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The subpoenas are flying out of the House Select Committee that’s investigating January 6, and although Steve Bannon is out on bail after arrest on contempt charges, that won’t stop the avalanche. Michael Cohen is predicting that the Trump siblings will be on the list at some point, but on a less hypothetical and more concrete note, Roger Stone and Alex Jones received brand spanking new legal documents on Monday. The Republican operative with a Nixon tattoo also recently received lawsuit papers during a live radio interview, and let’s just say that their legal representation will be busy.

As for Jones, the notorious conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host (who also assisted in organizing the “Stop The Steal” rally held by Trump immediately before the insurrection) made it clear that he isn’t going down easily. In fact, he will plead the Fifth Amendment because, in his words, “I’m not an idiot!” Here’s the rest of his rationale, in which he argues that simply because he’s taking the Fifth, people shouldn’t assume the worst. Via Mediaite, he believes that the committee will accuse him of lying no matter what and go from there, so he’s trying to shut them down:

“They will claim I lie about something to the committee, which isn’t even true. I wouldn’t lie….. I’m probably going to declare the 5th. Not because I’ve done anything wrong, but because these people are political criminals that have an axe to grind and have been bragging everywhere they want to put me in prison, okay? I don’t intend on spending the rest of my life in prison.”

Well, the Fifth Amendment does protect the right against self-incrimination, so Jones can plead whichever way he wants, but those dominoes might still eventually fall against him. He’s worried about accusations of lying, and insists that he would not lie. Will Congress believe him?

Jones hasn’t had a fantastic month. He was recently found civilly liable in defamation suits brought by families of Sandy Hook victims after years of claiming that the tragedy was a “false flag” attack. And with this January 6 business, there could very well be criminal repercussions, too. Time to eat a massive bowl of chili while you can, man. Not because of anything, you know, in particular. It’s just always a decent idea.

The New York Times is also reporting that more subpoenas, including for Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, are also on the loose. It’s like an Oprah holiday special up in there.

(Via Mediaite)

Masters of the Universe: Revelation: Part 2 (Netflix series) — Kevin Smith channelled his childhood, blood, sweat, and literal tears into this show. Sure, some people overreacted, but overall, the first batch of episodes hit a home run while staying loyal to the O.G. show’s spirit and putting some real stakes behind the He-Man vs. Skeletor rivalry. This second edition picks up with Skeletor holding the Sword of Power while Eternia’s heroes must square off against an actual threat to, well, eternity.

Waffles + Mochi’s Holiday Feast (Netflix special) — No word on whether Michelle Obama will return for this special, but the adorable duo returns, at least. Waffles has made up her very own holiday, and then they must figure out the menu, which leads (somehow) to an international quest (to Norway) and more hijinks than anyone expected. This is all about making food and memories with good friends, and good on this show for being irresistible, even for curmudgeons like myself.

Jonas Brothers Family Roast (Netflix special) — The Jo Bros are back and making music, so of course, this is also a great time for the trio to roast the hell out of each other. The special aims to prove that no one can get to the root of a roasting quite like another family member, and everyone’s gonna pick on Kevin, right? Expect some special guests along the way to help juice things up even more.

Riverdale (CW, 9:00pm) — Not only is Sabrina Spellman on tap this season, but La Llorona arrives to terrorize everyone, including Betty and Toni.

The Flash (CW, 8:00pm) — Great tragedies are forecast, which causes the Flash to kind of lose it, which might prompt Armageddon, and man, everyone just needs a nap.

La Brea (NBC, 9:00pm) — Natalie Zea is still stuck in a primeval hellhole, and apparently, they’re in the Ice Age, but fortunately, the other group decided to help everyone learn survival skills.

Queens (ABC, 10:00pm) — The fractured girl group that was once part of a hip-hop dynasty continues to enjoy their second wind. However, personal drama abounds while Brianna struggles with work-life balance, and it’s also time for their first music video in decades.

Chucky (SYFY and USA, 10:00pm) — The O.G. homicidal doll is still at it, and it’s approaching endgame time with the kids attempting to figure the plans out before, well, they bite it.

