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Over the past week, Ana de Armas has posted on Instagram about the sunset, night shoots, and her dog, but there’s not a single mention of her new movie. It’s not hard to figure out why: Deep Water brought her and Ben Affleck together, but before the shamelessly sleazy movie could be released, they broke up. There will be no (extremely awkward) press tour — or mention of the erotic thriller on social media either, apparently.

So, who’s left to promote Deep Water? The film’s “snail wrangler,” obviously.

Snails play a big role in Deep Water, as Vic (Affleck) keeps a room full of the slimy gastropods in the house he shares with his wife Melinda (de Armas). “I’d say it’s fairly accurate,” handler Max Anton told Entertainment Weekly about the snail room. “Vic’s setup is the prettiest way it should look with these big glass tanks.” He also praised Affleck’s commitment to not stepping on any snails and/or turning them into escargot.

“Ben was fantastic to work with. He’s a great listener. And you can tell that when he does his scenes, he will take instructions. He understands them, and usually, he can nail it the first time. He was exceptionally good with my animals. We didn’t lose a single one.”

As for de Armas, she “did not want to touch them,” according to Anton, but “despite being not okay with the snails, she did a great job too.”

Snails apparently live for between two to five years, which means they outlasted de Armas and Affleck’s relationship. Congrats to the snails.

(Via EW)

It’s been a rough few weeks for Disney and Pixar employees, who have received unheard-of backlash for the very witty and age-appropriate movie Turning Red featuring a plot point about menstruation. In addition to that debacle, employees at Pixar Animation Studios pushed for Disney to do something in the wake of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, and they were effectively silenced, which led to a rebellion and joint statement made to The Walt Disney Company, demanding that the company take a stance on prominent LGBTQ issues, and to stop “cutting gay affection” from their movies. For once, Disney actually…listened?

According to Variety, the upcoming Toy Story spinoff Lightyear features a female character, Hawthorne (played by Uzo Aduba) in a relationship with another woman. Allegedly, a kiss between the two animated characters was cut from the film. Now, the kiss seems to have been reinstated after the employee backlash.

Former Pixar employees anonymously spoke to Variety and confirmed that plot points about LGBTQ characters were frequently shot down, with same-sex relationships either edited out or left to just background characters that appear onscreen for less than a second. Fans even believe that Turning Red originally had a queer character that must have been cut, though there has been no confirmation of this.

Despite the constant pushback, there have been very few LGBTQ hints in Pixar movies, but perhaps this kiss will be the first step towards some more representation…if they do decide to keep it in, after all.

Phoebe Bridgers had an opportunity most artists dream about when she got to collaborate with Taylor Swift, on “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version)” from Red (Taylor’s Version). Like many of us, Bridgers has been a Swift fan for years, and on a recent episode of Charli XCX’s Best Song Ever podcast, Bridgers made her pick for her favorite Swift song (as NME notes).

After Charli asked, Bridgers was quick to choose Folklore highlight “Betty,” saying:

“I like when songwriters make you decide what’s so sad about this person. It’s kind of not the movie version of a love story. You have a crush on someone and then you hook up with someone else because your feelings for them overwhelm you? That’s so f*cking sad. I think it’s genius. And then we kind of don’t really know what happens at the end of it.”

She also just noted of Swift’s music in general, “It’s high art. She’s like the king of her craft. She’s just a perfect example of someone who uses all the resources at her disposal to be completely genuine.” About what it was like to work on Red (Taylor’s Version), Bridgers also said, “I can’t imagine getting to sing on a cooler project. I connect with that song so much. It’s a masterpiece.”

Listen to the Best Song Ever episode below.

Charli XCX is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Lil Nas X proved he wasn’t just a one-hit-wonder long ago — multiple times, no less — but he still seemed pretty amped to learn that one of his Montero singles finally surpassed his breakout hit on DSPs. Now that he’s returned to Twitter, he had the perfect joke for the occasion, too. “Just found out call me by your name passed old town road in streams,” he announced. “We beat the horse boy allegations.”

He’s joking — sort of, and also always — but there was a time the TikTok-trend sparking “Old Town Road” was Nas’ signature hit. He performed in full cowboy regalia for nearly a solid year and even admits that by the end of the song’s monstrous, historical run, he was growing a little tired of it. And while he was able to produce bangers like “Panini,” “Rodeo,” and “Holiday” in the aftermath of “OTR’s” dominance, it almost looked like he would be known solely by his first hit.

