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The Rundown is a weekly column that highlights some of the biggest, weirdest, and most notable events of the week in entertainment. The number of items could vary, as could the subject matter. It will not always make a ton of sense. Some items might not even be about entertainment, to be honest, or from this week. The important thing is that it’s Friday, and we are here to have some fun.

ITEM NUMBER ONE — Buckle in, kids

I have terrific news: The good shows are coming back. So many of them, so soon, all over the course of about three weeks. I’m going to lay it all out for you in a second, at least to the extent “posting trailers and stupid jokes about shows I like” counts as laying it all out, but know this much going in: This is a mixed blessing. Again, it’s mostly good because the shows are good and we like good things, but also… it’s a lot. And some of these shows have been off the air for multiple years. There are going to be some gaps in your memory. Do you remember everything that happened in the most recent season of Barry? I do not. And this is my job. It’s not ideal.

But. This is a problem for another day. Tomorrow, maybe. And it’s kind of the point of this whole endeavor. I’m trying to give you a few weeks of a heads up so you can barrel through a rewatch or a quick Wiki refresher before you dive in again. There are worse ways to spend a rainy weekend in April, you know? Let’s start with the most pressing…

Better Call Saul is back for its final season on April 18. The season is actually split into two parts, with the first chunk coming now and the next chunk in July, but still. It’s almost here. The show has been so good. Almost unreasonably good, given the legacy it had to live up to as a prequel to Breaking Bad. I’ve actually enjoyed this one more than the original, as blasphemous as some might consider that statement. Breaking Bad did not have Lalo Salamanca. This is important. To me.

One other thing to keep an eye on: This season is set in 2004, which means noted Philly native Mike Ehrmantraut could be distracted by the Super Bowl run by the McNabb/T.O. Philadelphia Eagles and their eventual loss to the New England Patriots. I mean, it probably won’t happen. But it could. Worth considering.

Barry is back on April 24. The first two seasons were some of my favorite television in years. There was murder and drama and goofs and Henry Winkler and my beloved NoHo Hank, all of which was just a delight. NoHo Hank, especially. What an incredible character, just the sweetest man alive packaged into the body of a terrifying Chechen monster, sometimes one that dances on a roof. You definitely have time to rewatch this. You should. There are not many opportunities in life to watch Henry Winkler and Stephen Root in the same show.

The Flight Attendant! Holy crap! The first season of this show blew me away, all twisty murder mystery and dinky-bonk piano music and Kaley Cuoco as a drunken party girl with issues that run deeper than an ocean. Rosie Perez was selling secrets to mysterious Asian businessmen. Some terrifying woman was running around with a butterfly knife. What more could anyone ask for out of a season of television? Nothing! Do not be greedy.

The second season drops on HBO Max on April 21, and I insist you watch the first go-round before then if you have not already. It was a blast. You deserve to have fun. You’ll have the theme music in your head for weeks, which is not at all a complaint. I like to listen to it and pretend I’m going on little missions. It’s all very normal and fine.

Hmm. Is there anything more cosmically perfect than Russian Doll — the trippy, Groundhog Day-esque series about Natasha Lyonne getting stuck in a time loop — returning for a second season on April 20? I’ll answer that for you: There is not. Remember how much you liked Russian Doll? Remember Natasha Lyonne running around New York in a trenchcoat? Remember this paragraph, which actually just appeared in a New Yorker article this week?

Lyonne has a distinctive way of moving through the city: clomping, springy, coat collar popped high. Season 2 of “Russian Doll” opens with one of many shots of Nadia perambulating, her black boots tapping in rhythm with Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.” Lyonne is currently working, with the director Rian Johnson, on a “Columbo”-style crime show for Peacock, and it’s not hard to picture Lyonne, an avid Peter Falk fan, as the hardboiled detective, stalking the streets with a cigarette between her fingers and a wry expression on her face.

All good news. Great news, even. Hey, speaking of things that are great…

Yes, fine, I know, including Holey Moley on this list next to a slew of critically adored prestige shows with big-name casts and ambitious plots might be considered a stretch. In my defense:

• It is my list
• Make your own list if you’re so great
• The Muppets are on this season

This premieres on May 3. I think I am more excited about it than anything else on the list. I feel okay about it.