Jimmy Kimmel Live — Jon Bernthal, Bachelorette Michelle Young, Parker McCollum

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Hailee Steinfeld, Liza Koshy, Avril Lavigne

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Lin-Manuel Miranda, Rachel Dratch, Mastodon, Jon Epcar

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Nicholas Hoult, Aisling Bea, BTS

Now that the multiplayer for Halo Infinite has been available to play for free for almost two weeks we can safely say that this is the best Halo has been in a long time. It’s not a perfect game by any means, but it gets one thing right: it’s fun. With the campaign still on the way on December 8, there’s plenty of time to jump in and try out Infinite’s multiplayer, a lot of us might even do so over the upcoming holiday weekend. After all, the game is free so why not give it a shot?

The reason some people may be avoiding giving Infinite a try is that they aren’t sure how they would even play a game like Halo. While some people have been playing the series since the very first game came out back in 2001, there are plenty of other people who haven’t played the series at all. Halo Reach came out in 2010 and, as sad as it is to say, Halo as a franchise hasn’t really been relevant in 10 years. As a result, there are going to be a lot of new players joining in to play Halo for the very first time with Infinite, especially since the multiplayer is free-to-play and it’s available on PC as well. The problem for all the new players is they’ll be going up against long-time Halo veterans that know the ins and outs of the franchise. Don’t let that discourage you though! Halo is a franchise that anyone can become good at. Just keep these tips in mind while playing.

First, some quick info to know:

• Everyone has shields and health that will regenerate.
• One melee will knock out someone’s shields or kill someone with no shields left.
• Someone will also die from one melee attack if they are hit from behind.

Use Grenades

An essential tool in every Spartan’s arsenal is their grenades. A mistake every first time Halo player makes is they don’t use their grenades nearly enough, because in most games grenades are a zoning tool. While in Halo they can not only earn kills, but they’re a great tool for lowering someone’s shields. This means that almost every firefight opens with someone throwing a couple of grenades towards the feet of the opposing team. A good grenade will lower someone’s shields and make them easy pickings for a headshot, or melee kill.

Grenades of course have other uses beyond this. They’re great for damaging vehicles, throwing into a crowded area of enemies, and sticky grenades are a guaranteed kill if you can land one. Keeping a steady supply of grenades on hand has always been a key to success in Halo and Infinite is no different.

Aim For The Head

It sounds so simple, but firefights will go in your favor more often than not if you make sure shots are landing on the generous hitbox of someone’s head. Thanks to shields, the large majority of headshots aren’t automatic kills but they will drastically reduce someone’s health. They’re also the best way to finish someone off. A classic combo is to hit someone with a grenade, then pop a few headshots to finish them off, and since Halo Infinite has such a good pistol this combo is just as deadly as ever.

This doesn’t only work for weapons like the Battle Rifle and Pistol though. The Assault Rifle, turrets, etc. almost every gun has some kind of headshot damage. You’ll know you’ve hit the head when someone’s hitmarker turns red so aim in that general direction and watch as players go down easier.

Control The Power Weapons

Perhaps the most important rule in all of Halo is to control the power weapons. Rocket launchers, sniper rifles, and a couple of new goodies are spread throughout the map and these guns can swing an entire match in your favor. These weapons are incredibly powerful because in the right hands they can decimate an entire team. While some of them, like the sniper rifle, have a higher skill floor, everyone knows how to use a rocket launcher. Just aim and shoot! These guns are what will swing the tides of victory in your favor, but they’re also really fun to use.

At the end of the day, that’s the best advice that we can give any new players to Halo. Utilize these tips to understand the strategies that everyone else will be utilizing, but make sure at the end of the day you’re having fun. Wins, losses, kills, and deaths don’t matter as long as you’re smiling the entire time. Happy slaying!

Squid Game recently topped Bridgerton to become the most-watched original series in Netflix history. There have been no such shakeups on the streaming service’s film side since late 2018 into early 2019, when Bird Box registered 282 million views in its first 28 days of release; it’s been number one ever since. But that may soon change.

Red Notice, “the biggest movie Netflix has ever done” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds, is up to 277.9 million hours viewed after only 10 days (according to Netflix). That puts it on pace to take over the number one slot from the Sandra Bullock thriller. “In addition, for the second week in a row, Red Notice cracked the Top 10 in all 94 countries,” reports Variety, which also notes that “Johnson’s Central Intelligence (14.91 million hours viewed) and Reynolds’ 6 Underground (7.77 million hours) both broke into the Top 10 films for the week of November 15 – 21.”

