GoneTrending

Warner Bros. has a belated holiday present for us all: a new trailer for The Batman. But unlike Batman Returns, it’s not very festive (it does have the Penguin, though). The trailer has Robert Pattinson’s Batman and Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman teaming up to stop Paul Dano’s Riddler, who we see for the first time. He crashes a funeral (literally) while wearing a piece of tape over his mouth that reads “No More Lies” and a menacing-looking electronic device around his neck. This Riddler is not afraid of the big, black bat.

The trailer is appropriately morose for a movie where the lead character is influenced by a moody rock star, but there are a few jokes, including Bruce Wayne commenting on Selina Kyle having a lot of cats. “I have a thing about strays,” she responds. Kravitz told BuzzFeed that the “funny thing about working with cats is that they don’t care — which is why we love them. Like, I spent time with all the cats before we shot with them, but they don’t remember me [laughs]. Like, they don’t give a sh*t.”

The cats don’t give a sh*t, but everyone else is excited for The Batman. Watch the trailer above.

The Batman, which is directed by Matt Reeves and also stars Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell, opens on March 4, 2022.

A few days ago, Unknown Mortal Orchestra declared that on Christmas Day, they were releasing something called “SB-09.” Well, Christmas has come and gone, and as kids around the world opened their presents from Santa, UMO fans took to their music consumption platform of choice and fired up “SB-09,” a new 19-minute song. As the palm tree-heavy single art suggests, the tune has some laid back tropical vibes to it, marked by its use of slide guitar and relaxed rhythms.

Dropping an instrumental on Christmas has become an annual tradition for UMO, as last year brought “SB-08,” 2019 yielded “SB-07,” and so on.” On Twitter, the group noted this year’s song is “dedicated to chance.” Meanwhile, somebody asked if the album will be pressed on vinyl, and in what was either a joke or a genuine report on the status of the song’s vinyl pressing, UMO responded, “ask adele lol.”

2020 was a relatively quiet year for UMO. June brought a new song called “Weekend Run,” they remixed Arlo Parks’ “Too Good” the next month, and they dropped “That Life” in August. The last major releases from UMO came in 2018 when they dropped a pair of albums: Sex & Food and IC-01 Hanoi.

Listen to “SB-09” above.

The 2024 presidential election is still a ways off, but Joe Rogan is already making a prediction that involves Donald Trump getting back in the game, only to get destroyed by a surprising candidate. That candidate? Michelle Obama. Naturally, Rogan’s prediction involves a dose of potentially problematic wording as well as some anti-vaccine shenanigans as well.

On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the podcaster predicts that Obama will be at the top of the ticket with Kamala Harris once again serving as running mate. “We get a double dose of diversity,” Rogan said (via Mediaite) before praising Obama as being “articulate.”

“She’s great, she’s intelligent, she’s articulate, she’s the wife of the best president that we have had in our lifetime in terms of like a representative of intelligent articulate people,” Rogan said. However, the podcaster also predicted that Trump could still win if he forms a “super team” with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Obama doesn’t push back forcefully enough against vaccine mandates and lockdowns.

“The only thing that would stop her is if she bought into some of these policies that are destroying businesses in America that are making people scared,” Rogan predicted. Considering Michelle Obama isn’t an idiot and believes in science like the majority of the Democratic Party, we’re guessing she’s not going to come out swinging against COVID restrictions, which should be a moot issue by 2024, hopefully. Please.

(Via Mediaite)

Idiocracy landed in theaters over fifteen years ago, and since that time (especially over the past five years), Mike Judge’s movie has remained forefront in the collective consciousness. Obviously, the thought of Terry Crews’ President Camacho blasting firearms springs to mind (while Luke Wilson’s smartest dude cringes), and endless comparisons can be made about the film’s central premise: civilization lies in a shambles in the movie because the smart people stopped having kids, and the not-so-smart people populated the earth with their genes to disastrous effect.

One can barely witness a week of the current political/cable-news cycle without someone, somewhere, comparing the situation to Idiocracy. The pandemic’s exacerbated the situation with the antivaxxers shoving scientists to the side, and yep, this won’t stop anytime soon. Over on Fox Business, however, one of the movie’s key moments was nearly replicated last week by host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, who’s still known simply as “Kennedy,” a moniker that’s stuck around since her 1990s MTV VJ days. As highlighted by Digg, Kennedy reverted into incomprehensible noises during a discussion about student loans. Now, the comparison clip is circulating on Twitter.

Above, Kennedy’s shown reacting to Alexandra Ocasio Cortez and Rashida Tlaib’s remarks about the sky-high debt that people find themselves in after pursuing higher education. Both of these representatives argued for the cancellation of at least some amount of this debt, and Kennedy wasn’t feeling it. She practically channelled part of Idiocracy‘s Velveeta and Formica exchange (including the “blah blah blah followup”), and yikes. Clearly, the film continues to be prescient, and everything has come full circle now, even if we’re talking about Fox Business, rather than Fox News itself.

