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So far, Taylor Swift has recruited quite the roster of Hollywood favorites for her Red (Taylor’s Version) videos. Her “All Too Well” short film stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien, while her new “I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” video that’s out today is directed by Blake Lively and co-stars Miles Teller. In the clip for the Chris Stapleton-featuring track, Teller plays a just-married groom who can’t help but notice Swift, the maid of honor, at his wedding reception.

Yesterday, Swift said of the video, “I finally got to work with the brilliant, brave, & wickedly funny @blakelively on her directorial debut. Join us as we raise a toast, and a little hell.” She added today, “The reddest video EVER is out now. Directed by @blakelively who SMASHED it just like I smashed this cake.”

Swift also recently said of the song, “‘I Bet You Think About Me’ is a song I wrote with Lori McKenna, who is one of my favorite singer-songwriters ever. I’d always wanted to work with her. And I wrote this with her at her house when I was playing Foxboro Stadium on the Speak Now tour [in June 2011]. We wanted this song to be like a comedic, tongue-in-cheek, funny, not caring what anyone thinks about you sort of break-up song, because there are a lot of different types of heartbreak songs on Red. Some of them are very sincere, some of them are very stoic and heartbreaking and sad. We wanted this to be the moment where I was like, ‘I don’t care about anything.’ And we wanted to make people laugh with it, and we wanted it to be sort of a drinking song, and I think that that’s what it ended up being.”

Watch the “I Bet You Think About Me” video above.

Red (Taylor’s Version) is out now via Republic. Get it here.

No Time to Die won’t make $1 billion at the box office like Skyfall did in 2012 (it helps that Skyfall wasn’t released during a global pandemic), but it’s still breaking records. The 25th James Bond movie is up to $700 million global and $558.2 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of the pandemic era at the international box office. The previous pandemic-best earned overseas was F9 with $549 million.

It goes to show, the 1970 Dodge Charger R/T has nothing on the Aston Martin DB5.

No Time to Die is Universal’s top earner of all time in the U.K., Ireland, Netherlands, and Switzerland. Also in the U.K. — home of EON — No Time to Die is the fifth-highest grossing film of all time after passing up Avengers: Endgame. No Time to Die opened this weekend in Australia, its last major market. The film grossed an impressive $8.2 million, by far a pandemic-era best.

F9 is still ahead of No Time to Die in the total gross ($721 million to $708 million), but among 2021 films, they are both way behind the worldwide total of the year’s two biggest blockbusters: The Battle at Lake Changjin ($874 million!) and Hi, Mom ($822 million).

In another interesting wrinkle, only two Hollywood movies have crossed the $200 million mark at the domestic box office in 2021: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Venom: Let There Be Carnage. (No Time to Die is stuck around $150 million.)

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? That’s right: let Venom be the next Bond.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

It’s not a particularly great time to be a rock band on the festival circuit. As rock has continued to decline in popularity on the Top 40 and be dominated in the streaming world, it has understandably taken a backseat at the big, multigenre festivals across the country (worry not internationally, rock still crushes in Europe and Latin America). Of course there are exceptions, as artists like Vampire Weekend and Phoebe Bridgers have become festival mainstays, but the vast majority of the big rock acts you’d catch at night at a festival are bands whose roots go back to the early aughts (The Strokes, The Killers) or even earlier (Foo Fighters, Green Day, Rage Against The Machine will close out a Coachella night next year).

If you’re looking for a rock act that’s genuinely made the jump to closing out the biggest fests, you have Tame Impala and not much else. But with the release of their latest album, I Don’t Live Here Anymore, The War On Drugs could conceivably be the next act to follow suit.

You don’t need to squint to see the similarities. Both Tame Impala and The War On Drugs are essentially bands with singular creative figureheads, and both draw on past sounds for updated, very vibey interpretations. And both are pretty absent from the social media-driven cult of personality that seems to boost so many other acts into the mainstream. But where they differ, and where The War On Drugs most have their work cut out for them, is in who they appeal to, and how. Tame still seems to skew young in their reach, boosted by cosigns from figures like Travis Scott and Lady Gaga. But, as noted on a recent episode of Indiecast, The War On Drugs’ leader Adam Granduciel has yet to make the same inroads, despite what should be easy access through their Atlantic Records affiliations.