Here’s the all-time top 10 (for now):

1. Bird Box (282,020,000)
2. Red Notice (277,900,000)
3. Extraction (231,340,000)
4. The Irishman (214,570,000)
5. The Kissing Booth 2 (209,250,000)
6. 6 Underground (205,470,000)
7. Spenser Confidential (197,320,000)
8. Enola Holmes (189,900,000)
9. Army of the Dead (186,540,000)
10. The Old Guard (185,710,000)

The list of the highest-grossing movies ever is full of sequels, but there’s only one among the most-watched Netflix movies: The Kissing Booth 2. I don’t know what this says about Hollywood and the entertainment industry as a whole (probably nothing good!), but at least The Kissing Booth 2 didn’t inspire a dangerously dumb challenge.

(Via Variety)

The organizers behind the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia just got slapped with $26 million damages thanks to a civil suit verdict. The rally resulted in Donald Trump famously declaring that there were “fine people” on both sides, despite one of the sides including actual members of the KKK, white supremacists, and basically all-out Nazis. A jury in the civil suit awarded plaintiffs the multi-million payout after ruling that the organizers are liable for the violence that broke out.

The organizers named in the suit include prominent members of the alt-right like Richard Spencer, Jason Kessler, and Christopher Cantwell. A jury determined they “conspired to commit racially motivated violence,” which resulted in the verdict. Via CNN:

“We are thrilled that the jury has delivered a verdict in favor of our plaintiffs, finally giving them the justice they deserve after the horrific weekend of violence and intimidation in August 2017,” plaintiffs’ attorneys Roberta Kaplan and Karen Dunn said.

“Today’s verdict sends a loud and clear message that facts matter, the law matters, and that the laws of this this country will not tolerate the use of violence to deprive racial and religious minorities of the basic right we all share to live as free and equal citizens.”

Within minutes of the verdict, reactions started pouring in on social media because, well, who doesn’t like to see Nazis get financially ruined in a court of law? Indiana Jones would be proud.

(Via CNN)

After more than two years off the air, the Emmy-winning HBO series Euphoria is finally returning. Earlier today, HBO shared a first glimpse at series’ sophomore season, which looks just as tense, tragic, and utterly compelling as ever. More importantly, the studio also revealed when eager fans can expect the show to return: January 9, 2022. However, while we still have a few months until we’re reunited with Rue (portrayed by Emmy-winning actress Zendaya) and the teaser might only be around a minute long, HBO definitely gave us plenty to mull over until the series’ makes it big return.

Set shortly after the events of season one, season two follows Rue as she picks up attempts to pick up pieces of her life following her incredibly traumatic break up with Jules (Hunter Schafer). In the trailer, we see Rue dance around her home, aptly lip-syncing Frank Sinatra’s “Call Me Irresponsible” only to discover as the scene comes to a close that she is high and thus has relapsed once more. In the midst of her drug-induced (and heartbreaking) karaoke, we are also shown glimpses of what lies ahead for the troubled teens of Euphoria, including more neon-lit parties, a police raid, and some pretty intense violence. As the scenes play out, Rue breaks into one of her cutting diatribes on adolescence, telling the audience, “when you’re younger, everything feels so permanent. But as you get older, you begin to realize nothing is and everyone you love could drift away.”

Along with Zendaya and Schafter, much of the cast from the series’ first season is slated to return, including Angus Cloud, Jacob Elordi, Algee Smith, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, Barbie Ferreira, Maude Apatow, Javon Walton, Storm Reid, Austin Abrams and Nika King. The new season introduces Dominic Fike, Minka Kelly, and Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr. Sam Levinson, Euphoria‘s creator and writer, is back as showrunner and executive producer.

Euphoria returns to HBO Max for its second season on January 9, 2022.

When watching the livestream of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards nominations being announced, some viewers noticed that they were hearing Jon Batiste’s name a heck of a lot. In fact, when all was said and done, Batiste actually had more nominations than anybody else, as he racked up an impressive 11 of them: Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best R&B Album, Best Improvised Jazz Solo, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Best American Roots Performance, Best American Roots Song, Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media, Best Contemporary Classical Composition, and Best Music Video.

That’s a historic achievement, as it ties him for the second-most Grammy nominations in a single year. Michael Jackson had 12 nods in 1984 and Babyface had the same amount in 1997. Batiste is currently tied with Kendrick Lamar, who had 11 nominations in 2016. Also worth noting is the variety of the categories in which Batiste is nominated, as he’s up for consideration in R&B, jazz, American roots, soundtrack, contemporary classical, and visual categories.

