Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

That’s All, Folks! The Looney Tunes Will Soon Be Getting The NFT Treatment

Those dang Looney Tunes are at it again! Though this time, instead of dropping anvils on each other, they are getting their own NFTs. Who wants a Looney Tune NFT? Who knows!

Warner Bros. is teaming up with Nifty for the project, which is dubbed “Looney Tunes: What’s Up Block?” Honestly, the name is pretty clever, though also very corny. Tweety, the brand’s iconic yellow bird with many enemies, will now be among the Bored Apes of the NFT world. The NFT comes just in time for Tweety’s 80th birthday, which is conveniently the same age as someone who has no idea what an NFT is. Other Looney guys to be immortalized in NFT form will be Bugs Bunny and Marvin The Martian, with more to be announced later.

Josh Hackbarth, head of NFT Commercial Development for Warner Bros, told The Hollywood Reporter: “Looney Tunes is not afraid to make fun of itself, or the broader pop culture as a whole. It will be a bit tongue in cheek with how we are playing with blockchain technology, but what is more exciting is that we can use that to bring people into a new space to play.” That’s one way to look at it! Here’s another way.

Hackbarth added “We think that blockchain and NFTs and web3, in general, is going to be a great evolution in entertainment,” says Josh Hackbarth, head of NFT Commercial Development for Warner Bros. “It doesn’t need to be really deep, deep storytelling, it is about gags and gimmicks and really recognizable characters, so it was a fun one to dig into.” We all know those Tunes love their gimmicks.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

The Knicks, Who Want To Sign Jalen Brunson, Are Reportedly Hiring Rick Brunson As An Assistant

The New York Knicks are expected to try and shake things up on their roster this summer, with very few players, if any, guaranteed to be on the roster next season as trade rumors swirl. At the top of their to-do list is finding a new starting point guard, as that position has remained a problem spot for years and is the biggest area of need.

The player the Knicks have been connected to most often is Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson, who had a terrific postseason to cement himself as one of the top free agent guards set to hit the market. Brunson has a connection to the Knicks through his father Rick, who played in Newy York in the late 90s and has worked with Tom Thibodeau in the past, and that has only further stoked rumors he could choose to bolt Dallas for the Garden this summer. Those rumblings certainly won’t be going away anytime soon, even as reports indicate the Mavs are prepared to offer whatever is needed to keep him, after a report from SNY’s Ian Begley emerged on Thursday that Rick Brunson is joining the Knicks coaching staff as an assistant.

The Knicks are finalizing a contract with Rick Brunson to become an assistant coach on Tom Thibodeau’s staff, SNY has learned. Brunson, a nine-year NBA veteran, has been an assistant coach under Thibodeau in Chicago and Minnesota. The deal is expected to be finalized in the coming days, per people familiar with the matter.

As Begley notes, Brunson, who has most recently been the head coach at Camden High School in New Jersey, has been an assistant for Tom Thibodeau on two separate occasions in Chicago and Minnesota, and will fill the vacancy left behind by Kenny Payne, who took the Louisville head coaching position earlier this year. As such, it’s not solely a play for Jalen to come to New York, as Thibodeau turning to a familiar face isn’t a shock, but the timing will certainly perk people’s ears up and it does feel an awful lot like when a player’s parent gets hired during the recruiting process at the college level.

What one does wonder is if Jalen wants to play for his father or not, as it’s not a guarantee this is something that would be a draw for the young guard. We’ll find out in early July whether this swings Brunson’s decision-making or not.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Nike Founder Phil Knight Has Reportedly Put In An Offer To Buy The Portland Trail Blazers For Over $2 Billion

In 2018, Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen died after a battle with cancer. Ever since, a trust, headed by his sister Jody Allen, has operated the two franchises, but there is a report from John Canzano that it was written by Paul Allen that after his death his trust must liquidate all assets, including selling the Blazers and Seahawks.

On the heels of that reporting a week ago, word broke on Thursday from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers co-owner Alan Smolinisky have put in a written offer to purchase the team for a price of over $2 billion.

That is about the going rate for an NBA franchise these days, as the Timberwolves sale to Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez’s group went for $1.5 billion. Most importantly to Blazers fans is that Knight’s presence in this particular prospective ownership group is that his deep Portland ties would indicate he would keep the team in Portland, while there were rumblings (as is the case any time a team in a smaller market is up for sale) that new ownership could explore relocating the franchise.

It would seem that won’t be the case should the Knight-Smolinisky group’s bid be chosen, as Nike’s headquarters are in Beaverton, Oregon and Knight is the most famous University of Oregon graduate there is. New ownership could breathe new life into the organization that is currently trying to rebuild itself on the fly, with a lot of new players and a new GM, but the expectation that they’ll be looking to be playoff bound again next year with Damian Lillard returning from injury.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Megan Thee Stallion Leaves Little To The Imagination In Her Striking ‘Plan B’ Video

So far, a lot of skin has been involved when it comes to Megan Thee Stallion’s single “Plan B.” First, she announced the tune by posing naked in a bathtub. Then, promo images shared in the lead-up to the video’s premiere saw Meg wearing more clothes this time, but not a lot more. Now, the “Plan B” video has arrived and it stays on theme.