Then “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” dropped as the first single to his debut album Montero, and rather than being the horse boy, he’d become the devil man, with the video for his second No. 1 hit setting off seismic waves of speculation and disconcerted, sputtering backlash from conservative commentators. That would have been enough to wipe away the “one-hit-wonder” tag, but then he dropped “Industry Baby” to garner his third No. 1, just for good measure.

A super-rare edition of Marvel Comics #1, the first Marvel book to ever be printed, just sold at auction for a whopping $2.4 million, a slight increase in value from its original sale price in 1939: 10 cents. The comic, which features the first appearances of classic characters like the original Human Torch and Sub-Mariner, is a particularly unique find not just because of its age and collectibility, but for the extra notes handwritten in the issue. The “extremely passionate” mystery buyer, whose identity has yet to be revealed, clearly knew his Marvel history and had the millions to pay for it.

Via Associated Press:

The very well-preserved “pay copy” is especially sought-after because it bears the publisher’s handwritten notes recording how much each writer and artist was paid.

“It’s an incredibly important look into the world and behind the scenes of the creation” of a comics powerhouse, [ComicConnect COO Vincent] Zurzolo said.

You can see the cover of the ultra-rare Marvel Comics #1 below:

As we now know, Marvel Comics would become one of the biggest names in comics along with its fierce competitor DC Comics. Known as the Big Two, the companies were cutthroat rivals who shamelessly copied each other, poached talents, and basically did everything possible to dominate comic book sales. Now, they’re both media empires churning out cinematic hits like Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Batman.

And to think it all started for Marvel with a guy who could light himself on fire at will and a dude who was super good at swimming. Later, they’d both fight against Hitler, as was the fashion at the time.

(Via Associated Press)

A lot of people metaphorically see themselves on TV, when they can identify with characters and their storylines. But not many people actually see a photo of themselves on the screen, except for Jim Carey in The Truman Show. But that happened to 29-year-old Copenhagen resident Alexander Burchardt when he was watching a season two episode of HBO’s Euphoria.

In the scene, a character goes to a jukebox and settles on INXS’s classic 1987 hit “Never Tear Us Apart.” When the camera pans over the album artwork, many eagle-eyed viewers noticed the cover looked more like an off-brand version of the official artwork. When Burchardt was watching the episode, he saw himself.

“It was me. In the split second, we see the album cover, I saw it and I got so confused,” Burchardt told Rolling Stone. “You’d be surprised how easily you could recognize yourself when you least expect it. I remember that photoshoot [and] the clothes I was wearing but I was shocked. We thought it was impossible so we rewound the scene, paused again, and looked, and my girlfriend was screaming.”

As it turns out, Burchardt, like many twenty-somethings in the early 2000s, decided to take up modeling. The photos ended up on iStock, a stock image website, where the Euphoria art department likely found the photos in order to re-create the cover, likely due to licensing issues.

An entertainment lawyer confirmed to Rolling Stone that publicity laws are probably to blame. The show was able to secure the rights to their song but perhaps didn’t want to go to the trouble of securing the artwork for just a second of screentime. “The fact that they used the track itself — and that’s assuming they likely had the rights to use the song — coupled with them stripping the album cover so substantially [and] then changing the musicians out with stock images makes me think it was more because of a potential name and likeness or right of publicity concern,” Lawyer Christiane Kinney said.

So, even though an iStock model isn’t exactly the same as using the real photo featuring frontman Michael Hutchence, it gives Burchardt a great story to tell…and maybe an acting credit?

Princess Nokia is already a marquee hip-hop act but now the Harlem rapper is signed to a major label and slated to take on a range of summer festivals worldwide. Her pointed style on the mic remains unchanged, though, and if there was any doubt, “No Effort” claps back at any doubters left in the dust.

“Look at me, so clean, no effort, ponytail, ripped jeans, no effort. Face clean, gold ring, no effort, insane, my chain, big pressure,” she raps over a throwback beat. She cruises through a cold and sunny NYC day in the new clip, flashing her dance moves in the process. She’s always had the juice, no doubt, but how many rappers do you know that can pull off opening for Haim at MSG? Princess Nokia will be doing that on May 17 and then some from there.

