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It seems like for the past few weeks, all anyone has been able to talk about is Squid Game, the Korean Netflix drama that has captivated viewers with its grotesque concept and sly social commentary. That includes rappers, as well; Meek Mill apparently enjoyed it and was able to connect with the show’s themes, making an astute observation on Twitter that unfortunately, didn’t go over well with some of his followers.

“Squid games”pay attention how fast people switch and kill each other to survive,” he noted. “Now think about the ‘hood’ poverty …it’s the exact same thing …if you just help them with work/money they won’t be that way ‘just a common sense message.’” Parsing his words a bit, it seems as though he’s pointing out what sociologists and activists have been saying for a long time. Impoverished areas need more resources because crime and violence are a result of that lack, not intrinsic nature.

Of course, not everyone was amenable to this observation, likely thanks in part to Meek’s hit-and-miss social strategy, including his own recent missed opportunity to “give back.” Some of the responses argued that it takes more than resources, while others thought that the theme of the show — which is spelled out pretty clearly throughout its nine episodes — points to a different conclusion. One commenter rejected the premise of the tweet entirely, telling Meek to “get in the studio” despite the fact that his latest album is less than a week old.

However, many agreed with Meek’s perspective on the message that Squid Game conveyed. The show revolves around a group of desperate people who sign up to play children’s games for a large jackpot. However, they quickly learn that the losers are shot and killed. Given the opportunity to opt-out and return to their respective dire circumstances, many of the players return, playing out the violent six-round game to completion, becoming more vicious as their numbers dwindle and the games themselves turn them against each other.

You can watch Squid Game on Netflix now.

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

With Halloween Kills’ theatrical release mere days away, its not all that surprising director David Gordon Green is ready to announce his next big project. However, with three Halloween movies and a couple stoner titles under his belt — Your Highness and Pineapple Express — just what type of movie Green’s next film is might come as a bit of a surprise for fans of the off-beat director.

According to Deadline, Green is reportedly teaming up with Disney Studios to direct a Disney+ original movie about Walt Disney’s “journey to building Disneyland, the ‘Happiest Place on Earth.’” The film is set to follow the enterprising animator up to the grand opening of Disneyland on July 17, 1955, and showcase the highs and lows him creating the only Disney theme he directly supervised the construction of.

Seeing as how closely involved Disney is with the project (and how squeaky clean they like to keep their image), it seems highly unlikely the film will dig into the Disneyland creators “eccentricities” and go more of a comedic, mockumentary-style route with the film, making it a pretty unusual choice for Green. However after genre-jumping and creating the highest-grossing Halloween movie of all time, this could be the a new and exciting challenge for the director. Plus, with 2013’s Saving Mr. Banks still the most recent Walt Disney biopic out there, there’s a lot of untapped potential and Disney stories just waiting to get the silver screen treatment.

Evan Spiliotopoulos, a Disney veteran who’s written on films such as The Jungle Book 2, Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and the live-action reboot of Beauty and the Beast, is set to write the upcoming film, with Cavalry Media and producer Jason Reed helping to helm the project. Allison Erlikhman will oversee for Disney Studios, and Cavalry Media’s Dana Brunetti and Matt DelPiano will produce alongside Reed. As of right now, no title, timeline, or cast details have been revealed.

With its release just one month away, The Shrink Next Door dropped its newest trailer that explores the tension building relationship between Will Ferrell’s Marty and Paul Rudd’s increasingly “unconventional” therapist Dr. Ike. WandaVision‘s Kathryn Hahn is also along for the ride to round out one hell of a cast.

As the new trailer reveals, an increasingly distressed Marty is falling apart at work and agrees to see a therapist at the urging of his sister played by Hahn. But while Dr. Ike seems like a warm, friendly therapist who starts turning Marty’s life around, it becomes clear that he’s becoming too involved in his patient’s life. Soon, Dr. Ike is directly involved in Marty’s now successful business, and he’s urging him to ice out his sister who can plainly see what’s happening as the dark comedy unfolds.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Inspired by the true story of Marty and the therapist who turned his life around… then took it over. When he first meets Dr. Ike, Marty just wants to get better at boundaries. Over 30 years, he’ll learn all about them–and what happens when they get crossed.