On Friday night at Desert Daze at Lake Perris, CA, The War On Drugs headlined a modest, feisty festival for their first proper show since the pandemic, and first in support of the new record. It also provided a bit of a test for the band as bona fide festival marquee acts. Sure, it’s not the first time they’ve headlined an event, but it is the first time they’ve done so where it looks like it should be commonplace in coming years. Funny enough, Tame Impala was booked for the same spot at the same fest in 2018, shortly before they headlined Coachella in 2019. No, I don’t think The War On Drugs will follow that exact path, but other, more on-brand events could definitely be in their future, especially after they wrap their initial 2022 run that will see them perform at Madison Square Garden.

At Desert Daze, the appearance felt less like a coronation than a warm-up, but that had more to do with the festival returning with reduced capacity and stages than prior incarnations, as well as less production than the band will surely have on their own tour. But what stood out most was just how the musicianship of the band connects with audiences. The crowd ranged from teens to grandparents, but the music in these settings proves pretty undeniable, as Granduciel’s regular solos soar without the need for a dramatic spotlight or lasers. That said, flourishes of that nature will surely be welcome when they arrive.

Coming after sets from bands like Ty Segall and Diiv, whose in-the-moment lack of polish is worn like a badge of honor, The War On Drugs blew the competition away. The songs were mostly just a couple of weeks into the world, with the exception of “Pain” and “Under The Pressure,” and struck as the equivalent of radio hits thanks to the strength in the songwriting and the tightness of the performance. For those that wanted to wander the grounds and trip out of the psychedelic art installations, the tunes provided a perfect soundtrack. And the compositions made up for the fact that the band doesn’t do much for stage banter, that there were no video screens, that they were only given a 70-minute slot. There’s a life to a War On Drugs song that reveals itself like the plot of a movie, that rewards attention as to not miss out on the fully-conceived twists and turns.

In a world where passive listening thrives, The War On Drugs works on both levels, much like Tame Impala. Whether they can successfully follow that blueprint will be seen over the next few years, but regardless of the trajectory, no band today strikes me as comfortable in their own skin. They are an ambitious band that lets the music do the talking. They let their songs cut through the pop culture noise. They might not inspire selfies with themselves in the background, but they will inspire throwing the album on again for the drive home after the concert. The War On Drugs are a band solely about the music, in a time when very few can say the same.

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

Keeping up with new music can be exhausting, even impossible. From the weekly album releases to standalone singles dropping on a daily basis, the amount of music is so vast it’s easy for something to slip through the cracks. Even following along with the Uproxx recommendations on a daily basis can be a lot to ask, so every Monday we’re offering up this rundown of the best new music this week.

This week saw Taylor Swift bring Red to 2021 and Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak absolutely deliver on all the hype they generated for the debut Silk Sonic album. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.

For more music recommendations, check out our Listen To This section, as well as our Indie Mixtape and Pop Life newsletters.

Taylor Swift — “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)”

Despite not being a single, “All Too Well” became a defining song from Red, and now, it’s one of the key tracks from Red (Taylor’s Version), too. That’s due to the new ten-minute version, which is how Swift originally wrote and envisioned the song before truncating it for the album. She’s pushing this version hard, too, as she shared a cinematic short film for it and performed it on Saturday Night Live.

Silk Sonic — “After Last Night” Feat. Bootsy Collins and Thundercat

For months, “Leave The Door Open” was the only Silk Sonic available for fans to enjoy. Sure enough, though, Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak gradually shared more songs, and last week, they shared all of them by releasing An Evening With Silk Sonic. The album is mostly just Mars and .Paak (because who needs more than those two?), but as far as collaborators, they got a couple of them (Thundercat and album narrator Bootsy Collins) on the highlight “After Last Night.”