ITEM NUMBER TWO — It is incredible to me that it took this long to get Jason Momoa into a Fast & Furious movie

I am on the record as saying Jason Momoa should be in every movie, to whatever degree possible, maybe involving some sort of cloning situation, so yes, I was pleased when word broke a few weeks ago that he was set to play a villain in the upcoming tenth (and allegedly final) film in the Fast & Furious franchise. It was a nice thing to read. It was also a hilariously vague thing to read at the time, which I will prove to you again via blockquote.

Jason Momoa is in final negotiations to join Vin Diesel and the cast in what is being called Fast & Furious 10 as a working title. And while plot details are being muffled, the Aquaman actor could be poised to act as one of the film’s villains. Universal had no comment.

Delightful. I love when movie studios treat casting news like nuclear launch codes. And I love when the trade publications play along and report on it like this. It’s a fun little dance we all do. A dance I bring up again now for two main reasons: One, because it is kind of wild that it took 10 Fast & Furious movies to get Jason Momoa into one of them, especially when you think for more than two seconds about how perfect this fit is; two, Jason Momoa is really freaking jazzed to be working with Charlize Theron.

Momoa said he’s looking forward to working with Diesel as well, telling ET that fans can expect plenty of action-packed scenes between the pair.

“I’m sure that’s why they hired me,” Momoa joked. “But yeah, I’m excited I’m working with Vin. I’m excited I’m working with Charlize.”

This is… cool. Very cool. Vin Diesel and Ludacris doing battle against Charlize Theron and Jason Momoa. I’m so happy I might launch myself into outer space in a Pontiac. I hope Jason Momoa is playing Satan and Vin Diesel drives a muscle car straight to Hell to fight him. I do not ask for much. This would be a nice treat for me.

Also, I am pretty excited to see what Charlize Theron’s hair looks like in this movie. That is not the type of sentence I would usually type, as I am not a big hair/fashion guy (he says wearing sweats and a thin hoodie that is pulled over his buzz cut). But please recall that she showed up in Fate of the Furious with braids for some reason…

… and then returned for F9 with a meticulously trimmed bowl cut despite being held inside what appeared to be the jail equivalent of a terrarium.

There is almost no limit to the possibilities at play here. She might show up with a mohawk in this one. She might shave her head again like she did in Fury Road. She might dye it green and style it straight up like a Christmas tree. I would be excited if I were Jason Momoa, too.

There will never be a better movie franchise.

ITEM NUMBER THREE — I must know everything about this at once

There’s no point in dancing around this one, as any flowery language I toss in here will just distract from the facts, and we can’t take that risk. Here we go: Vanessa Hudgens can talk to ghosts. She says she can, at least. She said so to Kelly Clarkson, on television, with examples and a vow to use her gift for good. It’s maybe my favorite thing a celebrity has said so far this year, except for the thing where it’s not even my favorite thing a celebrity said this week. I’ll get to that. First, Vanessa, via Us Weekly:

“I’ve accepted the fact that I see things and I hear things,” the Tick, Tick… Boom! actress, 33, revealed during a Tuesday, April 5, appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, noting that she’s had “a lot” of paranormal encounters through the years. “I kind of shut it down for a while [because] the unknown is scary. But I recently was like, ‘No, this is a gift and something that I have the ability to do, so I’m going to lean into it.’”

Hudgens continued: “I remember getting ready for school when I was 8 years old, and there was, like, you know, those ducks that you pull [the string]? It’s a toy. There was one of those on the dining room table, and I started walking, and it just started going alongside me.”

I would 100 percent, no joke at all here, watch a reality show about Vanessa Hudgens traveling around the country and having chats with ghosts. Combine it with Zac Efron’s eco-travel show, if possible. It’s all relentlessly fascinating to me. It’s fascinating if she’s mistaken about it all, sure, particularly because she went on television and said it out loud into a camera. But it’s even more fascinating if she’s right. What if Vanessa Hudgens can for real communicate with ghosts? Don’t you kind of want to live in that world? I do.

And yet, still, not my favorite celebrity quote of the week. That honor goes to Britney Spears, who logged into Instagram and said this.

“I’m sharing this because we all seem to alienate behind our phones and computers … I’ve never opened a computer my whole life … just a phone. […] I say all this but I will probably buy a computer today !!!”

Again, fascinating if she’s mistaken or exaggerating, but extremely fascinating if she is serious. How did one even live through the 1990s and 2000s without using a computer? Smartphones weren’t really super practical until like 2005-2006, and even then… was Britney using a Blackberry? You know what? No. I kind of don’t even want to know the truth here. Just let me go on believing that Britney Spears has never used a computer. We should all be so lucky.

