GoneTrending

Adam Sandler has played a wedding singer at a bar mitzvah and sang about a bar mitzvah boy. For his next piece of mitzvah-themed piece of entertainment, he, and his family, are turning into You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah into a Netflix movie.

Variety reports that Sandler, Sandler’s wife Jackie, and their teenage daughters, Sunny and Sadie, will star in the Netflix film, along with Uncut Gems wickedly talented co-star Idina Menzel. (I will be verklempt if she doesn’t wear the same dress.) For those who haven’t read Fiona Rosenbloom’s coming-of-age novel, it’s set in the early 2000s and “follows Stacey Friedman, who is preparing for one of the most important events in her young life, her bat mitzvah. But in the lead up to the big day, she’s thrown for a loop after catching her bestie Lydia Katz locking lips with her crush Andy Goldfarb.”

Stacey is right to so not invite Lydia and Andy to her bat mitzvah.

Netflix’s official logline sums up the plot: “A girl’s bat mitzvah plans comedically unravel and threaten to ruin one of the most important events of her young life.” Sammi Cohen, best known for the teen movie Crush starring Rowan Blanchard, is directing You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah from a script by Alison Peck (Work It).

You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah is Adam Sandler’s latest movie for Netflix, including recent highlights The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected), Hubie Halloween, and Hustle. Could there be a Hubie Bar Mitzvah in the future? Let’s hope!

(Via Variety)

Last week, the already strange and disturbing story of Armie Hammer took another creatively unpredictable turn. Someone posted a strange flyer from a hotel in the Cayman Islands that seemed to show that the disgraced actor was working there as a concierge. That, sources said, was just a joke. Then a few days later, images circulated of what looked like him selling timeshares at the same joint. Now a source tells Variety that, no, that one’s actually legit.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous, told the publication that Hammer is “working at the resort and selling timeshares. He is working at a cubicle.” They add, “The reality is he’s totally broke, and is trying to fill the days and earn money to support his family.” There’s more, via Variety:

This individual, who asked to remain anonymous, says that prior to working as a timeshare salesman, Hammer was managing an apartment complex in the Cayman Islands. He is living there so he can be near his two young children who have been residing in the Caymans with his ex-wife, TV host and entrepreneur Elizabeth Chambers. A source previously told Variety that Hammer had also spent time in recovery at a treatment facility after his career downfall.

In early 2021, multiple women who had been with Hammer accused him of sexual misconduct, some of which involved talk of cannibalism. His career quickly took a nosedive, with him losing one role after another, and his part in Death on the Nile was minimized in the ad campaign.

Hammer comes from wealth; his great-grandfather was oil tycoon Armand Hammer (which is also Armie’s name by birth). However, he is not only the family payroll, and since he’s no longer making big time Hollywood motion pictures, he has to make a living somehow. Anyway, this may wind up as the coda to that Discovery+ true crime show about him that’s in the works, from which he presumably does not receive royalties.

(Via Variety)

When the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon premieres late next month, it has two big hurdles to overcome. One, it has to carry on a very popular brand, with a whole new cast and different showrunners. Two, a lot of people did not like the way Game of Thrones ended. Are those involved in House of the Dragon aware of these two issues? You betcha.

In a splashy new look at the show by Entertainment Weekly, showrunners and actors alike are very open about the pressure they’re under to deliver something as rich and rewarding as the show that started it all.

“We have to come out of the box with a greater resource pool than David and [D.B.] did when they were starting Game of Thrones,” says co-showrunner Ryan Condal. “They had to build an audience and earn it. We’re standing on the shoulders of giants”

“My tactic is called, ‘Don’t think about it,’” says Emma D’Arcy, who plays Princess Rhaenyra Targarys, an ancestor of Daenerys and fam and heir to the Iron Throne. “At the moment, we’re in quite a special place. None of it is in the ether yet, and no one knows who I am.”

Olivia Cooke, who plays Rhaenyra’s best friend Alicent Hightower, actually jokes (or not) that she hopes House won’t be as big as its predecessor. “I love my life, and I love the anonymity that I’ve managed to hold onto, even after having a decade’s worth of credits,” she says. “But I am excited for people to see all the hard work that everyone’s done because, God, people slogged for a year, and it is f*cking great.”

How is Team House of the Dragon hoping to win hearts and minds? Partly by listening to fan feedback and correcting what they didn’t like. For instance, Game of Thrones was regularly criticized for how it treated its female characters. That inspired the show’s writers to put women front and center, having it revolve around Rhaenyra and Alicent as Westeros is torn apart. “Their relationship is at the center of a chasm that threatens to tear Westeros apart,” writes EW, “for reasons that are already clear to book readers.”

There’s also more of another aspect that was thin on the ground the first time around: dragons. As per EW:

Just about every Targaryen has their own to mount, a stark contrast to Thrones, which saw Daenerys as one of the last remaining Targaryens and dragons virtually extinct. “I wanted to tell a story about the height of Rome before the fall and see the Targaryen dynasty at its very apex so that we can understand the thing that was lost when it all fell apart,” Condal explains.