Rosalía and The Weekend — “La Fama”

The dynamic duo behind the Latin-flavored 2020 remix of “Blinding Lights” has reunited, as The Weeknd and Rosalía linked up on “La Fama” last week. The track is the first one from Rosalía’s upcoming album Motomami, and if the smooth new number isn’t enough for some reason, the video has a wonderful Danny Trejo cameo.

Beyonce — “Be Alive”

Whenever Beyonce drops a new song (or does just about anything), there is much rejoicing. So, last week, there was much rejoicing when she dropped “Be Alive” last week, her spirited and punchy contribution to the movie King Richard that finds itself a strong groove and runs with it.

Juice WRLD — “Already Dead”

Juice WRLD seems to have left a ton of music behind because last week, the late rapper’s team announced that his second posthumous album, Fighting Demons, is on the way later this year. Alongside that announcement arrived the eerily titled “Already Dead,” on which Juice sings, “Voices in my head / All I can hear them say / is everyone wants me dead / B*tch, I’m already dead / I’ve been dead for years.”

Mitski — “The Only Heartbreaker”

Mitski season is approaching and it’ll fully arrive in early 2022 when she drops her new album, Laurel Hell. She announced that LP last week, at which time she also shared “The Only Heartbreaker,” a driving rocker that sees Mitski confronting some realizations she’s had in her romantic life.

Saweetie — “Get It Girl”

Saweetie dropped a preview of “Get It Girl” in a Beats By Dre commercial last month, and while many figured the full track would appear on her upcoming album, it’s actually going to be on the Insecure soundtrack. That news came as the full song was shared last week and it’s a confident dispatch ahead of Saweetie’s SNL appearance this weekend.

Rick Ross — “Outlawz” Feat. Jazmine Sullivan and 21 Savage

Rick Ross has a new album, Richer Than I Ever Been, on the way, and fans who wanted an early look at it got one last week with “Outlawz,” which features contributions from 21 Savage and Jazmine Sullivan. Uproxx’s Wongo Okon notes of the track, “The song is carried by soulful production supplied by producer AraabMuzik. Hard-hitting drums and soaring vocals sit under Ross and 21 Savage slick raps and Sullivan’s show-stealing hook.

Polo G — “Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)”

Hall Of Fame was Polo G’s first No. 1 album this summer, and he’s ending the year with even more of it: Hall Of Fame 2.0 is set to drop in December and it’s a deluxe edition of the original album that boasts 14 new tracks. He shared one of those last week with “Bad Man (Smooth Criminal),” which will sound instantly familiar as it samples the Michael Jackson classic referenced in the title.

Beach House — “Once Twice Melody”

The last we heard from Beach House was their 2018 album 7, but 2022 will bring more goodies from the defining dream-pop duo. Indeed, said goodies will be plentiful, as the group’s upcoming album, Once Twice Melody, boasts a hefty 18 tracks. The group plans to share the songs in periodic chunks ahead of the album’s release and they started last week with “Once Twice Melody,” “Superstar,” “Pink Funeral,” and “Through Me.”

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

Dogleg established themselves as one of indie’s most promising up-and-coming groups with their well-received 2020 album Melee. However, the narrative about the group, specifically about singer Alex Stoitsiadis, has shifted in recent days, as he has currently faces multiple allegations of emotional abuse in romantic relationships (like this one and this one). These accusations were made public over the past week or so, and now Stoitsiadis has shared a statement, which also serves as an announcement that Dogleg is now in hiatus.

The statement begins, “I have spent the last several days hearing from those that I have wronged, and reading their statements of how my negative behaviors have affected them. I have struggled to adequately address these legitimate concerns about my actions. In romantic relationships, I would get inappropriately possessive. When I realized a relationship was ending, I would text and call obsessively. I would lie when asked directly if I was seeing other people.”