ITEM NUMBER FOUR — Perhaps he should consider being… Lessbius

The Morbius discourse was vibrating at a nice hum earlier this week, with a bunch of bad reviews dropping and a handful of “What exactly does Mr. “Requiem for an Asshole” Jared Leto think he is doing here?”-style articles, which is always fun for a person like me who adores chaos. But then the vibrations kicked into a glass-shattering mania thanks to an interview Uproxx’s Mike Ryan did with the film’s director, Daniel Espinosa. It was this exchange that did it, mostly, for understandable reasons. Look at this.

I heard a story about filming and I want to see if this is true. Someone told me that Jared Leto was so committed to playing Michael Morbius that even when he had to go to the bathroom, he would use his crutches and slowly limp to get to the bathroom. But it was taking so long between for pee breaks, that a deal was made with him to get him a wheelchair so someone could wheel him there quicker and he agreed to that. Is this true?

Yes.

All right.

Yeah. Because I think that what Jared thinks, what Jared believes, is that somehow the pain of those movements, even when he was playing normal Michael Morbius, he needed, because he’s been having this pain his whole life. Even though, as he’s alive and strong, it has to be a difference. Hey, man, it’s people’s processes.

There’s a lot to unpack here, some of which we can knock out via bullet point, so let’s start there:

• This is deeply funny
• Imagine how much all the other people on set hated this
• Actors seem like very exhausting people, generally

There’s also the other thing, which I point out because I have a for-real disability and use a wheelchair because I have to: Please knock this off. Please. Just act. I understand you want to get into the character’s mind so you can comprehend their situation, but also, no. Get up. Jared. Listen to me. Do not do this.

Also, somewhat related, but still: Please consider casting actual people with disabilities in roles where a character is disabled. Not even all the time. But sometimes. I know the point of acting is to be someone you’re not and it defeats the purpose a bit if we get too strict with all of this, but also… let’s go back to the bullet points again here:

• It’s not like disabled actors can super-easily play non-disabled characters, so there’s already a limited pool they’re working with
• Some people defended Leto by pointing out that Daniel Day-Lewis did similar stuff on the set of My Left Foot, but I’ll just go ahead and say it: that doesn’t make either any better
• Let me play Batman

That last one isn’t as important as the others, I suppose. But it’s worth considering. I mean, if we’re going to let Jared Leto play a character with a disability…

It’s only fair.

ITEM NUMBER FIVE — Imagine a world where this answer was correct

You’ve probably seen this clip floating around this week. It went viral like three different times. With good reason. Watch it now if you haven’t seen it. Watch it again if you have.

Okay, did you watch it again? Good. Now, imagine a world where Martin Scorsese actually did direct 8 Mile and actually did win an Oscar for it after not winning Oscars for movies like Goodfellas and Mean Streets. That would be one of the funniest facts ever. There would have been an amazing scene where Eminem’s mom made spaghetti. Robert De Niro would have been in it for some reason. Leonardo DiCaprio might have replaced Eminem in the lead role. Think about that last one for a few hours this weekend.

Hmm. I kind of wish this was a real thing now. What a journey this was.

READER MAIL

If you have questions about television, movies, food, local news, weather, or whatever you want, shoot them to me on Twitter or at [email protected] (put “RUNDOWN” in the subject line). I am the first writer to ever answer reader mail in a column. Do not look up this last part.

From AJ:

I liked your reasoning for captions a lot, even though I’m not a screencapper myself. My go-to argument for captions was always much simpler: watch any episode of Always Sunny with them on and see all the excellent jokes you’re missing when they all talk over each other. Whoever does the Sunny captions makes a point of pulling the best joke out of those moments, regardless of which one is loudest/most audible. I’ve gotten a number of caption converts with this trick over the years.

AJ is referring to this article I wrote last week, in which I made a three-part case for watching television with the captions turned on, all the time. It’s a good point that I appreciate, in part because it is correct and in part because it gives me an excuse to post this screencap again.

Thank you, AJ. And thank you, Danny DeVito. Great work by everyone here.

AND NOW, THE NEWS

To the Netherlands!

Thieves have made off with 1,600 kilos of cheese worth €21,000 from a dairy farm in Fijnaart in Noord Brabant, in the latest in a series of cheese heists in the Netherlands.

CHEESE HEIST

STRING OF CHEESE HEISTS

STRING CHEESE HEIST?