Anyway, even if you feel House of the Dragon falls short of its mothership show, at least there be dragons. The show premieres on HBO on August 21.

(Via EW)

It’s a good week to be an Animal Collective fan. Not only did the band drop their first ever NPR Tiny Desk Concert yesterday, but today, Panda Bear has just announced a collaborative album with Sonic Boom called Reset. Panda Bear’s Noah Lennox and Sonic Boom’s Peter Kember (of 80s British space rock band Spacemen 3) have been longtime collaborators, with Kember co-producing both Panda Bear’s Tomboy in 2011 and Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper in 2015. Now both musicians live in Portugal and the album of their dreams is due out on August 12th.

While it’s Lennox’s moniker that carries the weight here, Kember is no slouch. Along with his work on Panda Bear’s albums, he also co-produced Beach House’s 7 and MGMT’s Congratulations. His library of mid-20th century doo-wop and soul merges with Panda Bear’s unique electronic wavelengths on the album and we get a taste of what they’re creating on the fantastic single “Go On.”

The track has the familiar didgeridoo effect that’s been a staple in both Panda Bear and Animal Collective’s music, but with a swath of that retro rock vibe. “Go On” in fact opens with a sample from 60’s garage rockers The Troggs’ “Give It To Me.” The video is a kaleidoscopic journey inside of a digital world that meets at the intersection of a Rube Goldberg and an elaborate pinball machine.

Watch the video for “Go On” above and check out the Reset album artwork and tracklist below.

1. “Gettin’ to the Point”
2. “Go On”
3. “Everyday”
4. “Edge of the Edge”
5. “In My Body”
6. “Whirlpool”
7. “Danger”
8. “Livin’ in the After”
9. “Everything’s Been Leading to This”Reset is out on 08/12 via Domino Recordings. Pre-order it here.

Fans of FX’s What We Do In the Shadows (which, if you’re not watching it, you should be) might know Matt Berry better as Laszlo Cravensworth, the perpetually horned up vampire trying to make a go at life as an immortal creature of the night in Staten Island. Other viewers, however, might recognize the actor’s distinctive voice from The Book of Boba Fett, the Disney+ series in which Berry played a smooth-voiced, torture-loving droid known as UK2-B.

In a recent interview with Newsweek, Berry explained how he had wanted to include a loving nod to his time spent in the world of Star Wars with a simple Easter egg: His idea was to pass a toy version of his character from the show to Baby Colin Robinson in an episode of the fourth season, which kicked off this week. Unfortunately, Berry wasn’t quite used to the Secrecy of Star Wars machinery and was not allowed to use a recreation of the character — as his role in the sci-fi series had yet to be announced yet.

“I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody,” Berry told Newsweek.

While Berry says that season 5 may offer some crossover potential “if there’s any kids toys lying around, but I don’t think there’ll be any place for it.”

For now, Berry is content that he was able to sneak the theme song to his hilariously absurd comedy Toast of London (which is currently a bit difficult to find after a new season emerged) into a 2021 episode of Shadows.

(Via Newsweek)

Rowdy Rebel’s story is low-key pretty fascinating. The Brooklyn rapper went from the height of popularity to serving a six-year prison sentence and this Friday, July 15, he finally releases his debut album. It’s called Rowdy Vs. Rebel, a title that addresses Rowdy’s duality and his struggle between doing the right thing and doing the things that first landed him in hot water, to begin with. Rowdy has released a hype trailer depicting his dramatic rise, fall, and return, as well as detailing the album’s features and previewing some of its drill-oriented songs.

In addition to Rowdy’s apparent multiple personalities, the album is also set to feature A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, with whom Rowdy collaborated on “9 Bridge,” Dreezy, Drizzy Juliano, Kamikaze Kai, Fivio Foreign (can we give these drill guys some props for their alliterative nicknames?), French Montana, and Jadakiss. The trailer features clips of some of Rowdy’s in-studio link-ups with French Montana and Fivio, as well as snippets of videos in which he’s appeared, including CJ’s “Whoopty” remix and “Woo Nina.” The final clip finds Rowdy reiterating the album’s theme and wondering “Who gone win?” It looks like we’ll find out.

Watch Rowdy Rebel’s Rowdy Vs. Rebel album trailer above.

Rowdy Vs. Rebel is out on 7/15 via Epic Records. You can pre-save it here.

It seems like Netflix has been teasing ad-supported tiers for a minute, though that has yet to actually make the move in the US. Instead, they have been threatening to crack down on password-sharing and determining to pull back on long movies. Now, Netflix is actually making moves when it comes to introducing commercials and advertisements into their streaming service.

According to Wall Street Journal, the streamer has been in talks with various companies, including Warner Bros., Universal and Sony Pictures Television, in order to make a deal regarding ads for certain content. While the ads aren’t coming yet, they will likely roll out by the end of the year.