The first three episodes of The Shrink Next Door premiere November 12 on Apple TV+.

The “Backyard Sessions” video of Miley Cyrus covering Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” seems to go viral at least once a year. And every time it does, the response is always the same: “Wow, she can really sing!” This is obvious to anyone who’s seen Miley live, as I did during the first weekend of ACL Festival 2021 in Austin, Texas. Over the course of a 90-minute headlining set, she showed why she’s a welcome addition to any festival lineup.

Cyrus kicked things off with a medley of her own “We Can’t Stop” and “Where is My Mind” by Pixies, setting the “pop hits mixed with rock classics” tone for the rest of the set. She looked like Debbie Harry after a long weekend spent on the Vegas strip (she even covered “Heart Of Glass,” along with Janis Joplin and Cher), and strutted the stage with the confidence of someone who’s seen it all.

And she has: from starring in a TV show before she could drive, to going on tour as her pop star alter ego, to the Robin Thicke incident, to making an album with the Flaming Lips literally called Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, to accusations of cultural appropriation, to clickbait timelines of the famous people she’s dated, Miley Cyrus has been a near-constant presence in our lives for 15 years. And she’s provided some of the most enduring pop songs in that time, too. Miley’s not a nostalgia act, but when she played “Party In The U.S.A.,” I found myself fondly recalling my summer as a camp counselor listening to the song during free swim. For my teenage half-brother who also attended ACL, it was hearing “23” at a middle school dance. For both of us, and the thousands of others in the trampled Zilker Park field, it was feeling chills during a power ballad version of “The Climb” and giving into the exuberance of “See You Again.”

One person who literally doesn’t know a life without Miley Cyrus is Billie Eilish (she is, famously, a Belieber, but I’m sure she listened to “7 Things” on Radio Disney at least once). The umpteen-time Grammy winner was the Saturday night headliner for both weekends — I caught her during weekend two, a week after Miley and a few days after No Time To Die was released into theaters. Eilish didn’t perform “No Time to Die,” the second-best Bond theme of the Daniel Craig-era (“Skyfall” is untouchable), but she did provide the most memorable performance of the entire festival.

Eilish has called “Happier Than Ever,” the title track from her sophomore album, the “most therapeutic song I’ve ever written or recorded, like ever, ever, ever, ’cause I just screamed my lungs out and could barely talk afterwards… I had wanted to get those screams out for a very long time and it was very nice too.” After ACL was canceled in 2020 for obvious reasons, the 2021 crowd got their very long, very nice screams out, too. Happier Than Ever, the album, is a hushed, moody, occasionally jazzy mediation about what it’s like to be one of the world’s most famous musicians — if not people — before you can legally take a sip of alcohol. But “Happier Than Ever,” the song, is an opportunity to wave the proverbial — or perhaps literal — middle finger to every shitty ex- you’ve had the unfortunate experience of dating (you know what they say about ex’s in Texas…). It starts slowly before roaring to a fuzzed-out, scream-along finish.

“When I’m away from you, I’m happier than ever,” Eilish sings before the cathartic heavy metal finish, but she didn’t mean it about the festival crowd. The mood during the set closer was more akin to Miley’s final song: it was a party in the A.C.L.

Celebrated singer Kacey Musgraves is familiar with the Grammy Awards. Her debut 2013 album Same Trailer Different Park won a Grammy for Best Country Album, as did her 2018 LP Golden Hour. Now with six wins and nine nominations to her name, some assumed her recent project Star-Crossed would similarly be recognized by the Recording Academy at their 2022 ceremony. It may still be, but apparently not as a country album.

The Recording Academy deemed Star-Crossed ineligible for a country award at their 64th annual Grammy Awards, which will take place on January 31, 2022. According to Billboard, the decision was made last week during the Recording Academy’s annual screening committee meeting, where submissions are reviewed and placed in various categories. Apparently, members of the committee didn’t see Star-Crossed as a fit for the country category, though it’s still eligible for all-genre awards.

