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The 2021 Oscars were generally seen as a noble semi-failure, though even that descriptor seems harsh. For everything that didn’t work (the weirdly rushed In Memoriam segment, for one), there were two, maybe even three experiments that did (the cool opening long take, arguably the longer speeches). There was one failure that trumped them all: the ending. The award for Best Actor was moved to the end, knocking Best Picture — the capper for eons — down a few pegs. But it didn’t go to the perceived favorite, the late Chadwick Boseman. It went to Anthony Hopkins, who wasn’t there. Then the show abruptly ended.

In what was essentially an exit interview with Vanity Fair, Steven Soderbergh — one of three producers for the rejigged pandemic-era show — stopped just shy of admitting something most people assumed was true: That Best Actor came last because Boseman was expected to win, for the August Wilson adaptation Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which would have been quite a closer. Soderbergh — an Oscar-winner himself — didn’t say that outright. But he basically said that.

Soderbergh said that that acceptance speech, which would have been given by the acclaimed actor’s widow, Simone Ledward Boseman, “would have been such a shattering moment” that “to come back after that would have been just impossible.” And so Best Picture was bumped to two awards back. “I said if there was even the sliver of a chance that he would win and that his widow would speak, then we were operating under the fact that was the end of the show.”

Whether he was right, we’ll never know. It was a big gamble, and the producers lost. What’s worse, it had dismal ratings (though, mind you, so have all pandemic-era awards shows). But that’s okay, Soderbergh argued, because this year was about experiments, and experiments often fail.

“You have to understand this show was very much viewed by us and by the Academy as an opportunity to try some really different stuff,” Soderbergh said. “There are going to be some things that work and some things that don’t, things that people like, things that people don’t.” He added, “That’s the point.”

Soderbergh even defended another controversial move: not allowing Anthony Hopkins, who won what would have been Boseman’s award, for his work in the Alzheimer’s drama The Father, to give his acceptance speech over Zoom. Instead, when Hopkin’s name was called, he was fast asleep in his home in Wales. When asked if he regretted not bending the rules, even for Sir Anthony Hopkins, Soderbergh’s answer was short: “No.”

(Via Vanity Fair)

At long last, the world finally received a release date for J. Cole’s next album: The Off-Season, which the rapper has been teasing since late last year, will arrive next week, on May 14. Cole shared the news on his social media accounts, and he also revealed the album’s artwork: an image of him standing in front of a burning basketball hoop. While everyone else has to wait, the rapper’s labelmates are already letting people know what to expect before it arrives.

Hours after J. Cole made the announcement, Cozz, who’s also signed to Dreamville Records, took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the forthcoming release. “From what I’ve heard so far this cole best sh*t to date,” he wrote. His comments come after labelmate Bas hinted at the album’s impending arrival in a now-deleted Instagram post, writing, “pack your bags. [rocket emoji] in two weeks.”

The road to The Off-Season dates back to Cole’s 2018 album, KOD, which is when he revealed that he already had a name for his subsequent effort. It was originally teased for a 2020 release, but the year came and went without its arrival. In December, he shared a to-do list that featured The Off-Season as something he wants to complete before releasing its follow-up, The Fall Off.

On Monday night, the Washington Capitals beat the New York Rangers 6-3, but the game caused buzz for an altercation around the net that saw Caps forward Tom Wilson slam the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin to the ground, causing a lower leg injury that will end his season.

The incident took place after a scrum at the net when Wilson hit Pavel Buchnevich in the head while on the ground and Panarin skated in to pull Wilson off of him. Wilson then slammed Panarin to the ground twice and was given a 10-minute penalty for game misconduct and a four-minute penalty for roughing.

After the game the two coaches had very different views of what took place, via ESPN.