HMM

NO

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY

I’M REALLY PLEASED WITH MYSELF FOR THIS NEXT LINE

WHAT KIND OF MUENSTER WOULD DO THIS?

THANK YOU

‘We will need better security for our cheeses from now on,’ Theo Dekker, chairman of dairy farmers organisation Bond van Boerderij-Zuiverlbereiders, told local broadcaster Omroep Brabant.

‘This is not just a simple theft, it’s organised crime,’ Dekker said. ‘These gangs are not afraid to use violence. They’ll load up and off they go.’

Ahhhh man, now I feel bad for joking, now that I know these are mob-related violent cheese heists. A little bad. It’s still a lot to wrap your head around. I do not regret the Muenster pun, though. I still feel good about that one.

Cheese farmers were plagued by a string of cheese thefts a couple of years ago and this week’s heist may be a sign of things to come, Dekker said.

His organisation is also keeping an eye on online cheese sellers. A batch of stolen cheese was offered for sale on Marktplaats last year and traced within 15 minutes. ‘But those were amateurs and cheese farmers are now up against something bigger,’ Dekker said.

I am going to say something here and I need you to know I am completely serious: I need someone — anyone, maybe someone who has directed a John Wick or a Fast & Furious — to make a movie about a collection of fed-up dairy farmers banding together to take down the entire European cheese syndicate.

Listen to me. This is a good idea. I am trying to help.

Rudy Gobert saw the court for just 434 minutes on a 25-win team and spent a duration of his time in the G League when he was a rookie with the Utah Jazz. That first season didn’t necessarily indicate what would come in the future: four All-NBA appearances, three All-Star berths, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and three playoff series victories over a five-season span.

But the summer following his rookie year, Gobert represented France in the FIBA World Cup and helped his country to a third-place finish, a run he pinpoints as the turning point of his career. During the quarterfinals against Spain — which rostered Pau and Marc Gasol, among other luminaries — Gobert came off the bench to notch five points, 13 rebounds, one steal, and one block in a 65-52 win.

Alongside Team USA, Spain was dubbed one of the tournament favorites. Despite star guard Tony Parker not participating that year, France emerged victorious, led in part by Gobert’s efforts crashing the glass and limiting the services of the Gasol brothers’ multi-pronged attack.

“I think that’s really when the whole world started to gain respect for what I could do and how I could impact the game,” he tells Dime.

Nearly eight years later, Gobert has solidified himself as a historically great defender, preeminent lob threat, and cornerstone of a playoff linchpin for the past half-decade. Many of the traits he displayed in the surprise win over Spain have helped establish him as one of the league’s best centers.

On behalf of Cognac Frapin, DIME recently caught up with Gobert to discuss his appreciation for brandy, how he approaches defense, what’s different about the Jazz this year and more.

What appeals so much to you about Cognac Frapin?

I didn’t know a lot about Cognac until the last few years, when I really got to learn about the process, thanks to Frapin. They really showed me and told me a lot about it. I knew some brands. Like, I knew of the most mainstream brands. When I got the chance to go to the Cognac region in France and to really see the process, the precision and the quality of the product, and the fact that it was a family business for more than 500 years, it was really fascinating to me. I’m someone who enjoys quality over quantity. The fact that they make it very carefully — which grapes they use and making sure that they did keep a full eye on everything that they do and all the barrels. It was clear to me that this was a brand that really cares about quality and precision.

Are you making a cocktail with it or drinking it straight? How are you drinking it?

I think you can do both, a cocktail or drinking it on the rocks. For myself, obviously, I’m an NBA player, so I don’t drink a lot. But when I do have a drink, I really like to drink it on the rocks because it’s much easier and I don’t add any more sugar or anything else. I’ve tried some of the cocktails and they really taste amazing. It’s just not for me. When I drink, I’d rather have it on the rocks than mix it.

When’s the optimal time of the year that you’re drinking some Frapin? Off-season, off-day, what are we talking?

I don’t drink any liquor during the season. During the season, I just drink a little red wine. In the off-season or when I have a break, I can sometimes enjoy it. The good thing to me is when I have a break, I can sometimes enjoy having a drink. When I really saw the process and all the things I didn’t know, it really made me want to go try it. And then, I tried it. I compared with different brands and I was like, “this is night and day.” You can really feel the flavor. You can really feel the difference. And even for someone like me that didn’t know much about Cognac, like, I could really feel it.