After Batiste, this year’s leading nominees are Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and HER, who all have eight nods each, followed by Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, who both got seven nominations.

Batiste is pretty psyched about the whole thing, as he tweeted today, WOW!! Thank you God!! I love EVERYBODY! I’m so grateful to my collaborators and to my ancestors [crying emojis] 11!”

Check out the categories in which Batiste is nominated below to see who he’s up against and find the full list of 2022 Grammy nominations here.

Record Of The Year
ABBA — “I Still Have Faith In You”
Jon Batiste — “Freedom”
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — “I Get A Kick Out Of You”
Justin Bieber — “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon
Brandi Carlile — “Right On Time”
Doja Cat — “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA
Billie Eilish — “Happier Than Ever”
Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”
Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”
Silk Sonic — “Leave The Door Open”

Album Of The Year
Jon Batiste — We Are
Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — Love For Sale
Justin Bieber — Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)
Doja Cat — Planet Her (Deluxe)
Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever
HER — Back Of My Mind
Lil Nas X — Montero
Olivia Rodrigo — Sour
Taylor Swift — Evermore
Kanye West — Donda

Best Traditional R&B Performance
Jon Batiste — “I Need You”
BJ The Chicago Kid, PJ Morton and Kenyon Dixon — “Bring It on Home to Me” Feat. Charlie Bereal
Leon Bridges — “Born Again” Feat. Robert Glasper
HER — “Fight for You”
Lucky Daye — “How Much Can a Heart Take” Feat Yebba

Best R&B Album
Snoh Aalegra — Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies
Jon Batiste — We Are
Leon Bridges — Gold-Diggers Sound
HER — Back of My Mind
Jazmine Sullivan — Heaux Tales

Best Improvised Jazz Solo
“Sackodougou,” Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, soloist
“Kick Those Feet,” Kenny Barron, soloist
“Bigger Than Us,” Jon Batiste, soloist
“Absence,” Terence Blanchard, soloist
“Humpty Dumpty (Set 2),” Chick Corea, soloist

Best Jazz Instrumental Album
“Jazz Selections: Music From and Inspired by Soul,” Jon Batiste
“Absence,” Terence Blanchard featuring the E Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet
“Skyline,” Ron Carter, Jack DeJohnette and Gonzalo Rubalcaba
“Akoustic Band Live,” Chick Corea, John Patitucci and Dave Weckl
“Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV),” Pat Metheny

Best American Roots Performance
“Cry,” Jon Batiste
“Love and Regret,” Billy Strings
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free,” The Blind Boys of Alabama and Béla Fleck
“Same Devil,” Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile
“Nightflyer,” Allison Russell

Best American Roots Song
“Avalon,” Rhiannon Giddens, Justin Robinson and Francesco Turrisi, songwriters (Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi)
“Call Me a Fool,” Valerie June, songwriter (Valerie June featuring Carla Thomas)
“Cry,” Jon Batiste and Steve McEwan, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
“Diamond Studded Shoes,” Dan Auerbach, Natalie Hemby, Aaron Lee Tasjan and Yola, songwriters (Yola)
“Nightflyer,” Jeremy Lindsay and Allison Russell, songwriters (Allison Russell)

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media
“Bridgerton,” Kris Bowers, composer
“Dune,” Hans Zimmer, composer
“The Mandalorian: Season 2 – Vol. 2 (Chapters 13-16),” Ludwig Göransson, composer
“The Queen’s Gambit,” Carlos Rafael Rivera, composer
“Soul,” Jon Batiste, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, composers

Best Contemporary Classical Composition
“Akiho: Seven Pillars,” Andy Akiho, composer. (Sandbox Percussion)
“Andriessen: The Only One,” Louis Andriessen, composer. (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Nora Fischer & Los Angeles Philharmonic)
“Assad, Clarice and Sérgio, Connors, Dillon, Martin and Skidmore: Archetypes,” Clarice Assad, Sérgio Assad, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and David Skidmore, composers. (Sérgio Assad, Clarice Assad and Third Coast Percussion)
“Batiste: Movement 11,” Jon Batiste, composer (Jon Batiste)
“Shaw: Narrow Sea,” Caroline Shaw, composer (Dawn Upshaw, Gilbert Kalish and Sō Percussion)

