “And then there are callbacks, which consist of readings with Madonna, as well as singing auditions with the superstar.” If Garner did indeed get the role, she’s a lucky star.

(Via Variety)

The Golden State Warriors have been willing to spend big over the years if it means they’re able to compete for a championship. It’s worked out pretty well for them, because even though they’ve routinely boasted some of the most expensive rosters in the history of the NBA, the Warriors have won four of the last eight championships and made it to the NBA Finals an additional two times.

The issue is that between the team’s veteran core and their newer, younger players who have blossomed into important players for the future, things have the potential to get more expensive than ever in the not too distant future. While Steph Curry is locked in through the 2025-26 season, Golden State has a number of gigantic decisions to make sooner rather than later.

One of those revolves around Draymond Green, who is set to make $25.8 million next season and has a player option worth $27.6 million the year after. Per Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic, the 32-year-old do-everything forward “wants and believes” that he should get a 4-year max extension, and is eligible to sign one worth $138.4 million starting on Aug. 3. The issue, however, is that the Warriors don’t seem keen to offer him one.

All indications, though, are that the Warriors have no plans to offer Green a maximum extension, and there isn’t any current traction on any type of extension. The typical pattern of this Golden State front office is to extend with one year remaining. Even Stephen Curry waited until one year remained before signing his max extension last offseason. Green has two years remaining on the maximum extension he signed in 2019. While he could opt out a year earlier, the Warriors’ current preference is to talk extension with Green next summer.

The pair went on to report that Green is “willing to explore his outside options to get the kind of contract he wants,” and while the team would take that risk, there are concerns about how Curry would react to Green potentially leaving “because the team didn’t want to pay him.” Should Green decline his player option and sign a 4-year deal for any amount with the Warriors next summer, the final year of his deal would take place during the 2026-27 campaign.

It’s been four months since Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars, and the comedian hasn’t said much about the incident outside of a few stray remarks during his shows. In fact, Rock has routinely joked that when he does talk about The Slap, it’ll be for money. “I’ll get to it eventually, on Netflix,” he quipped during a London performance back in May.

However, Rock seems to be letting the viral moment slip into his routine. During a recent set in New Jersey, the comedian opened up about the Oscars incident. “Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face,” Rock joked before referring to Will Smith as “Suge Smith.” Via Us Weekly:

Later, during a sketch about people being overly sensitive and playing the victim, Rock declared, “I’m not a victim, mother–ker,” before joking that he “shook that s–t off” and returned to work. “Yeah, that sh-t hurt, motherf–ker,” he continued. “But I shook that sh-t off and went to work the next day … I don’t go to the hospital for a papercut.”

The New Jersey show is the most that Rock has talked about the Oscars incident. Smith, on the other hand, issued a public (but not personal) apology for the incident, and wife, Jada Pinkett Smith has called for the two men to bury the hatchet.

“My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile,” Pinkett Smith said during a June episode of her Red Table Talk web series.

(Via Us Weekly)

Despite being one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood right now, Sydney Sweeney is still getting used to being a household name. The actress secured multiple Emmy nominations this year for her role in both Euphoria and The White Lotus, and she’s gearing up to sling some webs alongside Dakota Johnson and Adam Scott in the upcoming Madame Web.

After a busy few years, Sweeney has finally gained enough momentum in Hollywood to get work, though she says that it’s a lot harder for actors to afford to stay in the business than it used to be. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actress says that despite her long days, she doesn’t have quite enough star power to take long breaks without working.

“If I wanted to take a six-month break, I don’t have income to cover that,” Sweeney explained. “I don’t have someone supporting me, I don’t have anyone I can turn to, to pay my bills or call for help. They don’t pay actors like they used to, and with streamers, you no longer get residuals,” Sweeney added. “The established stars still get paid, but I have to give 5 percent to my lawyer, 10 percent to my agents, 3 percent or something like that to my business manager. I have to pay my publicist every month, and that’s more than my mortgage.”

Still, the actress was able to buy a house earlier this year, thanks to her brand deals and ad campaigns that help pay the bills. “If I just acted, I wouldn’t be able to afford my life in L.A. I take deals because I have to.”

