Over five years ago, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson first revealed his casting as the DCEU’s Black Adam in a standalone movie, and back then, we did not know that it would be a follow up on the success of 2019’s Shazam! It sure looked like production on the long-gestating comic-book movie would begin last year, and The Rock even posted some training photos to that effect, but you-know-what happened. After another very long year or so of waiting, The Rock is ready to finally get down to filming, and it sure looks like he’s gotten serious about how his legs will look in tights.
In other words, The Rock appears to have been skipping cheat meals, but he surely has not skipped leg day. While adorned in very long sleeves and a healthy dose of sweat, he could resist showing off those jacked legs. “It’s always the work we quietly put in when no one is watching that changes the game,” he wrote. “Grateful for the grind… (and the face of my Warrior Spirit always watching my back)… Production kicks off this week.”
Previously, a deleted Shazam! scene (included in the Blu-Ray release) suggested that Black Adam’s arrival was imminent. Yet the film’s planned take on this character, who was once Egypt’s greatest champion, remains somewhat nebulous, even in the recently brightened-up DCEU. The comics-version of Black Adam has danced between supervillain-or-antihero to varying degrees, so yeah, The Rock’s incarnation could go either way. About a year ago, The Rock did call his character “a rebellious, one of a kind superhero” with “powers equal to SUPERMAN.”
So… superhero (or antihero) and probably not a villain with corrupt powers still intact? It may not matter because everyone will be staring at those legs.
Black Adam will arrive in theaters on July 29, 2022.
This Is a Robbery: The World’s Biggest Art Heist (Netflix series) — Settle in for this revisiting and exploration of the so-called “biggest art heist in history.” Over four parts, this documentary series will dig into the 1990 St. Patrick’s Day heist, which saw over half a billion dollars worth of legendary works stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Rembrandts and everything! The series promises to dig into all the dead ends and lucky breaks that this unsolved mystery has to offer.
Exterminate All The Brutes (HBO, 9:00 & 10:00 pm) — This four-part documentary series tells a story of survival with a powerful message. Prepare to witness a search for truth and an scrutinization of how history is written, and expect to watch this show while reexamining much of what you thought you knew about European colonialism, American slavery, and Native American genocide. Tonight, Parts 1 and 2 revisit the U.S.’ legacy as a colonial power, including stories of Christopher Columbus and Trail of Tears, as told from an indigenous perspective.
Dolly Parton: A MusiCares Tribute (Netflix film) — Even before Dolly helped fund research that led to one of the COVID-19 vaccines, she was beloved, as she very well should be. This special showcases the never-before-seen 2019 Person of the Year event and concert that celebrated this national treasure.
Kung Fu (CW, 8:00pm) — A mid-twenties Chinese-American woman, takes a life-changing journey to an isolated Chinese monastery after dropping out of college. Upon her return, she must banish crime and corruption in her hometown with her newfound martial arts skills and Shaolin values, all in the name of justice.
Nancy Drew (CW, 9:00pm) — Nancy and her crew must help one of their own, and Ryan grows preoccupied with a Celia conversation.
Hemingway (PBS, 8:00 & 9:00pm) — The docuseries continues with two more parts, including Hemingway following the Army through Europe and trying to get things rolling with Mary Welsh amid tragedies. In the meantime, he publishes The Old Man And the Sea to applause.
Snowfall (FX, 10:00pm) — The John Singleton-co-created series sees Franklin confronted with chaos while Teddy is attempting to row upstream.
The Wedding Coach (Netflix series) — All of those cancelled weddings from last year are going to have a spiritual reawakening with this show, which dives into the hell of planning. Comedian Jamie Lee piggybacks from her own wedding to help couples “survive” the ridiculousness of “Big Bridal.” It’s real talk with Lee attempting to help people see the bigger picture.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Luke Bryan, Katey Sagal, Luke Bryan
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Denis Leary, Cristin Milioti, Rod Wave
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Leslie Odom Jr., Physicist Michio Kaku
The Late Late Show With James Corden –Kenan Thompson, Julien Baker
In case you missed this pick from last Wednesday:
Godzilla vs. Kong (HBO Max) — As you are well aware, we’ve seen a very long year without blockbusters (or almost any movies at all) in theaters, but a mega-blockbuster has arrived in both streaming and theatrical formats. It’s quite literally an actioner of gigantic proportions in a battle (starring Alexander Skarsgard and Rebecca Hall) for all of the ages. Not only does Kong punch Godzilla, but Godzilla punches back. It’s not quite Fast 9 in terms of ripped dudes with one-liners, but damn, it’s one hell of a movie event.