Shifting into some basketball talk, what’s behind the art of pick-and-roll defense and handling all of its nuances?

I think, obviously, it comes with experience, IQ and, obviously, a combination of my length and my athletic ability. So, it’s pretty much a mix of everything. But really, for me, it’s more difficult to understand, like the different personnel. Guys have different strengths and different weaknesses. I try to make them uncomfortable and put them in a position where they’re uncomfortable in basketball. And also, dissuade them and try to put the fear back into them and cause them to either turn passive or hold them to a shot they’re not comfortable making. If they’re gonna try to go at me, just block the shot. So, it’s really about playing that mind game and try to be as disruptive as possible and also about being able to impact multiple players at a time. That’s really something that is rather difficult to realize and understand because you don’t really look at the stat sheet and see, “Oh, Rudy Gobert disrupted three guys.”

Do you feel you all have been more open to experimentation in the regular season this year to possibly better prepare you for the playoffs?

A hundred percent. And also, this year, we’ve had a lot of injuries. Obviously, myself, Donovan (Mitchell). We really got to see different lineups and even my backup, Hassan Whiteside, has missed some games, too. So, yeah, we’ve tried out different lineups and lot of different coverages. … We want to win every night, but at the same time, we realize that when the playoffs come, we want to be the best team we can be and if we build good habits, we’ll be all right.

It feels like maybe there’s been a little more emphasis on your behalf to kind of be able to create with the ball in your hands and stretch your range a little bit outside of maybe the dunks and the finishing around the rim. Is that a fair assessment. If so, where does that emphasis come from for you this season?

Yeah, definitely. I’ve been putting in a lot of work over the years and I really feel like I can create for my team. I can find my teammates when they’re open, and I can also be aggressive and create some problems for the other teams. For me, it’s really about keep building that relationship with my teammates and keep building the trust and then, make sure that I’m being put in position that I can really help my team.

Does expanding your own offensive game somewhat come from an aim to neutralize some of the small-ball defenses that teams have thrown at you during the playoffs over the years?

Yeah, definitely. Once again, I think, for us, it’s really to keep growing as a team and try to have that balance between attacking from the perimeter, but also, putting the ball inside and trust our game to be able to use that size advantage to get something easy, whether it’s kicking out for a three or finishing inside. I think for us to have that balance will be really key for us to take another step. I think this year, we’ve been able to do it very well. We are getting better and better.

When the organization trades a mainstay like Joe Ingles, who was crucial to so much of your team’s success in recent years, what are the challenges from a human perspective you have to navigate after a move like that?

Obviously, it was tough. Someone that’s such a huge part of the team’s foundation, leaving the team. With Joe, for me … we spent eight years together. Joe was a huge part of our progression and our success as a team. When Joe got here, we had won 25 games the year before. It was really cool to be able to share that journey with him and I think he made me better as a player over the years. We got to know each other, obviously, year after year. He’s someone I have a lot of respect for, him and his family. … I really just tried to show my support as much as I could. I hope he is gonna be able to back when he can. But it’s funny. When you get used to playing with someone, you kinda take it for granted and you don’t realize that could end any time. It’s tough, whether it’s injury or trade or someone retiring, it’s always a difficult adjustment.

Rowdy Rebel seems to have resolved some of those label issues because he’s back with new music for the first time since last year, not including his “Ah Haaa” freestyle and appearance on Bobby Shmurda’s “Shmoney.” Perhaps Bobby’s departure from Epic freed up some funds or gave him the leverage he needed to secure a release date. Either way, Rowdy goes to war with himself — and the world — on the conflicting, sinister “Rowdy Vs. Rebel.”

Featuring a thundering drill beat — Rowdy’s new preferred mode of communication — “Rowdy Vs. Rebel” finds the Brooklyn native comparing and contrasting his dueling natures. While his “Rowdy” half is characterized as the professional artist who wants nothing more than to pursue success and stay out of trouble, the “Rebel” in him seeks out conflict. “Rowdy just wanna rap, Rebel just wanna trap,” he rhymes. “Rebel wanna slide, Rowdy wanna chat.” I can’t help but picture those old cartoons where Tom the cat or whoever has an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other trying to convince him what to do next.

For his sake, let’s all hope he listens to his better nature because we’ve had to wait for six years for him to get out of prison and with music this compelling, it’d suck if he went and got himself locked up again before his album comes out.

Listen to Rowdy Rebel’s “Rowdy Vs. Rebel” above.