After confirming the hiatus, Stoitsiadis concluded, “At this point, I need to reflect and actively work on recognizing and managing these negative patterns of behavior. I am sorry to those I have hurt. I want to thank my bandmates, my closest friends, my family, and the community all for holding me accountable.”

Find Stoitsiadis’ full statement below.

“I have spent the last several days hearing from those that I have wronged, and reading their statements of how my negative behaviors have affected them. I have struggled to adequately address these legitimate concerns about my actions.

In romantic relationships, I would get inappropriately possessive. When I realized a relationship was ending, I would text and call obsessively. I would lie when asked directly if I was seeing other people. In my friendships and relationships, I would selfishly divert conversations to be about my own issues, and would not give ample time or care to the issues of other people. In both cases, I would routinely put myself over others.

My past, my fears, and my traumas do not warrant me to be hurtful to other people. My selfishness, obsessiveness, and dishonesty are unacceptable and undeserving of a platform in their current state.

Dogleg will be taking a hiatus. At this point, I need to reflect and actively work on recognizing and managing these negative patterns of behavior.

I am sorry to those I have hurt. I want to thank my bandmates, my closest friends, my family, and the community all for holding me accountable.

-Alex.”

When Donald Trump‘s own attorney general is telling you that your wild conspiracy theories gone too far, you’ve definitely gone onboard. According to a new excerpt from Jonathan Karl’s book, Betrayal, that was reportedly the case when former Attorney General Bill Barr had to shut down a crazed phone from call from Fox News host Mario Bartiromo.

Starting in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Bartiromo was a prominent pusher of election fraud theories and even hosted Sidney “The Kraken” Powell on her show so the attorney would have a “shortcut” to Trump, who routinely watched Bartiromo’s show. However, Bartiromo got so brazen in her zeal for proving election fraud that she allegedly called up Barr and demanded he launch a full investigation.

Barr was not having it, and in a notable move, he went on the record about the conversation for Karl’s book. Via CNN:

Bartiromo comes up several times in “Betrayal.” In mid-November, according to the book, Bartiromo “called Barr to complain that the DOJ hadn’t done anything to stop the Democrats from stealing the election.”

“She called me up and she was screaming,” Barr told Karl on the record. “I yelled back at her. She’s lost it.”

While Bartiromo would not personally respond to Karl for comment, a spokesperson for Fox News did respond to CNN and “denied Barr’s account of the conversation on Bartiromo’s behalf.” According to Fox, Barr was the “aggressive one” and yelled and cursed during the call, which Barr already admitted in the excerpt. That’s a heck of a denial.

(Via CNN)

Redemption Whiskey is one of the more interesting brands out there right now. Their Master Blender, Dave Carpenter (a former chef), has been taking barrels from MGP of Indiana and building unique blends, distinct finishings, and excellent barrel-proof offerings. Their newest release is a Cognac Cask Finish bourbon.

The new release takes French oak that held Cognac (from Pierre Ferrand) and marries that to classic bourbon. While the combination of Cognac and bourbon isn’t a new thing, this particular expression takes a bold stance. Carpenter filled those casks from France with their award-winning high-rye bourbon to add an extra layer of depth to the whole thing.

We were lucky enough to get a taste of this new bourbon and the results are pretty impressive. Let’s get into what’s in the bottle!

Redemption Cognac Cask Finish

ABV: 49.5%

Average Price: $70

The Whiskey:

Master Blender Dave Carpenter built this small-batch bourbon off the back of barrels of very high-rye bourbon (60 percent corn, 36 percent rye, and four percent malted barley) from MGP of Indiana. Carpenter then moved that juice into Cognac barrels from Ferrand Cognac which held Cognac for 30 years. The bourbon spent 12 months finishing in those old-school barrels before vatting, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a clear pecan pie vibe on the nose with a buttery crust, plenty of holiday spices, a touch of apricot, and a whisper of dried hibiscus petals. The palate takes the apricot and stews it with the spices to create a jammy compote next to an earthy and wet cellar beam dripping with cobwebs as the hibiscus brightens and leads towards a hint of raisin, prune, and white pepper. The mid-palate leans into that sweet dried fruit/peppery edge as the pecans return in a bowl of Caro syrup and dusted with nutmeg-heavy eggnog spices and a final flourish of that wet yet fruity wood.

