The stars of Kong Vs. Godzilla were, well, the monsters, but the human actors who played a role in the movie are lining up some sweet gigs in Hollywood as well. Monday brought word that Alexander Skarsgard, the actor who shined in True Blood and Big Little Lies and also alongside the aforementioned large lizard and gorilla will have a very different role in Season 3 of Succession.
HBO revealed that Skarsgard has been tapped to play a prickly tech CEO named Lukas Matsson, who will emerge as a rival to the Roy family. Surely, there will be absolutely no corporate drama involved with him at all. And that’s not all: HBO also dropped the official (and very vague) logline for the new season, which cannot start airing soon enough.
“Ambushed by his rebellious son Kendall (Jeremy Strong) at the end of Season 2, Logan Roy (Brian Cox) begins Season 3 in a perilous position. Scrambling to secure familial, political, and financial alliances, tensions rise as a bitter corporate battle threatens to turn into a family civil war.”
Succession‘s second season ended with a bang, to say the least, so it’s no surprise that a new CEO would come circling what’s apparently now a vulnerable Waystar RoyCo and create some drama. Here’s hoping Matsson made all of his money disrupting the space hidden inside the Earth’s core and has an improbable-sounding explanation for how he and his team got there when we see new episodes on HBO, whenever exactly that ends up being.
Making matters worse is that the red-hot Denver Nuggets come into town on Monday for a back-to-back, meaning there wouldn’t be a lot of time for James to heal up to stay in the lineup to try and get the Lakers out of their current funk. After stating last night that they would wait to see how he feels on Monday morning, word emerged from Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, and quickly confirmed by Shams Charania, that James would indeed miss Monday’s game with Denver.
Reporting with @RamonaShelburne: Lakers star LeBron James is expected to sit out vs. Denver tonight to rest his right ankle, sources tell ESPN. James re-aggravated the ankle in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to Toronto. Lakers have lost 6 of 7 games.
Lakers star LeBron James will miss tonight’s back-to-back vs. Denver with sore right ankle, sources tell @TheAthletic@Stadium. His status is uncertain as of now for the next game, Thursday vs. Clippers.
It is obviously a major development for the Lakers, who will now be without James and Schröder in a game that, should they lose, would push them into the 7-seed and the play-in with seven games remaining. There’s time to dodge the play-in, which LeBron voiced his frustrations with on Sunday night, but it’s an uphill climb to do so given the tiebreaker situation and their issues with health and availability. The good news is that they don’t play again until Thursday, when they have an in-town showdown with the Clippers, so James will have three full days to rest his ankle and get treatment. Still, the reigning champs are in a precarious situation in the final two weeks of the season, and balancing rest, health, and trying not to have to deal with the play-in is a difficult task.
Quando Rondo and some associates were reportedly shot at in a Blackshear, Georgia convenience store parking lot, according to TMZ. Rondo appears to be OK, as he has posted on his Instagram Story since the time the shooting reportedly occurred — at around 3:20 a.m. on Sunday, according to law enforcement sources.
Police apparently are not aware of any bullets striking the rapper, who was not at the scene was officers responded. He was supposedly in the parking lot before the shooting occurred, though. Rondo was traveling in a large group and one person was apparently shot in the hand and received treatment for his injury at a local hospital. Rondo has yet to publicly address the alleged incident, although as aforementioned, he has been active on social media since the time it reportedly occurred.
This incident follows the late-2020 death of King Von, which was the result of an altercation between his crew and that of Rondo. It was reported that outside of a club, King Von approached Rondo, who was asleep in a vehicle. That led to a physical brawl, when then escalated to gunfire.
Over the weekend, Rondo performed at The Vibe Event Center in Waycross, Georgia and footage from the event appears to indicate that only a few dozen people were in attendance. Rondo reportedly addressed the audience, “I ain’t gon’ lie: My shows really be deeper than this, but I know a n**** got a lot of sh*t going on, you feel me? But I still appreciate everybody who came out. I’ma rock this b*tch like it’s 10,000 people in here.”