We live in a time of “takes.” Some are much better and worse than others, but no one has more unrestrained, enthused takes than Jason Momoa. Whether he’s referring to a comic book movie as “Ssssiiicccckkkkkk” or barely unable to contain himself while rocking out to a Metallica album, there’s never a dull moment when Momoa gets to preview things early and express his effusive state.

It’s quite something, then, to hear what Momoa thought about the new Michael Bay actioner, Ambulance, which appears to be as wild a ride as one would expect from the “Boom!” maestro. Well, get ready because Momoa had a reaction that even he didn’t expect: He cried, more than once.

As Momoa wrote on Instagram (while posting a photo of himself alongside See co-star Archie Madekwe), “i cried twice. kid part killed me. i’m a papa bear so u got me michael (fucker).” Well then. It’s worth noting that Momoa raved about Aquaman villain Yahya Abdul-Matteen II, however, and he was overall in love with this movie.

“Papa bear” had a good time, to say the very least:

“I was so honoured to be invited to this amazing movie @ambulancethemovie love u @archmadekwe THEATRES are back you got to watch this on the big screen. MICHAEL BAY. you killed it @yahya i’m so proud of you mahalo for inviting me @eizagonzalez wonderful performance. i cried twice. kid part killed me. i’m a papa bear so u got me michael (fucker). anywho. jake. so funny and crazy and fun. im just happy for everyone to see this u won’t be disappointed also to all my fellow actors there are no small roles. i saw every character in this movie. really amazing work. and @garretdillahunt you are one my loves. always inspiring watching you @universalpictures congratulations. i can’t believe u shot it that fast during the pandemic and for so little. shot on the best @reddigitalcinema aloha j.”

Take it from Momoa and go watch Ambulance, in theaters now.

Camila Cabello recently confirmed in an interview that her new collaboration with Willow on the steamy song “Psychofreak” directly confronts her 2016 departure from the girl group Fifth Harmony. “I don’t blame the girls for how it all went down,” she sings against haunting beats. Today, the pair released the music video, which takes it to another level of titillation.

Similar to Willow’s provocative music video with Siiickbrain for “Purge” from a week ago, the “Psychofreak” video features a lot of black clothing, fishnets, leather, and spiky jewelry, along with some erotic dancing. Both singers writhe either on the floor, the wall, or the ceiling as this room that looks like an office space spins disorientingly under fluorescent lights.

Toward the end, the two of them are together with their hands on each other while Cabello’s suit jacket is open and her breasts are censored. This follows her wardrobe malfunction on live television that happened a month ago. Afterwards, she was able to make light of it with a funny TikTok that quickly went viral; this music video watches her use the situation to her advantage again with what is probably a tongue-in-cheek reference to it.

Watch the music video for “Psychofreak” above.

When Eminem first appeared on the mainstream radar in 1999, his music seemed groundbreaking and fresh. Unfortunately, over the past two decades, the public perception of the self-proclaimed “Rap God” has changed as tastes in hip-hop have evolved. Now, he’s seen as something of an anachronism, a man out of time like Captain America in the Marvel Comics universe. Well, Jack Harlow, one of Eminem’s biggest fans, won’t stand for it anymore. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the “Nail Tech” rapper calls it “tragic” that his hero — with whom he collaborated on a remix of “Killer” last year — isn’t appreciated.

However, he remains optimistic that the pendulum will eventually swing the other way. “I think that sh*t is still forever immortal, and we’re gonna get back to it,” he says. “We’re a couple years away from everyone reviving that shit as a culture and being like, ‘Look at this sh*t.’ And everyone’s gonna pay their rightful respects again. No matter how the production ages to people, like, he put so much into his words that it immortalized him, even though that sh*t aged as ‘circus music’ to [some] people.”

The older rapper could probably help things along by, like, picking better beats and changing his flow, but point taken. Meanwhile, Harlow has more or less replaced Eminem as hip-hop’s favorite white boy (unless we’re counting Post Malone, whose status as a hip-hop artist remains a point of contention). He recently released the single “First Class” as the precursor to his upcoming second studio album, Come Home The Kids Miss You, and he’s been cast in a remake of White Men Can’t Jump. He talks about both in the full Rolling Stone interview, which you can read here.