The Bottle:

Redemption has some of the best bottles on the game. They feel like a cross between what you’d see a pirate carrying in some far-off port and an art-deco design piece made for a snazzy home bar cart. The dark magenta label helps this stand out as well and gives you a hint at that Cognac finish inside.

Bottom Line:

This is really good juice. It’s also a great example of how unique those barrels from MGP are these days, especially when you add in that extra layer of barrel finishing.

Ranking:

90/100 — It’s really hard to find a flaw in this whiskey. That being said, there wasn’t anything that jumped out and left a huge impression. It’s just really good whiskey with a serious depth, making it a great sipper.

Adele’s CBS concert/interview special Adele One Night Only aired yesterday, and her performance and conversation with Oprah yielded a bunch of highlights. One of the most heartwarming, though, was when Adele helped a guy named Quentin propose to his girlfriend Ashley on stage.

Adele instructed her audience, “I need every single person to be really bloody quiet, alright? Let’s turn the lights down. If you make a noise, I’m going to kill you.”

Then, the lights were turned down and Quentin escorted Ashley, who was wearing a blindfold and noise-canceling headphones, onto the silent stage. “What are we doing, Quentin,” she asked as she was led onto the stage. Her confusion only grew when she took off her blindfold and noticed the crowd in front of them.

Quentin began his proposal, “I want to thank you for being so patient with me. I am extremely proud of you. And I mean, every day you blow my mind. There’s absolutely nothing that you cannot do. And I just know that you’re going to be an amazing mother to our kids one day.”

Ashley got a laugh from the audience when she said, “Thank God you didn’t let me eat. I would have thrown up.”

Quentin then popped the question and got a tearful yes from Ashley. Then, Adele emerged to say hi to the couple and instructed them to take a seat in the front row, sandwiched between Lizzo and Melissa McCarthy. Adele then sang her 2008 song “Make You Feel My Love” for the newly engaged couple.

All in all, it was a beautiful moment, so check it out above.

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

Admittedly, there was a feeling of, let’s say, trepidation before meeting Joaquin Phoenix for an interview on the balcony of a Midtown Manhattan hotel room. This would be my first in-person interview since March of 2020 and it was with an actor who makes it abundantly clear that he doesn’t like doing interviews. When I arrived I was told Phoenix had requested that the interview be paired with C’mon C’mon director Mike Mills. I was also supposed to interview Mills later that day and decided to not put up a fuss because I wasn’t going to tell the guy who already hates interviews that I turned down his request to make the interview more comfortable for him. (Yeah, “Hey, sorry I couldn’t agree to your request, but now let’s dig deep into who you are,” didn’t seem like it was going to go over very well.)

The thing I learned about Joaquin Phoenix is, yes, it’s true he doesn’t like interviews – and his mood changes so drastically from minute to minute I had no idea how it was going. At one point he got up and left and I had no idea why or if he was coming back or not; he did come back – but he’s never a jerk about it. (He seemed his happiest when we were talking about the Lee Majors television shows The Fall Guy and The Six Million Dollar Man and he seemed his least happiest when he was talking about himself.) The best comparison I can think of is how I react when my optometrist wants to give me the air puff test. I am miserable and very stressed out, but I am not mad at the optometrist. I know it’s part of the deal and we have to get it over with.

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance in Mike Mills’s wonderful C’mon C’mon isn’t a typical Joaquin Phoenix performance in that it, strangely, feels relatively “normal,” to the point it seems abnormal for Phoenix. This movie will not be billed as, “Joaquin Phoenix takes his darkest turn yet.” Phoenix plays Johnny, a journalist who is doing a series of interviews around the country with kids about their hope, dreams, and future. His sister, Viv (Gaby Hoffmann) is going through a rough patch and offers to take her son, Jesse (Woody Norman), along with him on his travels to give her some breathing room. Along the way, Johnny and Jesse start to bond. And, as Mills points out, the movie began as a story inspired by his own kids (following Beginners, a movie about his dad, and 20th Century Women, about his mom), but then became more about Joaquin Phoenix and Woody Norman bonding in real life, and we see that relationship unfold onscreen.