The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

If there was any knock against Roddy Ricch on his debut album Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial, it’s that so much of it sounded like somebody else. He wasn’t shy about wearing his influences on his sleeve. Whether he sounded like Young Thug or he sounded like Lil Wayne, much of Antisocial was the sound of an artist who’d arrived at the highest echelon of rap stardom — thanks in large part to the dominant single “The Box” and his affiliation with Nipsey Hussle on “Racks In The Middle” — still figuring out who he wanted to be.

On his new album, Live Life Fast, not only is he a year removed from his debut and the furor surrounding it but he has also had, like many of us, a year away from the routines of life. He’s had time to contemplate himself, his newfound fame, his role in the world, the effects of the traumas he spent most of that album describing. That sort of self-reflection is rarely afforded to artists of Roddy’s standing and trajectory, and the results are, if nothing else, intriguing to hear.

Admittedly, without having any record as immediately explosive as “The Box” on Live Life Fast, the new project is likely to be a much slower-burning sort of hit, one driven by its multi-layered songwriting and production inspiring repeat listens rather than the massive success of one or two singles that strangle radio and playlists for months on end. He still alternates between that yowling, yelping, strained vocal delivery and the clipped, terse rhythmic one throughout the new album, but he’s got some new things to say.

Time and adversity have a way of shifting your perspective but usually, in hip-hop, we don’t get so much of it all at once. The end result is a more introspective version of Roddy on tracks like “Crash The Party,” on which he rhymes, “The tour life got me in light so I can see / I ain’t never choose this shit, it came to me.” When the song ends on a contemplative recollection of a low point in his life walking through some of the most dangerous hoods in Compton (if you know, you know), he truly conveys the sense of how far he’s come — and how bewildering it can be for someone who once defined his world’s borders by a quartet of freeways.

Here also, rather than aping his influences, he salutes them while striving to distinguish himself as his own unique artist. There are nods to Kanye West’s productions on album intro “LLF” which borrows the hook from Rick Ross’ “Live Fast, Die Young” and the prelude to “Slow It Down,” which brings in Jamie Foxx to reprise his monologue on Kanye’s “Slow Jamz.” Instead of adopting Fivio Foreign’s flow on the New York drill swing “Murda One,” he wrangles the track to his own will, resulting in a better drill track than most New Yorkers have managed in the past two years.

The production here has an expansive, eclectic quality; check out the jazz riffing on “Moved to Miami” with Lil Baby, which lends the gritty content a luxurious sheen. However, Roddy still proves to be adept at coming up with catchy hooks over bouncy, trap-forward stuff as well. On “Don’t I” with frequent collaborator and fellow Thugger student Gunna, Roddy raps some of his cleverest lines, boasting, “Had to put some privacy trees around the villa ’cause I know the nеighbors too nosey,” and dissing “Chatty Patties” on the internet.

All of this growth, of course, bears with it the risk of throwing off fans who perhaps expected more epic production in the vein of “The Box” or Antisocial closer “War Baby,” or lyrics that reflected the itchy, paranoid vibe of the prior album. Instead, they’ll hear Roddy’s thoughts on growing in a relationship, becoming a father, and experiencing real wealth without the penitentiary chances that defined his early output. To those fans, I’d say: Give Roddy’s latest a chance, and it might change your mind as much as its process has apparently changed Roddy.

Live Life Fast is out now via Atlantic. Listen to it here.

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

Spider-Man: No Way Home was released less than three weeks ago, and it’s already the 38th highest-grossing movie of all-time. And rising.

The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe became the first movie in the pandemic-era to enter the Billion Dollar Club, and only the 49th movie overall. It’s currently wedged between Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and the live-action Aladdin remake, which gives you a sense of how many recent titles are on the list. (Only four movies released before 2000 have crossed the billion dollar mark: Titanic, The Lion King, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. But that’s without adjusting inflation.) No Way Home will continue to dominate the box office for weeks, but even if it doesn’t make a single cent more, star Tom Holland is already in rarified air.

As Forbes reports, 85 actors/actresses have appeared in two billion dollar movies; 34 have appeared in three billion dollar movies; and only 11 have appeared in at least four billion dollar movies. Unsurprisingly, it’s mostly Marvel folks, including Holland:

Robert Downey Jr. – 6 movies
Samuel L. Jackson – 6 movies
Chris Evans – 5 movies
Scarlett Johansson – 5 movies
Don Cheadle – 5 movies
Andy Serkis – 5 movies
Mark Ruffalo – 4 movies
Chris Hemsworth – 4 movies
Jeremy Renner – 4 movies
Lupita Nyong’o – 4 movies
Anthony Daniels – 4 movies

Daniels is there because of Star Wars, while Nyong’o has Star Wars and Marvel and Serkis has Star Wars, Marvel, and Lord of the Rings, but otherwise, that’s a lot of exclusively Marvel. Maybe Uncharted will be Holland’s fifth billion dollar movie (although based on the reception to the trailer, probably not).

(Via Forbes)

Acclaimed director Jean-Marc Vallée, who recently adapted Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies for HBO, passed away on Sunday. He was 58. As of this writing, his cause of death is unknown. After taking the reins on Dallas Buyers Club, Vallée became a go-to signature force after delivering Oscar wins for both stars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. After collaborating with Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern for Wild, Vallée brought the two actresses back together for the all-star cast of HBO’s Big Little Lies, which also included Nicole Kidman, Zoë Kravitz, and Shailene Woodley. He later delivered Sharp Objects, starring Amy Adams, to the network, and the two series have been routinely praised for redefining prestige television dramas.