In the melancholy video for Lil Tjay’s new single, “Love Hurts,” Tjay and guest rapper Toosii contemplate heartbreak and discover a grisly scene in a mansion when an enemy’s assassination attempt goes awry and catches a bystander in the crossfire.
“Love Hurts” is the latest standout from Lil Tjay’s second major-label album, Destined 2 Win, released last Friday along with the video for its fourth single, “Run It Up” featuring Moneybagg Yo and Offset. Before that, Tjay drummed up anticipation for the project with the 6lack-featuring “Calling My Phone,” the drill-inspired “Headshot” featuring Fivio Foreign and Polo G, and “Born 2 Be Great,” released just a week before the album’s due date. Over the weekend, Tjay also shared the video for “Oh Well,” ensuring even more attention for the 21-track project. The album also features the previously released “None Of Your Love” as a bonus track.
Tjay’s latest album arrives after a year that saw his profile at its highest point thanks to his inclusion on the 2020 XXL Freshman cover and the release of his timely mixtape, State Of Emergency, building on the warm reception of his 2019 debut album, True 2 Myself.
Watch Lil Tjay’s “Love Hurts” video featuring Toosii above.
Destined 2 Win is out now via Columbia. Get it here.
When it comes to bourbon, the main ingredient is corn, which has to make up at least 51% of the mash bill. That’s usually followed by rye and barley. But some iconic brands — most notably Pappy Van Winkleand W.L. Weller — are known for their liberal use of wheat over rye. The result is a softer, sweeter whiskey, without the peppery spice of rye.
These wheat-forward bourbon expressions are called — no huge surprise here — wheated bourbons. They’re not to be confused with “wheat whiskeys,” where the mash bill must be comprised of at least 51% wheat. In either case, the more wheat included in the recipe, the mellower and (*gulp* this is a much-hated word in whiskey writing) smoother the final product will typically be (aging is also a big factor here).
That smoothness means that wheat-heavy whiskey expressions are often incredibly welcoming to newbies. They’re the bottles you keep on hand to introduce your friends and family to the slow-sipping style of drinking. We’ve highlighted 10 of our favorite wheaty bottles for your bar cart, below. Click their prices to order them online.
This single-grain whiskey is made exclusively from estate-grown white wheat. Made in a similar style to Scotch whisky, it’s distilled two times before being matured for two years in charred, new American oak casks. The result is a soft, sweet, easy-drinking whiskey that definitely deserves a spot on your home bar cart.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll be greeted with the aromas of dried cherries, vanilla beans, and a nice herbal backbone. The palate is swirling with toasted oak, brown sugar, subtle cinnamon, and just a hint of salted caramel. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice kick of buttery vanilla.
Bottom Line:
Bainbridge Battle Point has been named the world’s best wheat whiskey three times at the World Whiskies Awards. This alone should be enough to motivate you to grab a bottle or two.
Larceny Small Batch Bourbon
Larceny
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $25
The Story:
Larceny is a brand committed to maintaining the tradition of using wheat (as opposed to rye) as the second grain (to corn) in their mash bill. Larceny Small batch is matured for six years in charred, new American oak casks. Casks are hand-selected by the Master Distiller for their soft, sweet, rich flavor.
Tasting Notes:
Take a moment to breathe in the scents of fresh-baked bread, caramel, and brown sugar. On the palate, you’ll find sweet clover honey, sticky toffee pudding, and toasted vanilla beans. It all ends with a nice, rounded, soft, sweet finish, featuring notes of caramelized sugar.
Bottom Line:
This award-winning bourbon is way cheaper than it should be. It’s complex, sweet, and exceedingly mellow.