But, first, before we got into all that (and Phoenix’s sincere statement that he just realized he wants to make a The Six Million Dollar Man movie), Phoenix hits me with some advice…

Joaquin Phoenix: Life is a fucking maybe.

That should be your mantra.

Joaquin Phoenix: Yeah, it is my mantra, my unspoken mantra.

Mike, you’ve said that this is a movie about Joaquin’s relationship with Woody as actors and watching them bond over the course of filming.

Mike Mills: It definitely started with me and my kid, right? And I was writing about things I observed. And then when you start writing it, it takes its own light, just getting away from you. And then these guys come and, by the end of the movie, I felt like we weren’t just filming Jesse and Johnny, there was something going on between Joaquin and Woody that’s on screen that the camera was available for.

Joaquin Phoenix: Joaquin and Woody in this environment that they would not normally be in, right? So what is that? What is that situation? I mean, hopefully, that’s always the case? Whatever environment you created, whenever the people interact within that environment suddenly becomes just those people interacting with each other, right?

Mike Mills: There is something real happening between everyone, I feel.

Did you feel that way while filming, that you were bonding?

Joaquin Phoenix: Well, hold on, man. Because if I said no, I know Woody would say, “What a fucking joke. He said that he wanted to bond with me!”

Yeah, you would get a text.

Joaquin Phoenix: I don’t know what the right analogy is. But with this group of people, particularly this kind of film, this really small little group of people, right? There’s a bond that I think we all form together in different ways. Because it wasn’t just me and Woody alone. We’re interacting with 20 people every day. We’re reacting to new people that Mills is bringing into our little group and we’re working with new actors and some non-actors. So obviously a bond is formed. I don’t know that I thought of it that way. I didn’t consciously try to do that. But I think, inevitably, that happens. You’re spending every day together, right? So of course that came up. And he’s so impressive. He’s a truly sensitive, empathetic, thoughtful person that feels things really strongly. And there’s a certain responsibility, I think, in some of the things that we talked about in some of those moments that we had.

Is he aware that you acted when you were around his age? Does he know that?

Joaquin Phoenix: Yeah.

Do you tell him that?

Mike Mills: Woody’s the smartest person at the table, by far. So he knows everything and Woody’s the most developed smart person on the set.

Were you ever like, “Buddy, when I was your age I was doing episodes of The Fall Guy and you’re in a Mike Mills movie, so you’re doing pretty well…”

Joaquin Phoenix: Yeah, I was hyper-aware of that. No, man, we talked about it. [Laughs] But The Fall Guy was fucking dope! So don’t fucking knock The Fall Guy.

Oh I’m not. I watched The Fall Guy every week. Colt Seavers.

Joaquin Phoenix: Yeah, I know we talked a lot about that. We’ve talked about it a lot. Talked about it today a lot. What a cool kind of initial experience, but I don’t know what else he did. Did you see previous work of his?

Mike Mills: No.

Joaquin Phoenix: Just when you met him was the person?

Mike Mills: His audition, yeah.

Joaquin Phoenix: You met and worked with him and then I met him, right?

Mike Mills: Just like the day before.

Just because I wanted to see, I did look up that The Fall Guy scene. I was expecting it to be a touching moment between you and Lee Majors, or something like that. There’s a motorcycle gang trying to steal your kite.

Joaquin Phoenix: That’s what I’m doing? I don’t remember.

It’s on YouTube.

Joaquin Phoenix: That’s amazing.

Yeah, you’re being picked on. But not by kids. Literally, a motorcycle gang is just trying to steal your kite. What is this about? Who would do that?