Quando Rondo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
If you haven’t had your fill of a radioactive lizard punching a giant ape (or vice versa), boy do I have good news for you. Ape vs Monster is a low-budget version of Godzilla vs. Kong from The Asylum, the A24 of mockbuster studios. If you spent time in a video store in the mid-2000s, you might be familiar with their work like Snakes on a Train, Transmorphers, Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls, and 18-Year-Old Virgin. (They’re also the geniuses (?) behind Sharknado.) The Asylum churns out legally distinct knockoffs that your grandpa might mistake for the real thing, including Ape vs. Monster.
Directed by Daniel Lusko, Ape vs. Monster doesn’t star Alexander Skarsgård, or Millie Bobby Brown, or Kyle Chandler, but it does have Eric Roberts, an ape named Abraham (it’s unclear if Monster has a name), and a lizard drinking the same green ooze that turned four regular turtles into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Asylum should do TMNT next. It could be called something like Adolescent Monster Martial Arts Reptiles.
Here’s the plot summary: “An ape, lost in space, crash-lands back to Earth. The vessel oozes a sludge that triggers massive growth in both the ape, as well as a passing Gila monster. Once the creatures reach titanic size, their paths cross again, leading to a giant brawl in which Mankind hangs in the balance.” I bet my life savings on Ape.
The dust hasn’t even settled yet after The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s relatively heartwarming finale, at least where Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes’ fates are concerned, and we’ve already got some confirmations and a suggestion for more. A fourth Captain America movie (focusing on Sam taking up the shield for real this time) is on the way. We’ve already seen the Zemo Cut, starring a dancing Daniel Brühl, and now, there might be another cut on the horizon. Maybe? Well, the Zemo Cut arrived after a little Brühl-fueled pressure, and now, Sebastian Stan is pretty much doing the same by calling upon Disney+ to #ReleaseTheBuckySarahCut. Yep, he did so in an Instagram story, which is interesting since he deemed a bare-butt photo worthy of the timeline, yet starting a fan movement was a fleeting-story thing. Regardless of medium, Sebastian was pointing toward a TV Guide article, which we’ll discuss in a moment.
Fans will recall that Bucky Barnes, for the first time in several decades, got flirty with Sam’s sister, Sarah (Adepero Oduye), in Episode 5, and Sam wasn’t happy about it. One cannot exactly blame the dude for not wanting his sister to date someone who only recently shook off the (homicidal) HYDRA brainwashing, but the chemistry between (awkward) Bucky and Sarah was palpable. And shortly before the season closed, they were flirting up a storm while a kid dangled from Bucky’s vibranium arm.
Disney+
Welllll, director Kari Skogland spoke with TV Guide to reveal that there was more Sarah-and-Bucky footage than we saw in the series:
“There was a little more flirting, I will give it that. I loved the dynamic between Adepero and Sebastian, or Bucky and Sarah. I love that dynamic and it was really fun because, of course, you can imagine Sam was just not up for that… We did have a bit more from that scene we decided not to put in, but it was very enjoyable.”
Let’s just say that fans are enjoying the teasing and want more.
As F9 prepares to rev into theaters (and outer space), the cast and crew of the original The Fast and the Furious sat down for an oral history celebrating the film’s 20th anniversary and, naturally, as these kinds of things usually do, the experience came with the kind of boast that only Vin Diesel can make. While discussing the casting of Michelle Rodriguez and the relationship between his street-racer-turned-secret-agent character Dominic Toretto and Rodriguez’s street-racer-turned-brief-villain-with-amnesia-turned-secret-agent Letty Ortiz, Diesel attempted to put the whole thing in a historical context.
“One of the biggest blessings of the franchise is my relationship with Michelle,” Diesel explained to Entertainment Weekly. “I’ve been told that the Dom-Letty love story is potentially the biggest love story that we’ve seen in cinema. After two decades, you understand that point.”