This wheated bourbon comes from Finger Lakes Distilling, a farm distillery located in New York State’s Finger Lakes Region. The distillery is well-known for its variety of spirits, but its Bottled In Bond Wheated Bourbon just might be its best. Made with 70% locally sourced corn, 20% winter wheat, and 10% malted barley, it’s aged in new, charred oak casks for four years.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find aromas of candied pecans, molasses, and fresh-baked bread. Take a sip and you’ll be greeted with flavors of charred oak, ripe cherries, milk chocolate, and sweet treacle. It ends with a mixture of freshly brewed coffee and vanilla beans.
Bottom Line:
This bottle might not be as easy to find as some of the others on this list. If you spot it, we implore you to buy a few bottles. You definitely won’t regret your purchase.
Dry Fly was the first licensed distillery in Washington State post-Prohibition. Its small-batch, hand-sealed wheat whiskey is made from 100% Washington State wheat, distilled in copper pot stills, and aged for three years in new, charred American oak barrels.
Tasting Notes:
Give this whiskey a proper nosing and you’ll find notes of caramel apples, charred oak, and just a hint of citrus zest. On the sip, you’ll be met with a symphony of buttery caramel, rich brown sugar, and spicy cinnamon. It all ends with a pleasing combination of sweetness and heat.
Bottom Line:
Dry Fly has gained a reputation in the Pacific Northwest for its high-quality whiskeys. If you haven’t tried the brand yet, now is the time to grab a bottle of this soft, rather sweet expression.
One of the first wheated whiskeys produced since Prohibition, this 100% wheat whiskey is named for the well-known Bernheim Distillery, located in Louisville. It was aged for seven years in charred, virgin oak barrels in open-air barrel houses. The result is a smooth, well-rounded, highly sippable whiskey.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find scents of clover honey, toasted vanilla beans, and a nice hit of butterscotch pudding. The palate is dominated by blackberries, treacle, buttery caramel, and just the right amount of spicy cinnamon. The finish is warming, medium in length, and ends with a final note of charred oak and caramel sweetness.
Bottom Line:
You might have never heard of this wheated whiskey, but if you’re a fan of soft, highly drinkable whiskeys you should quickly get acquainted with it.
This award-winning whiskey from Oregon Spirit Distillers is made with a base of winter wheat. But unlike most wheat whiskeys, the mash bill also contains rye and malted barley. It’s aged in new, charred American oak barrels for four years.
Tasting Notes:
Breathe in the aromas of caramel apples, cinnamon, and maple syrup before taking a sip. On the palate, you’ll find notes of buttery caramel, charred vanilla beans, sweet honey, and spicy cinnamon. It all ends in a crescendo of toasted marshmallows and peppery rye.
Bottom Line:
While still mellow and soft, if you’re looking for a wheat whiskey with a little bit of peppery spice, this is the bottle for you.
A winner of multiple awards, this bourbon is made with wheat in the mash bill instead of the usual rye. The result is a well-defined, complex whiskey that pairs the gentle sweetness of corn with the rich, mellow flavor of wheat in perfect unison.
Tasting Notes:
Before sipping, take a few moments to let the scents of charred oak, vanilla beans, and honey fill your nostrils. On the palate, you’ll be introduced to hints of raisins, dried cherries, caramel corn, and toasted wood. The finish is long, mellow, and ends with a dollop of caramelized sugar.
Bottom Line:
Maybe you’re not ready to go all-in on this wheat-centric journey. If you still require sweet corn flavor as well as wheat, this is a great gateway into the wheated whiskey world.
When the folks at Redemption say that this is a “wheated” bourbon, they’re not kidding. While exactly 51% of the mash bill is made up of corn, 45% is wheat (the other 4% is malted barley). This award-winning wheated bourbon is an esquisite sipping whiskey, thanks in part to the nearly 50/50 recipe of corn and wheat.
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, you’ll find swirling aromas of charred oak, crisp apple, and maple syrup aromas. The sip features flavors of freshly brewed coffee, smoked bacon, buttery caramel, and an overall nutty sweetness. The finish is warming, subtly herbal, and full of toffee sweetness.