Cindy Mabe, president of Universal Music Group Nashville, wasn’t happy with the Recording Academy’s decision. Mabe penned a letter to the Recording Academy to explain why she felt the decision was “inconsistent” with previous years. “This decision from the country committee to not accept star-crossed into the country albums category is very inconsistent and calls into question the other agendas that were part of this decision,” Mabe wrote.

Mabe went on to describe country music’s problem with gender diversity, namedropping Morgan Wallen along the way:

“The numbers speak and are a matter of public record with women making up only 10 percent of all country airplay. This year alone country music has been mired in the controversy surrounding one of the formats biggest artists, Morgan Wallen, who used a racial slur and grew fans and audience from it. THIS IS NOT ALL THAT WE ARE. Under the surface are the artists that change it all and they are led by the example of Kacey Musgraves. […] As a prime stakeholder in country music, I would really like to frame what’s happening in our genre right now and help you and the Grammy’s fully understand the importance of Kacey Musgraves to country music and why this decision is so much more than an entry point for an awards show. Taking her out of the country category actually does harm to a format struggling with change and inclusivity overall.”

Star-Crossed is out now via UMG Nashville/Interscope Records. Get it here.

There’s nothing more wonderful than being in the throes of falling in love with someone new. It feels like your senses are constantly heightened. Your stomach aches when they’re not around and you hope they’re thinking about you every moment of the day.

Falling in love is a truly wonderful feeling. However, that feeling of euphoria is temporary. The key is being able to take that exciting beginning and turn it into a loving relationship.

Unfortunately, not everyone who sparks those incredible feelings, in the beginning, winds up being a healthy partner long-term.

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Therapist Jeff Guenther believes that a lot of the behaviors that will take a relationship from the beginning infatuation phase to something lasting are pretty counter-intuitive.

Guenther is the co-founder of TherapyDen, a platform where people can find therapists for a wide variety of counseling needs.

Guenther shared three important things people shouldn’t do when they feel that they’re falling in love on TikTok recently. His thoughts must have really connected with people because the video has been seen over 2.8 million times.

1. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re actually in love

Guenther believes that even though the feelings are there, true love comes after you’ve seen all of the person’s foibles and still care enough to stick around. “Once you see how dumb and annoying they are, and you still think that you’re head over heels in love, then you’re more likely actually in love,” he says.

The therapist has a great point here. How many times do two people appear to be deeply in love only to have things blow up overnight after the first fight?

2. Don’t move fast

Even though you want to see this person every day of your life, Guenther thinks you should dial it back a bit. “See them up to two or three times during the week,” he says. He believes that by taking it easy in the beginning, you put yourself in a better position for things to work out long-term.

“Relationships start out hot and heavy, you have a tendency to crash and burn if you say ‘fuck it’ and spend every day with them,” he says.

3. Don’t make any big decisions

“You think you’re in love, you think they’re the one. And you decide to move in or quit school or follow their band,” he says. “Please don’t make big decisions at the start.”

Guenther makes a great point here as well. At the beginning of a relationship, we are so amped up on hormones and chemicals that we’re bound to make some bad decisions. A new relationship means a lot of new opportunities, but it’s best not to make any drastic decisions until the relationship has matured to the point where both people are level-headed.

The bigger point that Guenther appears to make in his video is that love is more of an action than a feeling. Sure, in the beginning, we can get overwhelmed by the feelings we have for a new love interest. However, everyone that’s been in a relationship that’s lasted over a decade knows that true love is more about paying attention, anticipating people’s needs, enjoying the simple things, and putting the other person first than being overwhelmed by passion.

President Biden has drawn a pretty clear-cut line at the amount of money he believes makes someone rich. In numerous speeches, he’s said that those making $400,000 or more should pay a higher tax rate because “they can afford to pay a little more.”

Biden has proposed a tax increase on high-income earners to help pay for the social spending the country has done to offset economic problems caused by the pandemic.