What’s even more shocking than her bills is the fact that she doesn’t drink coffee at all to keep up with her no-sleep lifestyle. She admited, “If I’m celebrating, or it’s a very rare occasion, I’ll have a Shirley Temple.” Hopefully, she had a celebratory Shirley when she scored her Emmy noms earlier this year!

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

On Tuesday, Donald Trump made his first return to Washington, D.C. since scurrying off in a cloud of shame as he reluctantly handed over the keys to The White House, despite his very vocal protestations that he was the real winner in a presidential election that he lost by more than 7 million votes.

Trump was in our nation’s capital on Tuesday—not to foment another riot, but to give what his team was describing as a “policy speech” at the very first annual gathering of the America First Policy Institute, a think tank created by several members of the former Trump administration (and, yes we know that sounds like an oxymoron). As The Daily Beast reports, Trump made sure the crowd that had gathered to hear him was a friendly one, while he revisited past policy suggestions (let’s execute drug dealers!) then shared his brilliant idea for solving America’s homeless crisis, which seems to largely rely on the old “out of sight, out of mind” adage, and would involve lots and lots of tents.

While focusing on the topic of how to “Make America Great Again,” Trump pointed to the homeless populations filling our cities are one of the country’s great scourges. Fortunately, he has a plan to fix that—and it’s basically to erase those individuals struggling with homelessness off the planet. As Trump explained:

Perhaps some people will not like hearing this, but the only way you’re going to remove the hundreds of thousands of people — and maybe throughout our nation, millions of people we’re talking about — and help make our cities clean, safe, and beautiful again is to open up large parcels of inexpensive land in the outer reaches of the cities. Bring medical professionals, including doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, [and] drug rehab specialists. Build permanent bathrooms and other facilities — make ‘em good, make ‘em hard, but build them fast — and create thousands and thousands of high-quality tents, which can be done in one day. One day.

Call it “Hamsterdam for the Homeless Population.” Understanding that there would be some inevitable backlash to this clearly terrible and dehumanizing idea, Trump noted that some people would think his plan was “horrible,” but he proactively disagreed. “What’s horrible is what’s happening now,” he said. “Because now they’re in tents, but most of them aren’t even in tents that function.”

“Them.”

Trump touched upon other topics with more of his trademark empathy, like when he repeated his long-held belief that drug dealers should be executed. ‘Cause: Why not?

While Trump didn’t make any announcements about his plans for the 2024 presidential election, he did note that he believes a Republican can and will win the office back. What he very conveniently did not mention is that he might not be the guy to do it, as he could be sitting in jail for his attempts to overthrow the government—especially since yesterday’s announcement that the Department of Justice is zeroing its investigation into the events of January 6th in on Trump directly.

(Via The Daily Beast)

Khruangbin is collaborating with Vieux Farka Touré to honor the latter’s late father, Malian guitarist, Ali Farka Touré. Their upcoming joint album, called Ali, will recreate the legendary namesake guitarist’s work by way of experimental sounds, while maintaining the soul of the originals.

“I want this album to convey love. It is about the love that Ali brought into the world,” said Vieux in a statement. “It is about the love that I have for him and that Khruangbin has for his music. It is about pouring your love into something old to make it new again​.​”

Ahead of the album, Khruangbin and Vieux have released a single called “Savanne,” a hypnotic, guitar-driven track, with conga drums in the background, on which, Ali’s vocal samples repeat throughout.

When deciding how to arrange the album, Vieux chose his favorite songs of Ali’s, as well as songs that represented different eras of his father’s long-spanning career.

“We made this album to honor Ali’s life and body of work,” said Khruangbin in a statement. “We hope this collaboration enlightens more people to Ali’s musical legacy.”

Check out “Savanne” above and the cover art and tracklist below.

1. “Savanne”
2. “Lobbo”
3. “Diarabi”
4. “Tongo Barra”
5. “Tamalla”
6. “Mahine Me”
7. “Ali Hala Abada”
8. “Alakarra”

Ali is out 9/22 via Dead Oceans. Pre-save it here.

Megan Thee Stallion released her last album — depending on who you ask — in either 2020 with Good News or 2021 with Something For The Hotties. While her label, 1501 Certified Entertainment, disputes that the latter counts against her contract, that isn’t stopping the Houston rapper from proceeding with a follow-up. Yesterday, she posted a short Boomerang video to her Instagram Story announcing that her next album is finished. “So happy abt my album,” she wrote. “It’s finished. It’s for the hotties. It’s honest. It’s me. It’s real.” Check out a screenshot below.