The clip is aesthetically uncomplicated, as it’s mostly Meg in a dark room, showing off her physical assets in lingerie and sometimes less. It’s striking, though, and she also makes use of water and more for some intriguing visual moments.

Lyrically, the tune sees Meg opting to not be tied down to a man, as the first verse begins, “Dear f*ck n****, still can’t believe I used to f*ck with ya / Poppin’ Plan B’s ’cause I ain’t plan to be stuck with ya.” The song’s release came after Meg debuted it live at Coachella, which she teased by saying, “I got this song that I recorded and every time I play it for a woman they start jumping and clapping. I think I wanna perform it at Coachella for the first time before I actually drop it.”

Watch the “Plan B” video above.

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

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

The Cool Kids’ Chuck Inglish Delivers A Laid-Back Performance Of ‘Driver’ For ‘UPROXX Sessions’

Rap fans of a certain age will certainly appreciate this week’s UPROXX Sessions guest. Back during the blog rap era, when XXL was just kicking off its tradition of finding an annual class of freshman rappers to promote as the future of hip-hop, The Cool Kids, (Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks) were considered among the exemplars of this group of future-minded, nostalgia-influenced, internet-raised trailblazers. Since then, we’ve seen both members take on solo projects, expand their sounds, reunite, and experience a resurgence of sorts, but they never truly went away and they remain near and dear to our hearts.

Chuck Inglish dropped by Uproxx Studios to remind us of that fact with a coolly confident performance of “Driver” from the duo’s March album, Baby Oil Staircase/Chillout. Initially released in 2020 featuring Ye Ali, the single was repurposed for the group’s triple-disc comeback album, which consisted of Before Shit Got Weird and Baby Oil Staircase/Chillout. Before Shit Got Weird featured both performing as a group for the first time since 2017, while the latter split release consisted of two solo projects from Chuck and Mike, a la Outkast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003.

Watch Chuck Inglish’s performance of “Driver” above.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

George Miller, Like The Rest Of Us, Sounds Bummed He Couldn’t Get Tilda Swinton Into His New ‘Mad Max’ Prequel

After bringing Three Thousand Years of Longing to Cannes, director George Miller‘s next project will be the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, starring Anya Taylor-Joy. Miller had the whole thing planned out until filming Three Thousand Years led to a problem: He loved working with Tilda Swinton.

With his appreciation for the actor at an all-time high, Miller tried to find a way to get Swinton into Furiosa, but he couldn’t bring himself to shoe-in a character just for her. He’s seen how that story ends too many times. Via The Hollywood Reporter:

“In Suspiria, she played three roles, one of which is an old man, so I thought, well, she could play one of the men [in Furiosa]. But unfortunately, there was no role that she would fit. If you force a character into a film, it’s usually the first one to end up on the cutting room floor,” said Miller of Swinton, whom he met five years ago during Cannes. “I would never do that to her, but I definitely wanted to make it happen.”

When we say Miller is jumping straight to Furiosa, we weren’t kidding around. The Mad Max prequel started filming on Wednesday, less than two weeks after Miller stopped by Cannes to premiere Three Thousand Years and gush about Swinton. While that means Furiosa will be arriving sooner rather than later, Miller will no doubt take his time in an effort to match the technical wizardry of Fury Road, which is regarded as one of the best action films ever made.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Report: Ryan Fitzpatrick May Join Amazon After Retiring From The NFL

One of the NFL’s most well-traveled quarterbacks is calling it a career. A report by ESPN indicated that Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spent 17 seasons in the league as a member of nine different franchises, decided it was time to retire. Fitzpatrick found a unique way to announce his retirement, as he apparently texted his former teammates a list of the names alongside whom he played, and one of them — former Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson — posted it to Twitter.

Fitzpatrick, especially in his later years in the league, was known for being one of the NFL’s more unique and entertaining personalities, which might explain his apparent next step. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Fitzpatrick is in talks with Amazon to join their team ahead of the network becoming the home of Thursday Night Football next season.

While it is unclear what Fitzpatrick’s role would be, the network’s top broadcast duo for games will be Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit.

Fitzpatrick retires with 34,990 career passing yards and 223 career passing touchdowns. During his career, Fitzpatrick suited up for the St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins, and Washington Football Team. He was limited to one game in what ended up being his final year in the league due to a hip injury he suffered in the season opener.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Tim Heidecker Links With Kurt Vile On The Vile-esque New Single ‘Sirens Of Titan’

Tim Heidecker is the Tim & Eric guy, yeah, but he’s also been establishing himself in the non-comedic music world with a series of well-received albums in recent years. Up next is High School, which is set for release later this month. Before the LP drops, Heidecker shared “Sirens Of Titan,” a spacey new collaboration with Kurt Vile.