In a joint interview with Vice President Harris, Biden said, “I will raise taxes for anybody making over $400,000,” and anyone making less than that would face “no new taxes.”

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A breakdown by CNBC found that for the most part, Biden has been honest about his plan, and the only people who make less than $400,000 a year who would see a hike in their taxes are those who had a windfall event that put them over the threshold.

It’s worth noting that Biden’s idea of who is wealthy is a bit different than the man he served under as vice president. When Barack Obama was president he sought to raise taxes on the wealthy who he saw as those making $250,000 or more.

On the surface level, $400,00 does seem like a lot of money in comparison to the average American. Those making $400,000 and above represent the top 1.8% of taxpayers, earning about 25% of the nation’s income.

Some people make the point that $400,000 isn’t that much money for someone who lives in an expensive area such as Manhattan or San Francisco. However, the average household income in Manhattan is $138,000 so you’re doing pretty well if you’re making $400,000 or more.

That is assuming that you’re not wasting your money living extravagantly.

Twitter user Chief Resistance Officer asked his 30,000-plus Twitter followers if making $400,000 a year is considered “rich” and he got some thoughtful responses. The overwhelming opinion seems to be that if you make that much you are probably rich. If you’re making $400,000 or more and living paycheck-to-paycheck, you’re probably being irresponsible with your money.

Yes, $400k is rich.

If you don’t think making $400k a year makes you rich, you’re probably woefully out of touch.

It’s pretty easy to blow $400k a year if you live extravagantly in a big city.

On $400k a year, you’re probably rich, but not wealthy.

Some say that it matters where you live.

It’s all about how you manage your money.

WARNING TRUTH BOMBS AHEAD.

So what did we learn? The original poster says that $400K makes you “rich” but not “wealthy.”

in the end, it’s not what you make, but what you keep. There are a lot of people who can’t make ends meet making six figures and others who can do a lot with very little. It seems that the difference between both people is a sense of gratitude. Those who are grateful for what they have seemed to take better care of their money because they appreciate it. Whereas those who don’t appreciate what they have feel compelled to spend and spend until they think they’ll reach some mythical point of material happiness.

So, in the end, to be grateful is to be rich.

Oh yes, and be sure to tax the wealthy, whoever they may be.

An online scam has popped up on Telegram, a social networking site popular with QAnon conspiracy theorists. Fake social media accounts of celebrities have cropped up on the app and after luring in followers with fake Hollywood secrets, they begin flogging a coin with Donald Trump’s face on it that promises huge returns.

The coin features a picture of the president on one side and says, “Keep America Great” at the top. On the reverse side is the presidential seal.

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A proud Trump Coin owner.via Twitter

The coins go for as little as $8.95 each and a quick scan of the internet shows that they haven’t risen in value just yet.

The coin peddlers have created social media profiles for several celebrities, including Kirstie Alley, Sylvester Stallone, Denzel Washington, Elon Musk and Mel Gibson.

Kirstie Alley had to release a statement saying that she’s not involved in the scam. As did a representative for Sylvester Stallone.

“Mr. Stallone is officially not involved with Telegram,” the spokesperson said. “This is not his account, he does not post on the Telegram site. The account is counterfeit.”

An ad featuring Elon Musk suggests that the coins will skyrocket in value.

Telegram screenshotvia ariehkovler / Twitter

An ad with a Photoshopped Tucker Carlson claims that Trump Coins are going to go up in value once he is reinstated as president. A popular claim amongst the QAnon crowd is that Trump will be reinstated as president in the near future. But that has zero chance of happening.

“Scotus will hear the case to reinstate Donald Trump and the skyrocket of the Trump coin will happen!” the ad claims.

The ad also says that the coins will work as a form of social currency in the future and those that are lucky enough to have the foresight to buy them will be treated ‘differently” because they own the “SYMBOL OF AMERICA.”

Telegram screenshotvia ariehkovler / Twitter

Another account claiming to be from conservative actor James Woods says the Trump Coins will rise exponentially, much like Bitcoin. But that logic falls flat once one considers the fact that Bitcoin is built on blockchain technology and Trump coins are nothing but gold-plated tchotchkes.