Via Deadline:

“Jean-Marc Vallée was a brilliant, fiercely dedicated filmmaker, a truly phenomenal talent who infused every scene with a deeply visceral, emotional truth,” HBO said in a statement. “He was also a hugely caring man who invested his whole self alongside every actor he directed. We are shocked at the news of his sudden death, and we extend our heartfelt sympathies to his sons, Alex and Émile, his extended family, and his longtime producing partner, Nathan Ross.”

Following the news of Vallée’s death, the tributes from colleagues and critics began pouring in on social media where the director was praised for his distinctive film and television projects:

A new song Atlanta rapper Latto recently shared drew negative attention from another female rapper who had a similar concept, prompting her to address accusations of plagiarism from the other rapper. On December 22, Latto shared a clip of the new song on TikTok, along with a video of herself posing for photos in bejeweled lingerie while holding a goat on a leash (get it, GOAT?). Over the sparse beat, Latto can be heard rapping, “It’s giving boss bitch.”

That was the key phrase that set off Cleveland rapper Big Indo, who posted to her Instagram comparing Latto’s new song to her own track, “Givin’ Me.” She also noted similarities in the skeletal production, saying, “NOT THE BEAT TOO just higher tempo.” Along with her song, she also posted a few slides of photos in a similar bikini.

However, when the story was picked up by gossip blogs, the “Big Energy” rapper responded on her Instagram story, shooting down the comparison. “It’s givin… nobody,” she wrote. “Y’all really think I’m 1 of the 14 ppl that listened to her before??? Lmao I cannot make thi shit up. I’m over here frustrated af cause IVE NEVER HEARD OF OR SEEN SHAWTY EVER IN MY LIFE!!!! DON’T FLATTER YOURSELF! Never heard of this bitch, seen her, listened to … NOTHING! Y’all be giving y’all self too much credit. Everybody says “it’s giving” I just so happened to make a song using the REGULAR ASS BASIC ASS term.”

On September 7, 2019, Mitski performed at Summerstage in New York City’s Central Park, declaring the performance to be her “last show indefinitely.” After announcing the show, she clarified, “Y’all, I’m not quitting music! Me? Quit music?? I’ve been on non-stop tour for over 5years, I haven’t had a place to live during this time, & I sense that if I don’t step away soon, my self-worth/identity will start depending too much on staying in the game, in the constant churn.”

It turns out, though, that Mitski actually did plan to quit music, as she revealed in a new Rolling Stone profile.

“I was thinking this was the last show I would perform ever, and then I would quit and find another life,” Mitski said. She also said of the performance, “It was beautiful. I performed, and I remembered how much I loved it. And I remember walking offstage, and I immediately started crying. Like, ‘What have I done?’”

Lucy Dacus opened that concert, so Rolling Stone got her thoughts about the show. Dacus said, “I asked her, ‘How do you feel.’ The first thing she said was, ‘Oh, I’ve made a huge mistake.’ She verbalized it, and I felt a shade of terror for her.”

Mitski revealed that the pressures of fame are part of why she wanted to leave music, saying, “This is what really made me quit. I could see a future self, who would put out music for the sake of keeping the machine running. And that really scared me.” She also noted, “I guess fame is relative. There’s Taylor Swift fame and then there’s local-DIY-scene fame. The real struggle for me in getting bigger is, how do I maintain integrity in the performance? How do I make sure the audience experience is still intimate and emotional in this 8,000-cap room? How do I not resort to flashy pyrotechnics onstage? Because I don’t want my show to be about that — I want people to enter into a place with me and have an experience, and then leave having experienced something important.”

Of course, Mitski has since gotten back on the horse, as she has a new album, Laurel Hell, on the way in 2022.

Read the full feature here.

One of the highlights of Issa Rae’s hit HBO show Insecure was always the soundtrack, curated by Issa herself and featuring some of hip-hop and R&B’s rising stars. Fans reveled in both hearing longtime faves and getting put onto newcomers with every episode, with the show’s team sharing each episode’s tracklist as part of a growing playlist on streaming services. On Sunday night, the series finale aired, bringing the show to a close that fans are still discussing and debating on Twitter.

And while the touching finale may have sparked diverging opinions on the resolution of its lead character’s complicated love life, one thing many fans seem to agree on is that the music helped make the show. Scrolling through the “Insecure” trending topic on Twitter, you’re just as likely to see messages praising the show’s musical curation as you are ones debating various plot points throughout its five-season run.

Many of the artists featured on the soundtrack also chimed in with both praise and thanks for Issa Rae’s fan-favorite series, which many say helped introduce them to new audiences — a sentiment that fans echoed wholeheartedly. Issa herself, who always live-tweets the show right along with fans, offering background information from the writer’s room and her inspirations for the show’s setting, plot, and its plethora of jokes, even noted how some of the finale’s songs found their way into touching pivotal scenes.