Best Music Video
“Shot in the Dark,” (AC/DC); David Mallet, video director; Dione Orrom, video producer.
“Freedom,” (Jon Batiste); Alan Ferguson, video director; Alex P. Willson, video producer.
“I Get a Kick Out of You,” (Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga); Jennifer Lebeau, video director; Danny Bennett, Bobby Campbell and Jennifer Lebeau, video producers.
“Peaches,” (Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon); Collin Tilley, video director.
“Happier Than Ever,” (Billie Eilish); Billie Eilish, video director; Michelle An, Chelsea Dodson and David Moore, video producers.
“Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” (Lil Nas X); Lil Nas X and Tanu Muino, video directors; Frank Borin, Ivanna Borin, Marco De Molina and Saul Levitz, video producers.
“Good 4 U,” (Olivia Rodrigo); Petra Collins, video director; Christiana Divona, Marissa Ramirez and Tiffany Suh, video producers.

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

Last year’s Grammy Awards were miraculous to say the least. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, that even an awards ceremony — albeit a socially-distanced one — was able to go down, was a testament to the Recording Academy taking every possible measure to ensure that Beyoncé could surprise Megan Thee Stallion on stage as the pair claimed their Best Rap Song award for “Savage.”

But a lot goes into the awards process, including a number of committees meeting ahead of time to parse out the awards nominees for each of the then 84 categories, and now 86 overall. But given the unpredictability of the pandemic, one of these committees couldn’t meet and the 2021 nominees for Best Immersive Audio Album were not announced. So the award was pushed out to 2022. Here’s how a statement from the Grammy’s read last year explaining what happened:

“Due the COVID-19 pandemic, the Best Immersive Audio Album Craft Committee was unable to meet. The judging of the entries in this category has been postponed until such time that we are able to meet in a way that is appropriate to judge the many formats and configurations of the entries and is safe for the committee members. The nominations for the 63rd GRAMMYs will be announced next year in addition to (and separately from) the 64th GRAMMY nominations in the category.”

So that later date turned out to be today, along with the nominees for the 64th annual Grammy Awards as well. The Best Immersive Audio Album nominees for the 63rd annual awards can be seen, along with the full list of all nominees, here.

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

What is the biggest video game event of the year? For some it might be E3, for others it could be all of the Game of the Year discussions that take place in December, but for a dedicated and growing community, it’s when a group of people comes together to play video games very fast.

Games Done Quick, also known as GDQ, is a bi-annual event where members of Speed Demos Archive have a huge gaming marathon. For a week on their Twitch channel, it’s non-stop streams of people playing games as fast as they possibly can. These marathons attract thousands of viewers all week not just because watching people finish games at high speeds is a good time, because these events go beyond entertainment. All of it is for the cause of raising money for charity. As GDQ has grown, the amount they’ve been able to raise has become tremendous — during Summer Games Done Quick 2021 back in July, the marathon raised $2.9 million for Doctors Without Borders.

While the expectation for any GDQ event these days is to raise a minimum of $2 million, the beginnings of the marathon were comparatively much more modest. The first event was supposed to be held alongside the convention MAGFest, but streaming issues from the convention forced host Mike Uyama to move it to his mother’s basement. From there, they raised over $10,000 for CARE and quickly realized this was an event that could draw in people without the need of a coexisting convention like MAGFest.

“I think Mike definitely knew that he had something.” Matt Merkle, Director of Operations for GDQ, told Uproxx. “After the Classic Games Done Quick down in his basement, the amount of people that were like, ‘Hey, I want to come next time!’ and he’s like, well, okay, that’s not going to fit my basement. That kind of gave a little inkling, but I think after we hit like the first million that really set the tone and said, okay, this is something serious at this point and we’ve been riding it ever since.”

That million-dollar point really was a monumental moment for the marathons. Not only because it’s such a significant amount raised, but it happened so fast. The very first event, Classic Games Done Quick, took place in 2010. The million-dollar barrier was shattered in 2014. In four years they went from a niche event that was mainly viewed by speedrunners and a handful of gamers, to something that anyone with an interest in video games tunes in for.

What makes this unique is that GDQ is far from the only event that utilizes video games to raise money for charity. YouTubers, Twitch streamers, and other organizations all host their own charity events, but the majority of those are built on the premise of entertainment. We’re watching and donating to these streams to be entertained by names that we’re familiar with. An emphasis of GDQ on the other hand is to get people that we might not recognize on the stage, commentate over the game, and show the best ways to play it quickly. The only real consistency is speedrunning, and leaning on how the art of speedrunning creates a lot of natural interest.