Bottom Line:
Redemption is most known for its rye whiskey. You can’t go wrong with that spicy, rich expression. But if you’re on the lookout for something much sweeter and smoother, purchase a bottle of its wheat bourbon ASAP.
Honestly, we could fill up this whole list with various bottles of Weller. But chances are you’d never get to try them and that would make for a pretty boring list. One of the easier to find, yet still amazing, is Weller’s Antique 107 expression. The high ABVs are right there in the name, but this wheated bourbon still manages to be well-balanced and extremely soft on the palate.
Tasting Notes:
Give this whiskey the nosing it deserves, and you’ll find notes of toasted vanilla beans, charred oak, and a subtle floral backbone. The palate is heavy on the dried fruits, creamy vanilla, and brown sugar. A nice kick of spicy cinnamon adds lovely balance to the dram. The finish is long, filled with warming heat, and ends with a nice combination of toffee and that cinnamon warmth.
Bottom Line:
No list of wheat-forward whiskeys is complete without at least one expression from Weller. While this is one of the easiest to find, you can’t go wrong with any of the other Weller expressions either.
Located in the heart of horse racing country, Woodford Reserve is a big name in the bourbon world. But this offering isn’t even a bourbon. The distillery’s Wheat Whiskey is comprised of 52% wheat (followed by 20% corn and 8% rye).
Tasting Notes:
A nosing of this elegant whiskey will reveal the aromas of caramel apples, toasted oak, charred vanilla beans, and buttery caramel. On the palate, you’ll find flavors of toasted marshmallows, crisp apples, milk chocolate, and just a hint of peppery spice. It ends with a nice mixture of dark chocolate and sweet caramel.
Bottom Line:
This is the kind of wheat whiskey that deserves to be slow sipped over a single ice cube while you sit alone, watching the world float by.
At the end of 2020, Gwen Stefani marked her official comeback with the playful song “Let Me Reintroduce Myself.” The song’s video saw the singer calling back to her early aughts heyday by showcasing her most iconic outfits — but she was just getting started. Last month, the singer followed-up with her rhythmic track “Slow Clap” and this week, Stefani announced she has asked Saweetie to join in on a remix.
Stefani and Saweetie’s “Slow Clap (Remix)” video is set to arrive Friday, and the two are already getting fans excited. Stefani shared a few teasers that show the duo’s friendly chemistry. One snippet gives fans a close-up look at both Stefani and Saweetie’s bejeweled acrylic nails and another shows them playing a hand-clapping game on set.
Saweetie is the latest celebrity that Stefani has recently cosigned. Ahead of the anticipated collaboration, Stefani praised Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License” as “a light in the dark” and was tapped by Dua Lipa to hop on a club-ready remix of the singer’s Future Nostalgia track “Physical.”
Of course, Saweetie’s remix arrives on the heels of news that she and Quavo have broken up. The rapper broke the news last month, claiming that Quavo had been unfaithful to her during their relationship. Following reports of their split, a video surfaced that showed Saweetie and Quavo getting into a physical altercation over a suitcase in an elevator. The video is reportedly being reviewed by the LAPD and Saweetie recently came forward to claim the incident happened over a year ago.
Saweetie is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
The 2021 NBA season has been anything but normal for the Toronto Raptors. The team that bears the We The North slogan moved decidedly south to play their games in Tampa due to Canadian travel restrictions. For a franchise that strives for consistency, the disruption of this season exposed some cracks in the foundation and forced a reassessment, at least in the short term, of who they are as a team.
At 20-31, things haven’t gone according to plan for the Raptors. They’ve slipped from perennial East contender to a team fighting for a play-in berth. There have been, however, a few bright spots amid these struggles: Norman Powell emerged as a top-level scorer, allowing the Raptors to flip him to Portland at the trade deadline for Gary Trent Jr., who has impressed early in his time with the team. After Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka left in free agency, the door opened for another homegrown talent in Chris Boucher to step into a larger role.
While free agent acquisitions Alex Len (since released) and Aron Baynes have not filled the gaps as hoped, Boucher has provided a lift and shown his potential on both ends of the floor. Offensively, he’s averaging career-best marks across the board at 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three range on nearly four attempts per game. His team-leading 1.9 blocks a night don’t just come at the rim — he uses his tremendous length to alter shots all over the floor, oftentimes stepping out to the perimeter to wreak havoc.