Elon Musk doesn’t “do” subtle. His cars make fart noises (much to the delight of Ted Cruz), he’s in a dick-shaped measuring contest with fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, and he challenged Vladimir Putin to a one-on-one fight with the “stakes” being Ukraine, not to mention all the “lit” Twitter memes and 420 jokes. So, naturally, Musk went all out for the opening party of Tesla’s $1 billion Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, on Thursday.

Over 15,000 people were invited to the “Cyber Rodeo,” which featured “a large, open warehouse with a bar and a wide and unusual selection of amusements. There was live music, carnival games, drink and snack stations, and at least half a dozen food trucks and dancers on rollerblades — and even a mechanical bull, a tattoo parlor, and a petting zoo,” the Austin American-Statesman reports. Also, Harrison Ford was there.

Musk, wearing a cowboy hat and sunglasses, proclaimed that the Gigafactory is “taller than the Burj Khalifa,” and that 194 billion hamsters could fit inside the building. Meanwhile outside the factory, there was a drone show, complete with a “doge.” The Cyber Rodeo was an undeniable spectacle, but as Jalopnik tells it, it signified nothing:

Yet, for all the screaming fans and callbacks to the early days of the company Elon did not found, the big keynote speech lacked one key component: Any new information.

The keynote began with Elon driving to the stage in an early Tesla Roadster, while “Still D.R.E.” blared through the building’s PA like a moment from Office Space. That led to some history of the Tesla brand, its origins in Menlo Park, and its current lineup of “the most expensive joke in the world.” Cue applause.

The better comparison than Office Space might be Kendall Roy’s vanity project birthday party from the most recent season of Succession. Would it really surprise anyone if Musk demanded a “to the moon” playlist with all bangers all the time?

(Via the Statesman)

When people think of Michael Bay, they think of high octane films like The Rock, Transformers, and of course, his magnum space opus, Armageddon. However, while promoting his latest action spectacle, Ambulance (starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Bay revealed that he’s also a connoisseur of quieter fare. Namely, Yellowstone, the ever-expanding Western series from Taylor Sheridan that’s become a powerhouse for the Paramount Network.

In fact, Bay would much rather direct an episode of Yellowstone than something like Star Wars, which you’d just assume would be up Bay’s alley due to its propensity for massive explosions. Sure, Yellowstone has its share of shootouts (and Season 3 ended with one hell of a bomb going off), but it definitely skews towards more of a soap opera than the action-fests Bay usually delivers.

Via Collider:

“Y’know… I would not want to do [something like] Star Wars 5 because… the greatest, the toughest thing for a director to do is to create the world, and I like creating the world. But [directing Yellowstone] might be fun. The horses, and the Stetson hats, and the beautiful landscape… it’s a fun show.”

Of course, now, we can’t help but think about Michael Bay directing an adventure on the Dutton ranch, and it’s honestly hard not to picture horses exploding left and right. Just hooves and saddles flying everywhere as Kevin Costner stares at gorgeous Montana scenery and wonders if a piece of land is worth all of this fighting.

Also, the horses keep blowing up. That can’t be good.

(Via Collider)

Ahead of her upcoming appearance at this month’s Coachella festival, Phoebe Bridgers is the subject of an expansive new Los Angeles Times profile. As part of the piece, the publication reached out to Taylor Swift, who of course recruited Bridgers to join her on “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version)” from Red (Taylor’s Version). Swift took the time to respond with a quote about what it is about Bridgers’ music that makes it stand out to her.

Swift told the publication via email:

“I think that the specificity of Phoebe’s lyrics and the vulnerability she expresses in her voice when she delivers them is what makes her music so deeply impactful and moving for me as a fan. You feel like she’s reliving a precise memory or delivering a secret message to someone and you get the privilege to read it or hear about it. Her phrasing is very conversational, which turns her storytelling into something tremendously intimate, fragile, and real.”

In the piece, Bridgers also noted of working with Swift, “[The lyrics] hit me more than I thought it would. I was a lot more worried about my youth and getting discarded when I was 21. At that age, everybody writes about you as like a prodigy. To have won [Swift’s] trust was special — I knew there was a reason she thought of me. I was stressed and I wanted to get it right, but she was a great guide to me and approached everything with such care.”

Read the full feature here.

We’ve made it through the busiest part of the early video game calendar. While the idea of a “slow season” for gaming is a thing of the past, with must-play titles coming out every month, what really defined the early parts of gaming in 2022 were all of the AAA releases. Among those were a handful of indie darlings that could easily compete for game of the year at the end of 2022, but there will surely be more contenders to come.