The tune actually sounds quite a bit like a Vile song and that was intentional, or at least acknowledged by Heidecker; He says of the song’s video and of the track itself:

“I’m so happy to have Ben Levin’s incredible talents here to put a visual spin on this song, a song which catches me in a reflective mode, thinking about some of those awkward days in my high school days, feeling weird and learning about all the cool sh*t. I wrote it thinking about how Kurt Vile writes songs and I was embarrassed to send it to him, but did anyway and he liked it enough to come over and sing and play on it!”

Vile is the latest in a long list of indie collaborators with whom Heidecker has worked in recent years. Heidecker co-produced his new album with Mac DeMarco and Eric D. Johnson (best-known for being a member of Fruit Bats, The Shins, and Bonny Light Horseman), while 2020’s Fear Of Death featured contributions from Weyes Blood, Stella Mozgawa 0f Warpaint, Brian and Michael D’Addario of The Lemon Twigs, and Jonathan Rado of Foxygen, as well as audio engineering from Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties.

Watch the “Sirens Of Titan” video above.

High School is out 6/24 via Spacebomb. Pre-order it here.

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Kayleigh McEnany Would Like To Remind Republicans Celebrating Johnny Depp’s Court Win That He Hates Trump And Once Kind Of Suggested He Be Assassinated

Yet another random TV personality has an opinion about the Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard court ruling and her name is Kayleigh McEnany.

Who’s that, you ask? McEnany is the former White House Press Secretary to Donald Trump. She’s borrowed the same playbook as other former Trump cheerleaders who helped facilitate his attempt to overthrow the results of the 2020 Presidential Election, writing a tell-all before nabbing a hosting gig over on Fox News. During an episode of a show called Outnumbered that airs on the right-wing network, McEnany weighed in with her two cents about Depp’s recent victory in court.

While her fellow co-hosts discussed the domestic violence case, McEnany wanted to remind the public — read, Trump supporters — that Depp is no angel.

“These are two people that were in a toxic relationship and are both very flawed. They both have problems, that was evident in both of their testimony. But let’s be clear. There are no winners here. Not a single person in this case is a winner. We heard about their personal life, intimate details. And I think that those who are celebrating Johnny Depp are a bit misguided, in my view. ” McEnany began. Not a bad start, all things considered. But then McEnany opened her mouth again.

“I remember Johnny Depp as being the actor who said, and I’ll read it directly, ‘When was the last time an actor assassinated a president?’ that’s when President [Donald] Trump was president. I see some Republicans celebrating him, I don’t think that this is your guy,” she continued.

So, to sum things up, McEnany doesn’t have a problem with people supporting a man who was found guilty of being a “wife-beater” by the UK court system, but she does take issue with people supporting a guy who made jokes about a president who tried to overthrow American democracy? Got it.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering who McEnany thinks does deserve public support, here’s her suggestion: Brett Kavanaugh. No, really.

“If you’re looking for someone and I totally absolutely believe in due process and people should be heard, look at Brett Kavanaugh, not Johnny Depp,” she said, referencing the sexual misconduct accusations against the now-Supreme Court Justice that failed to hurt his career or reputation in any meaningful way. “That’s just my view, but the jury has decided and we respect the opinion of the jury.”

Watch the full segment below:

Categories
News Trending Viral Worldwide

Phil Lesh And Friends Will Perform With Jeff Tweedy As Philco At Chicago’s Sacred Rose Festival

The inaugural multi-genre Sacred Rose music festival will bring a promising line-up to Chicago this August. Headlining the festival are Khruangbin, The War On Drugs, Black Pumas, Animal Collective, Margo Price, and more. In addition to these exciting performers, Phil Lesh And Friends will perform with Jeff Tweedy and Nels Cline of Wilco.

Their collaborative performance at Sacred Rose will mark their first-ever performance under the name “Philco.”

“Nels and I are honored to be asked to join Phil and Friends for Sacred Rose,” said Tweedy in a statement. “There has been so much about Phil and the Dead to be inspired by over the years, from their longtime musical brotherhood to their wonderful and incomparable music, to their relentless touring and longevity. But perhaps the biggest inspiration is their dedication to the community that has grown up around them. This is a trait that we in Wilco deeply appreciate and have aimed to emulate over the years. There’s nothing better than playing music with your friends, for your friends.”

Also joining Philco during their performance are Jeff Chimenti of Wolfpack, Karl Denson of Rolling Stones and The Greyboy Allstars, John Molo of Phil Lesh And Friends, Stu Allen of Phil Lesh And Friends and Dark Star Orchestra, Grahame Lesh of Phil Lesh And Friends and Midnight North, and Elliott Peck of Midnight North.

Check out the full Sacred Rose lineup below.

Sacred Rose 2022 Line-Up
Courtesy of Sacred Rose

Tickets for Sacred Rose are available for purchase here.

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