Boucher’s breakout season is the latest step in quite the personal journey, one that’s seen him go from hardships as a teen struggling to find his way in Montreal to finding hope on the basketball court. He fell in love with the game, which took him to Oregon, eventualy, and the NBA. That story is one he’s told before, but right now, he’s focused on the next chapter, one that hopefully will see him become Toronto’s latest G League success story.
The Raptors, in their current iteration, place an emphasis on their development program and helping young talent reach their fullest potential. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet are the best examples, having paid their dues with the 905 before going on to become core pieces on Toronto’s championship team.
Boucher says seeing those guys take that path, one which ended in big paydays, showed him there is a plan in Toronto for players who believe they are “definitely better than what people were thinking about them,” and credits them for keeping him grounded as he dominated in the G League.
“I already knew that if I do the right thing and take the same steps they took, eventually I will get my chance, too,” Boucher tells Dime. “Fred, Pascal, Norm, Kyle, they talked to me most of the time when I was in the G League, like, ‘Yes, you’re doing good, but you still gotta take the next step, because playing an NBA is different.’ And they made me realize it’s not going to be in one night. It’s not because today you scored 30, that means that you’re automatically an NBA player and stuff like that. That really helped me out, just to realize that it’s a long journey, but at the end of the day, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”
Coming into this season, Boucher knew that his opportunity was set to arrive as Ibaka and Gasol departed, and he had to change his physical and mental approaches. His goal was simple: become more consistent and make better decisions, particularly in shot selection. In the G League, Boucher averaged more than 27 points per game, having the greenest of lights to shoot at will and take the lead role, although even there, efficiency wasn’t his biggest strength.
Getty Image
The biggest adjustment he had to make as he left the 905 was embracing a much lesser role on offense, recognizing that his job is to be an auxiliary piece. In more sparing minutes in the 2019-20 season, Boucher would find himself pressing, trying desperately to make an impression whenever he got some playing time. The result was inefficiency, particularly from deep, as he hit just 32 percent of this three-point attempts.
Even at 28, Boucher is still learning. His first season with consistent minutes has afforded him the opportunity to use live reps to continue refining his game as he looks to maximize his gifts on both ends of the floor. On offense, that means working on that shot selection, as he admits to being “trigger happy” when he first arrived in the league — he’s now at a point where he says that’s only the case “a little bit.” Having a regular rotation role has allowed Boucher to take a bit of a breath and not feel like he needs to have an instant impact whenever he touches the ball, instead opting to take better shots in the flow of the offense.
In order to make the necessary changes to become a 39 percent shooter this season, Boucher credits his newfound obsession with film work that began after the Orlando Bubble. Rather than watching a random YouTube video to pass the time, Boucher now fires up some film to figure out what he’s doing right and, more importantly, what he’s doing wrong. The results speak for themselves, as self-critiquing his game allows him to make the necessary adjustments. He still has his ups and downs, as evidenced by a recent cold spell from three, but rather than simply trying to shoot through it, he’s looking at the tape to see where things might be coming undone with either his shot selection or mechanics.
“One thing I realized is that you can shoot as many shots as you want, but when you look at the game and you look at the tape, you can see you’re not shooting it the same way that you shoot in practice, or my release is too fast, or my feet are not set,” Boucher says. “And those are all little things that affect your shot, so if you don’t watch film, you’re always going to ask, ‘Why are my shots not going in?’
“But then you watch film and then you go look at practice and you’re like, OK, I’m not shooting this too well,” he continues. “I’m changing this, I’m changing that. That does a lot. … If you don’t watch film you think that everything’s fine. But is it really fine? Like, if you’re 0-for-5 in the last three games, something’s wrong, and you might just be like, ‘Oh, I’m just missing.’ But you watch film and, ‘Oh, look my left is in front of my right foot and I never shoot that way.’ You would have never seen it without film.”