Joaquin Phoenix: [Laughs] What is that about?

That’s the meanest motorcycle gang.

Joaquin Phoenix: It’s the most unbelievable motorcycle gang. What was happening in 1982? Was it 1983? When was that?

I think it was 1984.

Joaquin Phoenix: 1984?

Mike Mills: Was The Six Million Dollar Man with Lee Majors?

Joaquin Phoenix: Yeah, but no it’s different, right? He’s a bounty hunter…

Yeah, he was a stuntman bounty hunter…

Joaquin Phoenix: The Fall Guy was after, right?

You’d have been too young for The Six Million Dollar Man.

Joaquin Phoenix: No! I remember, The Six Million Dollar Man!

Not to see it, but I mean to be on the show.

Joaquin Phoenix: Right.

People have been trying to remake that forever.

Joaquin Phoenix: We’re actually doing it.

Wow, breaking news.

Joaquin Phoenix: We should do it!

Mike Mills: You’re directing the first one.

Joaquin Phoenix: Why not? I really think we should do it.

Mike Mills: “How did you guys start this movie?” “Well, we did this interview for Uproxx and…”

I think Mark Wahlberg is trying to make it. So you’ll have to fight him for it.

Mike Mills: He’s not that big.

Joaquin Phoenix: No, we’ve worked together. We don’t have to fight.

So did you want to give Woody advice? Or you say he’s the smartest guy in the room, so maybe he doesn’t need it.

Joaquin Phoenix: I think he gave me advice and I listened to it. I listened to it the day before and I still utilize it to this day. I don’t think I ever gave him advice, right?

Mike Mills: I think Joaquin is just super available for Woody and just in it and that’s the form of the advice. But I think Joaquin never presumed that he could school Woody. And then if you meet Woody, he didn’t feel that way either. He’s a super capable person and he’s got his own ideas.

Do you think that this movie is part of your trilogy about family, in a way?

Mike Mills: No.

You don’t?

Mike Mills: No, I get it. I get it. That would mean I intended to do that.

Oh, I see.

Mike Mills: So, each one I didn’t. My dad was dying and I was like, oh, that is something maybe I could say. And then so, no, my course has been completely: I’m the last one to know what the fuck I’m doing. I don’t plan. It doesn’t work that way. So, I do know that I really like working from things I’ve seen or experienced. And felt that maybe then I could report something of interest or with detail or that maybe has something real about it, right? So that’s all I know.

So, it’s not planned, but I have a feeling you expected people like me to probably bring that up.

Mike Mills: Well, it was probably in my head. It’s like, okay, so everyone’s going to go think that. I’m not going to let that stop me. I’m just going to keep going and just because this feels right.

I’m always fascinated the directors Joaquin works with because you’ve done, I counted, roughly 40 movies now. And there’s only four directors you’ve ever worked with more than once. Is it you want to work with as many people as possible? Or is it not a planned thing and things happen just like it happens.

Joaquin Phoenix: That has nothing to do with anything that happens in my career. I don’t really make any fucking choices ever.

Well, eventually you have to sign a contract I assume.

Joaquin Phoenix: Things happen. I’m guided by something else. I have no idea what’s happening. So that’s, really, I wouldn’t know how to answer that question, honestly. That’s not me being evasive…

No, no, I don’t think that.

Joaquin Phoenix: It’s me being as honest as possible. I come up with reasons. I try to come up with reasons with these interviews even! But honestly, the older I get in my work, I realize that I have very little say in this creative flow, how it’s diverted, and where it goes. And I’m pretty much along for the ride and just strive to be the conduit as much as possible. But I really don’t deserve any credit for any choices being made.

So I have this iced coffee I’m drinking right now. If you’re asking me, “is that your flavor?” I don’t know. I walked by the store and that sounded good at that moment. Is that a dumb analogy? That’s probably a dumb analogy.