Megan has apparently already begun the rollout for the album, sharing the first single, “Pressurelicious” featuring Future, earlier this month. She’s been performing in Europe including at festivals like Glastonbury, where she led a “my body, my choice” chant, and Gurtenfestival, where Erykah Badu shocked her by twerking as Meg cheered her on.

In an interview with Rolling Stone last month, Megan detailed her second official album, saying, “I want to take you through so many different emotions. At first you was twerking, now you might be crying.” She said that she had “25 to 30” songs to narrow down for the album’s final tracklist, which she’s apparently managed to do. Of course, there are always a lot of details that go into releasing an album for public consumption, so we might not hear it for a while, but it’s nice to know that it’s coming.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Nearly a year after they released their fourth album Culture III, breakup rumors regarding Migos began to swirl around the industry. It started after Offset unfollowed both Quavo and Takeoff on Instagram after the latter two announced their “Hotel Lobby” track under the moniker Unc And Phew. Both of these things pushed many fans to believe that Migos’ time together was nearing an end. Last month, the group canceled their scheduled performance at Governors Ball which only added fuel to the rumors, but it seems like all could be well in Migos land as the trio will headline Pepsi’s 2022 National Battle Of The Bands.

The National Battle Of The Bands is an annual music showcase that focuses on spotlighting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and their marching bands. This year, the showcase will take place on August 27 and Migos’ performance will occur after the final band competition for the battle. The addition of Migos for the National Battle Of The Bands is a big one for the showcase as it marks the first time that a major internationally-known artist has performed at the competition.

Migos’ addition to the National Battle Of The Bands showcase comes after Quavo said that Migos’ solo endeavors help to keep the group together. “I feel like every group member has to establish themselves,” he said during an interview with GQ. “Their own body of work. If not, you start losing members.”

For more information about the National Battle Of The Bands, tickets, and the full listing of events, click here.

It is true that there can be more than one movie inspired by Pinocchio at a time. It can also be true that the movies involve Hollywood legends and an all-star cast. It can also be true that one just looks a little bit more appealing (sorry to both live-action Tom Hanks and …this guy ) and that one is Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.

The award-winning director uses stop-motion for his Netflix interpretation of the classic tale, which is much more fitting as the story revolves around a hands-on toy maker who just wants a son to share his life with. With such intricate details and Ewan McGregor’s “Let Me Tell You A Bedtime Story” voice, this movie will likely be an instant classic.

The cast includes every actor with a magical-yet-inviting voice, including David Bradley, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Finn Wolfhard, Cate Blanchett, John Turturro, Ron Perlman, Tim Blake Nelson, and Gregory Mann as Pinocchio. As per the official description:

Guillermo del Toro reinvents the classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. This whimsical, stop-motion film directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson follows the mischievous and disobedient adventures of Pinocchio in his pursuit of a place in the world.

The film will be in select theaters and on Netflix this holiday season. Check out the trailer above.

Donnell Russell, who described himself as disgraced singer R. Kelly’s manager has pled guilty to stalking and harassing one of the singer’s sexual abuse victims, according to Rolling Stone. The 47-year-old was accused of harassing and intimidating a Jane Doe victim and her mother using emails, phone calls, and text messages to keep her from pursuing justice against Kelly. Russell was previously accused of making gun threats in an attempt to stop a screening of Surviving R. Kelly in New York City. Last week, he was convicted on those charges.

In a statement, United States Attorney Breon Peace said, “Russell used threats, harassment and intimidation in a deliberate effort to silence one of R. Kelly’s victims and prevent her voice from being heard. When his initial effort failed, he continued his vile campaign by sending threatening messages to Jane Doe and her mother, and publishing explicit photos of the victim on the internet before and after Kelly was indicted. As this prosecution makes clear, the defendant’s conduct was not only reprehensible, but it was also criminal and will not be tolerated.”

Among the tactics that Russell used were threats to post explicit photos of Jane Doe online if she didn’t withdraw her civil suit against him. He apparently followed through after over a year of threats, posting the photos to Facebook in 2020. He might have found a better use for his time; Kelly was found guilty of sex trafficking and racketeering last year and was sentenced last month to 30 years in prison.