Defense is likewise a work in progress, as he works to find the balance all young shot blockers must between chasing blocks and staying in position. Boucher’s natural reflex is to try and block everything, which should come as little surprise given his 7’4 wingspan and ability to close space so quickly with his long strides. At the NBA level, the punishment for leaving an assignment to chase a block as a help defender is far greater than at the college or G League level, and Boucher is trying to lean on his ever-growing experience to recognize the right times to challenge and when to stay at home.
It’s not just rotating at the rim — Boucher is the best player in the NBA at blocking three-point shots. Boucher’s 22 rejections beyond the arc this season lead the NBA and are nine more than second-place Matisse Thybulle, per PBP Stats. He’s mastered the art of the fly-by, chasing out on shooters not by running to one side or the other (the Raptors scouting report details which side to go to on which shooters) and using his ridiculous wingspan to reach across and block the shot without risking the dreaded three-point foul by closing out into a shooter’s landing area.
In order to use that length to deter three-point shots, however, he has to stay attached to his man outside the arc enough to get out and contest. As he splits time between small-ball center and power forward, a position he’s not accustomed to, he’s recognizing that his role as a shot blocker is different.
“Sometimes it’s not your place to go, but I’m so used to being a shot-blocker, I’m leaving my man in the corner. And then I was going in and they kick it out and then I got to go all the way out,” Boucher says of lessons he’s learning on defense. “Those are the little things I’m trying to learn because when you play the four, you’re not really the shot blocker, and if you play with a five, then it’s not really your place to go. And sometimes, you know, contested is good enough. You don’t have to block it and that’s what I get in trouble … I’m trying to block it, and if I didn’t jump, it would have been a great contest, and I’m over here trying to block it. So those are things that I’m trying to learn every time, and the more I watched it, the more I realized, OK, well, you know what, you don’t have to try to block shots every time. You could actually contest a lot tougher without jumping.”
Boucher is a work in progress, but he’s fallen in love with the process and the work that goes into refining his craft. Instinct and natural talent can only get a player so far, and Boucher recognized that the mental work has to catch up to the physical effort if he’s to take the next step. Diving into film and seeking out other opinions on his game has given him a new perspective, one in which he combines his natural self-confidence with more self-awareness and the ability to accept critiques.
Boucher’s rapid maturation isn’t solely about the work he puts in. He’s a member of an organization that demands accountability and a good work ethic from the top down. From the day he stepped foot in the gym with the Raptors, he says assistants like Jim Sann and Jama Mahlalela (formerly his coach with the 905) have worked him like he was a starter, ensuring he’d be ready whenever an opportunity presented itself and showing him that they believed in him and were going to put as much effort into developing him as he was willing to put in himself. That staff backing is important, but development is a two-way street and it requires players who buy in and want to do the work, something Boucher says is impossible not to do when he sees how the stars around him approach practice and off days.
“Fred, Kyle, you look at them right now, they’re playing like they didn’t sign [big contracts]. They’re still playing like they’re trying to get to the next one,” Boucher says. “And that’s what builds for me, because at the end of the day, I’m nowhere close to what they’ve done. If you have guys that already been to the top of the mountain, and still working like they’re at the bottom, what makes you not want to work like you’re at the bottom? Cause you probably are.”
For this season, Boucher’s focus is on maximizing his talents and being the best version of his current self that he can be. That means blocking shots, playing with energy, running hard to the rim, and knocking down shots on the perimeter. It also means taking the lessons from each game as he gets more reps and applying them to the future so that his mistakes don’t get replicated over and over.
Getty Image
This Raptors season hasn’t gone according to plan. It’s shifted priorities a bit to the near future as the organization looks to set themselves up for another sustained run of excellence with a different core. Boucher hopes to be part of that next run, using this season as a starting point to prove where he can provide value, but this is far from where he sees his potential.
He readily admits that he still has to add more strength to be able to do everything the Raptors need from him defensively, particularly if he’s going to be able to play more minutes at the five, and he wants to refine his game on offense when he gets a guard switched onto him.
“I would like to have a go-to move or a couple post moves because it’s to the point where you play the game and they like to switch. You set a screen and they switch because they don’t want you to shoot,” Boucher says. “And I would like to be able to use that mismatch and go down to the post and then score an easy one, to a point where they can’t really switch it because if they switch it then it’s a small guy on me and then I could do something against it. Like I said, I just want to be able to be a mismatch, no matter who I’m playing and be able to change the game, when I come in the game.”