We understand that keeping up with every game that comes out is really difficult, so we rounded up the five best games of 2022 so far. These are the can’t miss titles of the year through the first three or so months, and whether you’re the person who plays every game they can or only plays one or two, we think these should be given an honest try — some of them are even available on services like Game Pass.

Elden Ring

Everyone has heard about Elden Ring by now. It was the first smash hit of the year and immediately took the internet by storm with its mix of intensely difficult combat, endless world, and memes. While it was maybe not the most approachable game, despite its reputation, the majority of people who have played Elden Ring have come away elated. There’s something about this world that hooks you in and makes it really difficult to leave.

Elden Ring is the early favorite for game of the year for most people, but that’s not why you should play it. It’s a world with endless potential and those who are willing to dive into it and spend numerous hours bashing their head into its challenges are going to receive a reward that many of us are still seeking. Elden Ring isn’t for everyone, but for that lucky few there are few games they’re going to love more than this one.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Kirby and the Forgotten Land was the promised 3D adventure that many fans of the series have been asking for since the Nintendo 64. While the game is still largely linear, and candidly doesn’t take advantage of its 3D environment enough, it is still a fantastic adventure and one of the best Kirby games to date. What’s wonderful about Kirby and the Forgotten Land is that, despite its change in style, it is still a Kirby game at heart. That means it’s welcoming to newcomers, but has a level of depth that will make Kirby fans want to 100 percent the game.

As a result, while Kirby and the Forgotten Land has a lot of missed potential, it’s also one of the best games of the year simply due to how well it nails the transition to 3D. It has a really fun pick up and play co-op option with Bandana Dee, and the explorers among us aren’t going to rest until we find every secret each level has to unlock. Play this game on your own, with a significant other, family member, sibling, or really anyone. It’s going to be endless fun no matter what and is one of the best games of 2022 so far.

Infernax

Infernax came to us with a simple goal: Take inspiration from games like Zelda II: The Adventure of Link and Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, put a modern spin on them, then watch as it becomes one of the best retro-inspired games in recent memory. Infernax takes everything that was unique or creative about those two games, but does them in a much improved way. The combat is snappier and the movement is better, but it doesn’t lose any of that original challenge that makes retro games feel so memorable. Of course, for anyone that finds it may be a little too hard, there is a less difficult option to give these players an opportunity to experience the entire game.

This is great, because finishing the game is only one part of the journey for Infernax. The game has multiple endings, including a few secret ones, and even cheat codes. One of the best cheat codes involves the Konami Code, and while we won’t spoil it here, we strongly suggest putting it in at the start menu. It’s worth it for any longtime fans of retro gaming, which is what makes Infernax one of the best games of the year so far. It’s a love letter to the NES era in a way that all of us can appreciate. It’s also available on Game Pass for anyone that wants to try it.

Tunic

Tunic is going to make you yell “AH HA OF COURSE” more than any other game on this list. That’s because Tunic is a game where the entirety of the fun comes in exploration and discovery. The player’s main goal, besides completing the main quest, is completing a map that shows shortcuts and alternative routes for the player. The fun of Tunic is that all of these shortcuts are available from the start, but they’re hidden in plain sight. If the player is exploratory, they might even stumble upon a part of the game they’re not supposed to be at yet very early on.

This level of exploration has made Tunic a quick favorite and it’s already receiving comparisons to other huge hits like Dark Souls and Death’s Door. One aspect that separates it from the Souls-inspired games its being compared to, though, is that Tunic has a no-fail mode. Having a hard time with the bosses and combat? Just turn that on and enjoy exploring the game. It’s plenty of fun with that option alone. Tunic is spectacular and a great game to scratch that exploration itch. Try it out on Game Pass!

NORCO

NORCO is the most well-written game of 2022 so far. As a point and click adventure, this is obviously a game that was going to live and die on its writing, but the subtlety of its themes alongside a gripping and emotional story is going to have players hanging on every word. Joining them on the journey is also one of the most beautiful games you’ll ever play. The southern gothic art style of the very real Norco, Louisana fits the game’s themes perfectly.

While NORCO wasn’t completely out of nowhere — it was shown off at a couple of games showcases and was the first game to win an award at the Tribeca Film Festival — it caught a lot of the gaming community by surprise. Even some of its biggest supporters before launch are surprised at how much it is resonating with them. It’s early surprise and it’s available on Game Pass for anyone that wants to play it.