Joaquin Phoenix: No, that’s fine. Whatever analogy helps you to understand it, because I don’t know that I fully understand it either. So whatever helps you. But yeah, I don’t know. It’s something that is – I’m hoping to be a part of whatever that creative spirit or flow that has existed for all time. I want to be a part of that, and that’s all. And sometimes, hopefully, I get to ride along on that stream that has guided others. I know it’s not a satisfying answer for you.

I don’t feel that way.

Joaquin Phoenix: But I’m tired of trying to come up with this fucked up reason, this interview “reason to do things.”

Mike Mills: Having been around him and working together, that was a very real answer. That’s really what goes on all the time.

Well, do you ever then, no matter how you got there, do you ever look back and go “Hey, pretty good? I got to work with all these people. However it happened happened, but I still got to do it.”

Joaquin Phoenix: No, of course, it’s true I’m constantly in gratitude. Yeah, it’s very cool.

I guess what I’m saying is, you’ve never been in a sequel. And you work with all these amazing people. I know how much you love Raging Bull and your career is a lot like the career of someone successful from that era, only you’re doing it in 2021. If you were an actor in the 1970s I’m convinced you’d have also done very well.

Joaquin Phoenix: But having been around long enough to have gone through several phases of hearing they don’t make those movies anymore only to find that creative thing, whatever the fuck it is, is powerful. And it’s bigger and more powerful than all of their fucking research and understanding of what works and what sells and what doesn’t. It’s bigger than that. It finds its fucking way no matter what, because it’s always been up against the thing that it is popular and what works and what should work, right? And it fucking finds its way through. And, so, it’s important. And, thankfully, there are people who come along… There are those that are on the other side of things, the money side of things, that recognize, every once in a while, they recognize a unique vision like Mike Mills to go, “We need to fucking support that. We need to get behind that.” It’s incredible that they’re there, right? It’s incredible that A24 is around right now and goes like, “Look, we get you. We love you. We want to support you.”

Mike Mills: A24, they never gave me a note. I had to beg them to give me criticisms.

Wait, how does that work? You went to them and you were like, “Hey, if you see anything you don’t like…”

Mike Mills: Well, in editing, I’m like, come on! What do you really think? Because you need to hear and they’re just, “Well, we just believe in you.” It’s like, what? It’s, whatever they’re doing is, you can’t get much better. Because it’s like, go do your thing. There’s no holds barred. No trick. No manipulation.

By the way, I agree with you when people say, “Oh, they don’t make them like that anymore.” But you find them, that’s the thing. You always find them.

Joaquin Phoenix: I don’t find them, they…

They find you.

Joaquin Phoenix: Of course.

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Donald Trump and Chris Christie have a, let’s say, tumultuous relationship. The former-New Jersey governor was the first “high-profile establishment Republican to legitimize Donald Trump in 2016,” leading to this incredible moment in Hostage Face history, but since then, Christie and the ex-president have been locked in various petty feuds.

Trump blamed his exposure to COVID-19 on Christie, going so far as to claim that he saw “the spittle” come out of his mouth and “tried to duck from the droplets” as they sat across from each other while prepping for a debate against Joe Biden. In his new book, Republican Rescue: Saving the Party From Truth Deniers, Conspiracy Theorists, and the Dangerous Policies of Joe Biden, Christie also revealed what an infected Trump called and asked him when they were hospitalized with the deadly disease.

Mr. Christie reveals how worried he and others were for his survival when he became infected with the coronavirus after being at the White House around the same time that Mr. Trump and several other aides contracted COVID-19. Mr. Christie writes that his priest arrived in the hospital and rubbed oils on his forehead in the sign of the cross, praying over him. He got a call from a hospitalized Mr. Trump, who had one main concern: “Are you gonna say you got it from me?” Mr. Trump asked him.

A “get well” gift basket from McDonald’s would have sufficed.

Anyway, Christie claims his book isn’t about Trump. “It’s a book about where we go from here and why it is important for us to let go of the past,” he told the New York Times. And if New Jersey residents want to let go of Bridgegate, Christie would be fine with that, too.

(Via the New York Times)