The biggest love story in cinema history? That’s one hell of a flex, and yet, par for the course for the Fast & Furious films, which has yet to meet a challenge that it can’t plow a muscle car through. As for Rodriguez becoming an integral part of the franchise, the actress admits she almost walked from the first movie when she realized the filmmakers had no idea how actual relationships on the street work. Via EW:
You don’t just get with a guy because he’s hot. There’s a hierarchy there. Can that hot guy get beat up by who you’re dating? If he can, then you don’t date him, because why would you want to lose the hierarchy? In order to keep it real, I had to school them: “I know you guys like Hollywood and all that, but if you want it to be realistic, this is how it really works, and I’m not going to be a slut in front of millions of people, so you’re going to lose me if you don’t change this.” And they figured it out.
Clearly, the filmmakers figured it out, and co-star Jordana Brewster credits Rodriguez for challenging them to get it right. “She was like, “No, I’m not playing that.’ And then she changed it completely,” Brewster said. “It went from a trophy girlfriend to this really layered character.”
Moneybagg Yo has the No. 1 album in the country, but in the social media-centered, hyperconnected world we live in today, even that lofty accomplishment won’t stop some folks online from nitpicking them at every available opportunity. Unfortunately for those folks, the social media sword cuts both ways, allowing artists to clap back as easily as fans can throw shade. Moneybagg did just this when one fan on TikTok criticized a recent performance of his as “boring.”
“So I went to Moneybagg Yo’s concert,” the fan wrote. “It was boring and dry af. He only stayed for like 15 minutes. I want a refund.” The Memphis rapper caught wind of the criticism and told the fan off, pointing out how he had a full day of concerts and challenged them to find videos from one of his many other performances. “I had 4 other shows dat same day,” he wrote. “Do u think I give af?! Tell em post da others ones.”
Meanwhile, A Gangsta’s Pain, Moneybagg’s recently released fourth studio album, was his first to reach the top of the Billboard 200 thanks to more emotive songwriting from the 29-year-old, as well as a tracklist that featured appearances from the likes of Future, Lil Durk, Pharrell, Polo G, and more.
Check out Moneybagg Yo’s responses to fans’ criticisms above.
Black Keys drummed up some excitement last month with the announcement of Delta Kream, which was described as “featuring Mississippi hill country blues standards that they have loved since they were teenagers, including songs by R.L Burnside and Junior Kimbrough, among others.” The project seems similar in nature to the band’s 2006 EP, Chulahoma: The Songs Of Junior Kimbrough, especially considering that some Kimbrough songs are featured on Delta Kream. Today, they’ve continued rolling out the album with their rendition of “Going Down South,” a Burnside cover.
Like “Crawling Kingsnake,” the previous single from the album, “Going Down South” sees the band returning to the more straightforward garage-blues-rock sound their early material is known for. They also shared a visual for the track, which features footage of the band performing the song and slice-of-life video from Mississippi.
Auerbach says of the cover, “That was one of RL Burnside’s hits! We strayed a little from the original on our version with the falsetto and percussion, but we liked how it sounded in that moment. It’s become one of my favorites on the album.”
Watch the “Going Down South” video above.
Delta Kream is out 5/14 via Nonesuch. Pre-order it here.
The Black Keys is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Juice WRLD may have been one of the most successful rappers of the past half-decade, but according to his engineer Max Lord, he never seemed interested in spending his hard-earned money on the accessories rappers are usually known for splurging on. In a profile of the late rapper for GQ, Lord remembers Juice’s penchant for spending his money instead on PlayStation games and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, revealing that the “Lucid Dreams” rapper never even bought a car.
“All he cared about were his friends and trying to have fun and be in the moment,” Lord shared. “He didn’t care about any of the superfluous stuff or anything but his loved ones, his friends, and making music and having fun. He never had one car, but he has 10 dirt bikes and four ATVs, just so he and his friends can go out and have fun together… He was just a kid.” Juice previously showed his love for dirt bikes and motocross in the video for “Conversations.” It’s also noted that he bought paintball guns for his crew to celebrate his 21st birthday in Chicago just before he died; he never got to use them, as he overdosed during a police search of his plane after landing in Chicago from Los Angeles.