Telegram screenshotvia ariehkovler / Twitter

Will Sommer, the host of the “Fever Dreams” podcast, believes it’s all an attempt by an opportunist to take advantage of an audience that doesn’t have the sharpest critical thinking skills.

“I think the lesson of Trump Coin is that when you have a situation like QAnon, these people have already self-identified as extremely gullible. And so a lot of people are then going to come in and sort of try to feed at the trough there,” Sommer said.

So if one of your relatives or friends tells you they’re going to get rich off of Trump Coins after he is reinstated in office, please talk them down from the lege, and explain that he isn’t coming back during Biden’s term and the coins have not gone up a penny.

Tell them to invest in Bitcoin instead, at least that’s gone up in value this week.

Once upon a time, the entire Hollywood industry shut down. On October 5, 1945, thousands of workers walked out of high-powered studios in the name of fairer working conditions. The epic strike took on the name of “Hollywood’s Bloody Friday.” For six months, all productions were severely delayed. That meant: nothing new on television. No movies to go to. No escape from the humdrum of real life. And in those times, no one even had the saving grace of YouTube or TikTok.

Cut to: October, 2021, and we are faced with the same situation. Which is bad news for those looking to binge new shows during their WFH job.

Entertainment has become a saving grace, if not an absolute necessity, during the pandemic. Many of us survived the shutdowns thanks to entertainment. Whether swooning over “Bridgerton” or gaping in awe at “Tiger King,” television has provided us a much-needed escape from reality. However, thanks to disputes over unlivable wages and inhumane working conditions, your favorite show might be stuck on a cliffhanger for a while.

Why is this happening?

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Starlets and action heroes in front of the camera often gain the glory of the public, yet behind the scenes, there are crew members—those who run sound, lighting, hair, makeup and camera departments—who normally contribute longer hours and more manpower to keep the wheels of the production running.

These crew members make up a union known as IATSE (the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists, and Allied Crafts). And this past Monday, IATSE once again voted “yes” on a strike approval after broken negotiations with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers). Yes, it’s the age-old story of the working man versus the money man. IATSE members are fighting for increased income, more rest periods and increased residual payments for streaming projects. If their demands are not met, IATSE has approved a unionwide walkout. Meaning history could very well repeat itself.

Below are a few sample horror stories taken from @iatsestories on Instagram, which depict a regular—yes, regular—day on set:

At best, film and TV crew members are unsung heroes; at worst, they are literally putting their lives in danger due to incredibly taxing working environments. A typical day for crew members is 12 hours. That can go up to 15 or 16 hours a day, without weekends, and sometimes without actual lunch breaks. That’s the equivalent schedule demands of many frontline workers. Only instead of saving lives, members of IATSE risk injury and even work related death. It hardly seems humane to force workers to sacrifice their physical, emotional and mental health in the name of entertainment. Let’s face it: A lot of the time we’re only half paying attention to the screen as we’re folding laundry.

For all the risk, the wages are often less than minimum wage. And though projects from major streaming platforms such as Netflix, AppleTV and Disney+ earn income that rivals—or even exceeds—those of traditionally released blockbusters, the payment terms remain the same as they did 10 years ago.These multimillion dollar companies have the same residual payment responsibilities as a fledgling start-up.

What happens next?

Negotiations are reforming between IATSE and AMPTP, thanks to IATSE’s historic strike authorization. Now that things are back on the bargaining table, perhaps a better, more fair contract can be ironed out between the two unions. Things do seem optimistic. Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit victory against Disney over “Black Widow” streaming profits shows an artist leveraging power away from a gigantic media conglomerate. Hopefully those without celebrity status, yet who contribute equally (if not more so) to the movie and television shows we love, will get the same fair treatment.

Scarlett Johansson wins lawsuit against Disney.
www.hollywoodreporter.com

If not, it might be reruns of “The Great British Bake Off” for all of us.

This article originally appeared on 9.22.14

One Human Family, Food for All

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