Netflix also confirmed a deal with Microsoft today, announcing the move on its website. “Today we are pleased to announce that we have selected Microsoft as our global advertising technology and sales partner,” the press release stated, adding that Microsoft is working with the streamer to create better advertising. “Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we work together to build a new ad-supported offering. More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members. ”

Though the thought of ads interpreting your re-watch of Stranger Things seems more daunting then Vecna himself, Netflix says nothing will really change.CEO Ted Sarandos told Reuters last month: “We’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today. We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say ‘hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads.’” Sometimes, ads are good!

(Via WSJ)

Following months of speculation, Daniel Kaluuya has confirmed that he did not reprise his role of W’Kabi in the Black Panther sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While most of the original cast has returned to buoy the film that already faced an uphill battle due to the death of Chadwick Boseman, Kaluuya’s involvement was a question mark given his career’s meteoric rise. However, his absence from Wakanda Forever all came down to scheduling, which got thrown to the wind for virtually every production in the wake of COVID.

The news of Kaluuya not returning was first reported by Rotten Tomatoes editor Jacqueline Coley who scored the exclusive scoop while interviewing the actor for the upcoming release of Jordan Peele’s Nope.

“Fresh from my NOPE interview with Daniel Kaluuya he did not reprise his role in #BlackPanther2 due to his schedule conflicts w/ #NOPE!” Coley tweeted.

Kaluuya not returning shines a spotlight on the Black Panther sequel, which has remained highly secretive about its story despite its November release date fast approaching. Director Ryan Coogler has been open about the struggles of making the film without Boseman, which added a sizable challenge on top of the already arduous task of recreating the global phenomenon sparked by the first film.

“This is one of the more profound things that I’ve gone through in my life, having to be a part of keeping this project going without this particular person who is like the glue who held it together,” Coogler told the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast last year. He added, “For this individual, who is an ancestor now, I was there for it. It’s such an incredible privilege that fills you up as much as it knocks you out. So often as Black people, we have to pick up the pieces after loss.”

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters on November 11, 2022.

(Via Jacqueline Coley on Twitter)

Jamie Lee Curtis is still kicking herself over making a pretty bad initial assumption about Ana de Armas when the two worked together on Knives Out. In a new interview with the veteran actress, who appeared in the breakout hit Everything Everywhere All At Once, Curtis revealed that she incorrectly thought de Armas was a Hollywood newcomer fresh from Cuba. However, de Armas had already appeared in Blade Runner 2049 and War Dogs, along with working as an actress in Cuba for over a decade.

Via IndieWire:

“I assumed — and I say this with real embarrassment — because she had come from Cuba, that she had just arrived,” Curtis explained. “I made an assumption that she was an inexperienced, unsophisticated young woman. That first day, I was like, ‘Oh, what are your dreams?’”

Curtis realized her mistake once she offered to introduce de Armas to her godson, Jake Gyllenhaal, who de Armas already knew. She was also friends with Keanu Reeves and had plenty of “A-lister connections.” Fortunately, Curtis’ assumption didn’t stop the two from becoming close friends, and Curtis had nothing but praise for de Armas upcoming role as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde.

“I dropped to the floor. I couldn’t believe it,” Curtis said. “Ana was completely gone. She was Marilyn.”

In case you’re not up on your Hollywood dynasties, Curtis’ father Tony Curtis appeared alongside Monroe in the classic film, Some Like It Hot, so the Halloween actress definitely knows a thing or two about the legendary starlet.

(Via IndieWire)

As far as cringe concepts go, catfishing is one of the worst things to have to watch someone do. But people love it, as evident by the eight seasons of MTV’s Catfish. So when you hear of a movie about catfishing, odds are good it will entertain some. But when you hear about a movie about a dad catfishing his son in order to get close to him…it feels a little too far.

That’s exactly the premise of I Love My Dad, the new film from Magnolia Pictures which recently debuted at SXSW. Patton Oswalt plays Chuck, a father who is growing estranged from his son, Franklin, played by James Morosini, who also penned the film, which is based on a true story (!) of fatherly deception. In order to get closer to Franklin, Chuck is inspired by a friend to pose as a different person online. You see where this is going, right?

As most people with social media can understand, some older generations can be a bit overbearing when it comes to using their phones. Of course, Franklin falls for this fake profile, and the web of lies becomes mighty tangled.

Here is the official plot synopsis:

Inspired by writer, director, and star James Morosini’s true life experience, I LOVE MY DAD follows Chuck (Patton Oswalt), a hopelessly estranged father who desperately wants to reconnect with his troubled son, Franklin (Morosini). Blocked on social media and concerned for his son’s life, Chuck impersonates a waitress online and starts checking in with Franklin. But things begin to spiral when Franklin falls for this imaginary girl (Claudia Sulewski) and wants nothing more than to meet her in person, as Chuck has inadvertently catfished his own son. A thrilling comedy with an unexpected twist, I LOVE MY DAD also stars Rachel Dratch, Lil Rel Howery, Amy Landecker and Ricky Velez.

Despite the “I need to close my eyes because this is so awkward” vibes from the trailer, the movie will likely be very entertaining, and a must-watch for any dads who are offended that they got blocked from their child’s Instagram. It happens!

I Love My Dad hits theaters on August 5th, then on demand on August 12th. Check out the trailer above.