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 DJ Khaled get everybody involved on his new album and Travis Scott come through with an assist. Yeah, it was a great week for new music. Check out the highlights below.
DJ Khaled — Khaled Khaled
DJ Khaled is a master recruiter and the story of his latest album can be told with a list of its guest stars: Lil Wayne, Jeremih, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Cardi B, HER, Migos, Post Malone, Megan Thee Stallion, DaBaby, Justin Bieber, 21 Savage, Bryson Tiller, Roddy Ricch, Drake, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Big Sean, Rick Ross, P. Diddy, Nas, Jay-Z, James Fauntleroy, Justin Timberlake, Meek Mill, Buju Banton, Capleton, Bounty Killer, Barrington Levy, and — although she’s not officially credited — Beyonce.
Billie Eilish — “Your Power”
Over the past few months, Billie Eilish and Finneas have been dropping hints about the status and nature of Eilish’s next era. Finally, it’s officially on the way, as her second album, Happier Than Ever, has been announced. Last week also brought a new song, the stripped-down single “Your Power.”
The band’s Andy Hull recently told Uproxx of the new album, “We knew we really wanted from the beginning for it to be all connected in a similar way as Black Mile, but more thought out, and allowing the songs to fold in on each other. And having repeated melodies and phrases that, at the end of the second song, is the same melody and lyrical nod to the fifth song. That happens all over the record. Throwing out the rule book that we had made for ourselves about even what a song can be. It’s been a really difficult record to pick a single and pick songs to play for people, because I do feel like it’s best served as a whole thing. The album’s the song.”
21 Savage — “Spiral”
21 Savage is getting into horror, as he’s executive producing the music for the upcoming Saw spinoff, Spiral: From The Book Of Saw. As part of that, he recorded a new song called “Spiral,” an appropriately eerie tune that complements the sure-to-be-dark film.
The Kid Laroi — “Without You” Feat. Miley Cyrus
After spending the past year playing rock star, Miley Cyrus’ latest output is a bit of a pivot. After teasing it for weeks, she hopped on a new remix of The Kid Laroi’s “Without You,” which actually isn’t a tremendous departure from Cyrus’ recent comfort zone considering it’s a hooky folk-pop-punk track.
Lil Baby — “On Me (Remix)” Feat. Megan Thee Stallion
A couple weeks ago, Megan Thee Stallion began a hiatus — or “entered a period of regeneration to prepare for what’s next,” as her announcement put it. She was working on stuff before then, though, so there’s still new Meg to be had, like her feature on Lil Baby’s new “On Me” remix and its icy accompanying video.
Shelley FKA DRAM — Shelley FKA DRAM
Shelley (previously DRAM, previously D.R.A.M.) just kicked off a new era with his debut album under his latest moniker. The record actually comes after a bit of a delay, which Shelley explained had a touching reason behind it, saying, “[My late mother’s] birthday is April 29th, so I’m pushing my album Shelley FKA DRAM’s release date to April 29th as not only my gift back to her, but my promise to play it for the world.”
Girl In Red — If I Could Make It Go Quiet
Girl In Red, aka Marie Ulven, recently sat down with Uproxx for an interview and said of her new album, “I kind of feel like [the album tackles] a lot of unrequited love, and a lot of misunderstandings, but also very much realizing that I am a lot. It’s not all about what this other person did to me, it’s really about putting myself in other people’s shoes as well.”
Bebe Rexha — “Die For A Man” Feat. Lil Uzi Vert
Fans are still waiting for a new Lil Uzi Vert project that’s supposed to drop “soon.” Credit where it’s due, though: Uzi has dropped three full-length projects since the start of 2020. Either way, he gave fans something to snack on last week by linking up with Bebe Rexha on “Die For A Man,” which comes from her upcoming project, Better Mistakes.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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