“Everyone remembers the first time they played Mario and how difficult it was to play that game and to complete it.” Merkle said. “And then, you know, when you see the spectacle of somebody beating it in less than five minutes you’re kind of immediately hooked. You’re like, wow. How the heck did they manage this? How did they pull this off? And, you know, you could do that for just about any game out there, any game with an ending could be a speedrun. There’s so many different games out there and there’s such a wide audience for all the different games that there’s usually something there for somebody to be interested in. On top of that, with the Games Done Quick events, we have the commentary which explains to people that what they’re seeing as opposed to just watching a random video on YouTube or a Twitch stream where the runner is just grinding out times. At GDQ events, we push to have people commentating and saying hey, this is how this is done, this is how this trick works, and then some people can actually take that and try it themselves at home and get interested in speed-running themselves.”

While not everyone goes out there and attempts to become a world record speedrunner, the runs themselves are incredibly fascinating to watch. A particular favorite is from the 2016 AGDQ where someone pushed multiple Pokemon games to their absolute breaking points. It’s almost like a magic show where the magician is telling us their secrets as they do each trick.

It’s this commentary and the willingness to put the person running the game in the spotlight that gives GDQ a unique opportunity. Obviously, charity is the main goal here at the end of the day and they’ve been very successful in raising money, but there’s also a chance to put the attention of thousands of people on members of underrepresented communities. It’s an opportunity to increase diversity in the speedrunning community as a whole and GDQ as an organization is taking steps there with events like FrostFatales, an all-women charity speedrunning event for Malala Fund.

“So Frame Fatales is this kind of sub-organization within GDQ that’s focused around women in speedrunning” “Merkle said. “Women have not been a major part of speedrunning for a long time and it’s mostly just because they haven’t really been given the chance to get the spotlight. And so this is an event for women and driven by women and, powered by women to really get their name out there and to show that hey, you know, this is, you know, a hobby for everybody, not for just guys and it’s been very successful been growing every single year and you know, we’re really excited to see how far that goes as well.”

One area that GDQ can continue to promote people in the speedrunning community is the couch spot. With every runner, there is usually a couch behind them and a lot of times the couch will have co-commentators to ask questions to the runner. These spots are a great opportunity to get new faces up there every year. GDQ also makes an effort to get different runners if possible so it’s not just the same people rotating in and out on a bi-annual basis. This constantly rotating cast is a great opportunity to help raise the profile of runners who might not be getting as much attention otherwise.

When AGDQ 2022 launches its stream next January, it will mark 12 years since Classic Games Done Quick started this whole thing in a basement. From those humble beginnings, it’s now an event with millions of dollars raised, hundreds of speedruns completed, and a community that is only getting larger by the year. With all this potential for growth, there is still one goal that is driving all of this: charity.

“We’re always exploring (new ways) we can do more charity, fundraising events within the means of our staff. We’re growing slowly, but surely,” said Merkle. “I think it’s definitely gonna be a charity focus first. That’s always been the goal.”

While promoting his new movie, Licorice Pizza, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has once again voiced a controversial opinion that’s sure to ignite intense debate amongst film buffs. Despite being the auteur behind such lengthy cinematic output as Magnolia (188 minutes), There Will Be Blood (158 minutes), and Boogie Nights (155 minutes), Anderson has come around to the belief that films should be two hours long. A belief shared by Uproxx’s own Brian Grubb, who has argued for years that nothing should last longer than 120 minutes.

The topic came about during an interview with The New York Times where Anderson revealed that he’s never approached to do television, and he’s never really pursued the medium. Even though his films run on the longer side, Anderson has come to realize that doesn’t mean he’d be great at making a miniseries, and it also made him realize that there is a sweet spot for the perfect film length. Via IndieWire:

“No one asks [me to do television]. I’m just sort of playing in my own corner of the sandbox. As a writer, I think we have fantasies when you struggle with editing material down: ‘I have so much material, perhaps this is a limited series.’ When in fact, no, it’s not, you just need to edit down your story. I mean, a film should preferably be two hours. That’s when they’re at their best. I’ve missed that mark multiple times, but that’s really the goal.”

Naturally, Anderson’s remarks are sure to spark debate amongst cinephiles who are still reeling after he professed his love for Marvel movies instead of going the route of famed directors Martin Scorsese, Denis Villeneuve, and more recently, Ridley Scott, who have crapped all over superhero films. Which are also getting pretty long.

(Via The New York Times)