Watch the video for “No Effort” above and check out Princess Nokia’s summer tour stops below.

04/15 & 22 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2022
05/17 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
05/21 — Saint Therese, QC @ Santa Theresa Festival
05/28 – Louisville, KY @ The Forecastle Music Festival 2022
05/29 — Dallas, TX @ So What?! Festival
06/10 — Warsaw, PL @ Girl You Go! Festival
06/11 — Vienna, AT @ Arena Festival —
06/13 — Athens, GR @ Plissken Festival
06/15 – Bergen, NO @ Bergenfest
06/16 – Barcelona, ES @ Sonar Festival –
06/22 — 26 — Calgary, CA @ Sled Island
06/26 — Seattle, WA @ Seattle Pride —
07/10 – Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool Festival
07/14 – Ostrava, CZ @ Colours Of Ostrava
07/16 – Dour, BE @ Dour Festival
07/17 – Paris, FR @ Lollapalooza Paris
07/19 — Istanbul, TR @ KüçükÇiftlik Park
08/07 — Cluj, RO @ Untold Festival
08/10 – Oslo, NO @ Øyafestivalen
08/11 – Gothenburg, SE @ Way Out West
08/13 – Helsinki, FI @ Flow Festival
08/15 — Budapest, HU @ Sziget Festiva
08/17 — Edinburgh, UK @ Edinburgh International Fest
08/20 – Paredes De Coura, PT @ Paredes de Coura Festival
08/26 — Oberhausen, DE @ Hype Festival
09/23 — Dover, DE @ Firefly Festival

Before she was a brand magnet, hitmaking rapper, Saweetie was a multi-sport athlete, competing in track, volleyball, and flag football and earning the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section’s Female Athlete Of The Year honor in 2011. Now that she has hits like “Tap In,” “Back To The Streets,” “Best Friend,” and “Closer” under her belt, it makes sense that she’d add an athletic brand to her growing list of high-profile partnerships, which already includes impressive names like Amazon, Crocs, MAC Cosmetics, McDonald’s, Netflix, and Quay.

While the world of athleisure is expansive and growing by the day, Saweetie prefers the classics. She’s locked in a role with Champion as the brand’s new Global Corporate Consultant and contributes one of her many catchy, fan-favorite singles, “Get It Girl,” to Champion’s ad campaign of the same name. As part of the campaign, Champion will also support its 12 featured female athletes with mentorship in areas such as marketing and media to ensure they have career opportunities beyond the court and field.

Saweetie was gracious enough to grant an interview with Uproxx via Zoom to discuss the Champion deal, her favorite pieces from Champion’s related sportswear line, and her upcoming album, Pretty Bitch Music.

What drew you to Champion as the partnership for this women’s athletics partnership?

I honestly think that it’s just in alignment with my life. I grew up playing sports. I played track, volleyball, basketball, powderpuff. I played a plethora of sports, and I’ve always worn Champion during my workouts, pre-games, et cetera, et cetera. The fact that I am the new partner and global consultant, it’s just really, really a dream come true. The fact that I’m endorsing these female college athletes, who were once in the position I was in, it’s just amazing.

What’s your favorite piece from the collection?

My favorite piece is the tights. It feels I’m not wearing anything. It’s so soft. It just feels like skin. There are leggings where they feel good, but these ones feel so good, you could probably fall asleep in them.

As far as women’s athletics go, are you paying any attention at all to the NCAA Basketball tournament’s women’s side? Do you have any picks? Have you filled out your bracket?

Please fill me in, because while they playing on the court, I’m playing in the studio. I’ve been focused on Pretty Bitch Music, but please enlighten me. Who’s your pick?

You caught me. I’ve been pretty busy writing about new music too.

I guess we both got to do our research.

Absolutely, because now I’m embarrassed. You turned it around on me. Speaking of Pretty Bitch Music, I know a lot of people have been waiting for a very long time for it. You’ve been tweaking things. What would you say has been the biggest challenge in getting it out the door, and the most fun part about holding on to it and making sure that it’s been tweaked to perfection?

I think the best thing about this music is as I begin to learn myself, as a woman, there are more things that I’d like to discuss and talk about. I’m happy that it didn’t come out when it was supposed to come out, two years ago, because I’ve definitely grown spiritually, mentally in a lot of areas in my life. I actually discovered meditation last year, and through being silent, I realize what my purpose was. I need to make sure that I get this message across in my music.