Getting to the NBA has been a long, winding journey all its own, but Boucher isn’t satisfied. He has dreams of doing so much more. He’s long embraced the physical grind, and has now become obsessed with the mental side of the game and what that can do to unlock his talents.
After a late start, the clock is certainly ticking at 28, but he’s defied odds throughout his voyage to being a regular rotation player in the NBA, so why not believe he can keep climbing?
An Ariana Grande song is often a densely layered affair, especially when it comes to her vocal arrangements. Now the singer has pulled back the curtain on how “Positions” come to be with a new behind-the-scenes clip, which shows her in the studio getting the finer points of the song’s vocals sorted out. In the video, Grande is in a recording booth, busting out multiple takes of vocal layers, trying multiple ideas and honing in on minute details in pursuit of the perfect sound.
some more footage from the making of ‘positions’ for u vocal arranging, stacking the bridge https://t.co/5R0sg42bzl
Grande previously spoke about how “Positions” came to be the lead single of Positions despite the consensus among her team that “34+35” would claim that honor, saying, “I was like driving to [producer and songwriter Tommy Brown]’s one day to finish one of the records […] and I was listening to everything, and I remember the moment where I was like, ‘Oh, ‘Positions’ is really challenging ’34+35′ in a big way.’ This is tonally what I want to set the pace for the album with. It just felt more grown and like more of an accurate representation of what was to come. So I remember that day and I remember telling everyone and everyone looking at me like I was a little bit crazy, except Tommy and Ray. Ray was always team ‘Positions,’ but everyone else was kinda like, ‘We gotta talk her out of this,’ and um, they didn’t.”
Check out the behind-the-scenes video above and revisit our review of Positionshere.
Bill Murray has opened up about his experience making Ghostbusters II, and the actor got candid about how he was “outfoxed” into starring in the lackluster sequel that he claims was not the movie he was originally pitched. While sitting down for an interview with the Santa Barbara Film Festival, Murray discussed being “very, very reluctant” to make a follow-up to the original film, but it was hard to resist after the studio got the entire cast back together to pitch them the new movie. Via People:
“Someone outfoxed me anyway. I don’t know if Ivan [Reitman, director] set it up, but they got us all back together in a room, and really, we hadn’t been together in a room since the movie came out and it was just really, really fun to be together,” Murray said. “We were really funny together.”
After finding himself surprisingly excited to make the sequel, the situation went south when Murray started production on Ghostbusters II, and learned it was clearly not the movie he was pitched. “I showed up on set and went, ‘What the hell is this? What is this thing?’ But we were already shooting it, so we had to figure out how to make it work,” Murray said.
While the Ghostbusters II fiasco was probably not the main reason, just one of many, Murray is notorious for keeping Hollywood at an arm’s length. The actor doesn’t even have an agent, and he confirmed to IndieWire back in 2019 that he can only be reached by a secret 1-800 number that directs people to an automated voice-mail system that he checks whenever he’s in the mood.
“This was a way you could not answer any phone, and whenever you felt like engaging, you could check to see who had bothered to call and what the message was. It just freed up my life a whole lot,” Murray explained. “Sometimes I go days or weeks. Sorry, I’m busy living.”
Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the great cinematic accomplishments of the 21st century, a stunning epic that culminated in a well-deserved Best Picture win for The Return of the King. The Soviet Union’s recently-unearthed television adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring is none of those things, but it’s a different kind of experience. Think of this way: Jackson’s Lord of the Rings is an expensive steak; the Soviet’s The Fellowship of the Ring is the fever dream you’ll have after getting food poisoning from the expensive steak.
The Guardianreports that the “1991 made-for-TV film, Khraniteli, is the only adaptation of [Tolkien’s] Lord of the Rings trilogy believed to have been made in the Soviet Union… Few knew about its existence until Leningrad Television’s successor, 5TV, abruptly posted the film to YouTube last week, where it has gained more than 800,000 views within several days.” Khraniteli, which has even crummier production design than the Star Wars Holiday Special, came out a mere 10 years before The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring became the fifth highest-grossing film of all-time.
The Soviet version includes some plot elements left out of Jackson’s $93 million blockbuster, including an appearance by the character Tom Bombadil, a forest dweller cut from the English-language version because he was too long-winded and failed to move the plot forward.
The two-part special runs about two hours — although rumor tells of a four-hour special edition buried in Lenin’s tomb. Only one way to find out (#ReleaseTheLeninCut). Until then, you can watch parts one and two below.
An unsuspecting guy at a shopping mall Zales got the surprise of his life this week while trying to pay off part of his engagement ring.
As the young man talked with the clerk at the jewelry store counter about how much he still owed for his ring and when he’d be able to pay it off, an extraordinarily large hand handed the clerk a credit card. Shaquille O’Neal, the 7′ 1” basketball legend known colloquially as “Shaq,” overheard their conversation and decided to take care of the bill himself. No big announcement. No fanfare. He just handed over his credit card, shook the stunned customer’s hand and patted him on the back, and that was that.
Someone caught the moment on video and shared it, which prompted Shaq’s co-hosts on NBA on TNT to ask him about it the next day.
One of the first questions was, “You went to the mall, and went to Zales?!?” Not exactly where one would expect a person with a $400 million net worth to be hanging out on a Monday, but Shaq pointed out that he has a jewelry line at Zales. He went in to get some hoop earrings. Alrighty.
The young man at the checkout counter was so shy, Shaq said, and when he heard him talking about paying for his engagement ring, Shaq asked him how much it was and offered to pay for it.
At first, the guy refused, but Shaq insisted. And apparently, he does these random acts of generosity all the time.
“I’m just trying to make people smile… That’s all.”
@SHAQ helped a young man out at a local jewelry store by pay… https://t.co/KuHLBBXTyH
He said he was recently in a furniture store (seriously, do multi-millionaires not shop online?) and saw a mom with an autistic daughter buying furniture. He just took care of their bill, just because.
“I’m into making people happy,” he said. “I didn’t mean for that to get out because I don’t do it for that…I’m just trying to make people smile, that’s all.”
Shaq’s generosity is well-documented, despite his preference to keep much of it under wraps. In a 2015 interview with Graham Bessinger, he explained how his father’s charity—despite their family not having a lot of money—influenced him.
After giving the family’s bag of hamburgers to a homeless veteran, his father got into the family car and told him, “If you ever make it big time, make sure you help those in need.”
Shaq remembered those words and engages in charity in a range of ways, “because of what a man who made $30,000 a year taught me,” he said. “And a woman who was a secretary who probably made $20,000 a year—they taught me that.”
His giving comes “from the heart,” he said. He’s not looking for attention or accolades—he just wants to make people happy.
“I’m doing this because this is what I was taught,” he said. “I’m doing it because to walk in there and see a family, put a smile on their face for a day, that’s just awesome to me.”
“That’s my thing. I just want to make you smile,” he said.
Shaq once asked a restaurant server how much of a tip she wanted, and when she quipped “$4,000,” he gave it to her. When a 12-year-old was paralyzed by a stray bullet in a shooting, Shaq donated a whole house to his family. A fan who saw Shaq in a Best Buy offered condolences to the star for the untimely death of Shaq’s friend and former teammate Kobe Bryant, as well as Shaq’s sister Ayesha, who had recently passed away from cancer. He was treated to a new laptop—the best one in the store.
Many of us like to daydream about what we’d do if we had more money than we know what to do with. And many of us like to picture ourselves being generous with our wealth, helping out random folks who could use some help.
Charitable giving looks like a lot of different things, from funding organizations to distributing money through a foundation to handing over a bag of burgers to someone who’s hungry. It’s just delightful to see wealthy people who not only support official charitable organizations with money and time (Shaq serves as a national spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and is a member of the national Board of Directors for Communities in Schools in addition to raising and donating millions of dollars to various causes) but who also just help out random people everywhere they go.
Kudos to Shaq’s parents for teaching him so well, and kudos to him for taking their lessons to heart.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
vocal arranging, stacking the bridge 