Are there any surprises that would really blow anybody’s mind that you can share or let us know about ahead of time, because it’s Uproxx, and you love us?

If I tell you, it’s not going to be a surprise anymore.

Is the Tagalog song still on there?

It’s not a Tagalog song. I am speaking Tagalog, but it’s definitely on the “keep” list — hopefully, it stays there.

Maybe you brought back one of the old car verses for us? Because I love those car verses. They were so good.

Thank you. Honestly. I think that people will definitely see the elevation. I can’t say specifically what it is yet. It’s not “new” Saweetie, it’s just “elevated” Saweetie. I mean, you might have touched on a couple of things, but we’re just going to have to see.

I know you get a lot of interviews. You get a lot of the same questions. I have to ask a lot of the same questions. Do you ever have anything that you want to talk about, that you really care about, that you never get a chance to talk about, because nobody ever asks you? For instance, I once got someone who wanted to talk about anime because I was wearing an anime shirt like I am now [It was a Sailor Moon shirt].

Well, I do love anime. My favorite is Chibi, Sailor Rini from Sailor Moon. I actually have a Chibi chain.

Honestly, I was a stationery collector, I don’t know if you’re familiar with stationery books, but I love Lovely White. I would go to Koreatown and collect a whole bunch of stationery. It’s definitely one of the more low-key animes, but her name’s Lovely White.

If there’s one major thesis or statement, or message of the album, what would you want people to take away from it?

That’s a really great question. When women listen to this album, I really want them to tap into their divine femininity. After they’re done consuming, seeing their self in some of these songs, I would really love to hear how women feel in 12 months, because the purpose of this album is for women.

Auburn found itself in a little trouble early in its first round tilt against Jacksonville State thanks to some hot shooting by the Gamecocks. But eventually, things settled down considerably and the Tigers were able to avoid the same fate that the Kentucky Wildcats suffered the night before, winning their 2/15 tilt by a decisive final score of 80-61.

As is usually the case when things go well for the Tigers this season, Jabari Smith had quite the afternoon. The presumed top-5 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft led the team with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists while showing off the sweet shooting stroke that makes him such a compelling prospect — the 6’10 Smith knocked down four of his seven attempts from behind the three-point line.

It was one of those three misses, however, that gave Smith his best moment of the game. Smith missed a triple late in the game when things were already decided, but managed to get the rebound. He decided to instead put the ball on the deck and drive towards the rim, which led to him throwing down on Jacksonville State big man Brandon Huffman.

Smith got fouled and hit the foul shot, so he did score three points on this possession after all.

Following the strange decision to award several important Oscars before the telecast, many Hollywood stars are threatening to skip doing press and the red carpet altogether in order to support their coworkers.

The Academy announced last month that certain categories — documentary short, film editing, makeup/hairstyling, original score, production design, animated short, live-action short, and sound — would be presented before the televised ceremony, sparking outrage among some stars. Chastain, who starred in The Eyes Of Tammy Faye, wishes to be present when those awards are announced. “I will absolutely be present when the makeup category is being called, and if that means I’m not doing press on the red carpet for ABC or whatever it is, then so be it,” the actress said. “The most important thing for me is to honor the incredible artisans who work in our industry.”

The Best Actress nominee continued, saying that every aspect of a performance should be recognized, not just the actor. “So much attention is on the actor. We’re like the face in some way because you go to a movie and see us,” she added. “But a lot of people don’t understand how beyond an actor a performance is.”

Chastain isn’t alone in her thinking, as many other Hollywood personnel have expressed frustration with the Academy after this decision. Director Guillermo del Toro also spoke out against the Academy earlier this month, saying “if any year was the year to think about it, this was not the year to not hear their names live at the Oscars. This is the year to say it and say it loud.” The director’s film Nightmare Alley is nominated for four awards, including Best Picture.

The Academy clarified that the recipients would still receive their awards in front of the Dolby Theater crowd, but it would be added into the live telecast later on. Regardless, the show is likely just trying to make more room during the ceremony for the three hosts to have some witty banter, or for the mess that will be the fan-voted award. We will see how this plays out.

The Oscars will air Sunday, March 27th on ABC.