“We all saw it. There are lines that can’t be crossed in this game. There’s just zero respect for the game in general. You got one of the star players in this league now that could have gotten seriously, seriously hurt in that incident,” said Quinn following the Rangers’ 6-3 loss to the Capitals. “You all saw what happened, and it happens time and time again with him. Totally unnecessary.
…
Capitals coach Peter Laviolette didn’t think there was anything out of the ordinary during the second-period incident. “I thought it was just a scrum. Physical play. There was something going on originally with the goalie and jamming at the goalie. We had a bunch of players jump in there. It happens a lot,” he said.

Some broke the video down in slow-motion to show just how dangerous Wilson’s takedown of Panarin was, but the league determined that the only punishment was a fine for what he did to Buchnevich.

As such, the Rangers were furious with the decision, calling the NHL’s head of player safety “unfit” to continue in his current role if all he is going to do in such an instance is dole out a $5,000 fine.

It’s as scorched earth as you’ll ever see an official team statement go, calling out the league and, by name, the head of player safety. On the other side, the Capitals were much more celebratory about Wilson’s actions, initially tweeting “Capitals Choose Violence” and Wilson was living “rent free” in people’s heads in a since-deleted tweet, but still had a photo of Wilson being taken to the box afterwards in their post-victory celebratory tweet.

The two teams meet again on Wednesday in New York and there will surely be some bad blood that spills over between the two sides.

Manchester City became the first side to punch its ticket to the 2021 Champions League final on Tuesday, as the English champions-elect toppled French giants Paris Saint-Germain, 2-0, to win the tie on aggregate, 4-1. It was an impressive display by the Mancunians, but one moment that occurred in the second half of the match has drawn scorn from the football watching world.

PSG’s Ángel Di María, in a moment of frustration, stomped on the foot of Manchester City’s Fernandinho after the ball had rolled out of play and Fernandinho tried to keep him from taking a quick throw in. It was an obvious red card — Di María was promptly sent off — and in the aftermath, CBS commentator Jim Beglin repeated a racist trope that South American players have shorter tempers than other players to explain why the Argentine did this.

Several minutes of ultra-chippy play occurred before Beglin addressed his comment, apologizing to anyone who “has taken offense.”

There are plenty of reasons why this is a completely ridiculous comment from Beglin, chief among them being that all of English football did a social media blackout over the weekend to raise awareness of the lack of attention that companies have paid to addressing racism on their platforms. Beglin himself participated in the blackout, but it is evident that he, much like the sport itself, have plenty of work to still do. Whether CBS will address Beglin’s commentary publicly or not remains to be seen, but plenty of fans were understandably upset.

It’s been a little over a year now that we’ve all been (mostly) at home. But as things begin to open up, we’re all starting to get itchy feet. Flights are up and destinations are gradually re-opening. People who travel for a living are slowly returning to their (dope ass) jobs.

So it goes for travel influencer and avid surfer Nathan Fluellen. “Worldwide Nate” just spent his birthday in the Maldives (Soneva Jani, to be exact) where he got to disconnect from the outside world and connect with his inner self while sliding down a waterslide into the Indian Ocean from the top of a two-story villa.

As of right now, the Maldives are accepting all travelers who arrive with a negative Covid-19 PCR test result taken within 96 hours of their arrival to the islands. But testing requirements are a small price to pay in order to 1) not get people sick, and 2) get to cruise down that aforementioned waterslide.

“To be able to get on a plane to go to the Maldives, you have to take a PCR test and get a negative test result,” Nathan tells us over the phone. “Then when I got to the property the doctor came, administered another PCR test, and I quarantined in my villa while I was waiting for my results. After that though, you get to walk around maskless. It felt so foreign. It was refreshing to have a taste of the pre-covid experience in that way.”

While it’s crucial that every traveler makes their own decisions about Covid travel and many destinations are still under full lockdown, it’s never the wrong time for a little travel inspiration. So we asked Nate to share his guide to the Maldives, below.

What’s your favorite surf spot in the Maldives?

Everywhere

The best surf breaks are probably at a property called the Soneva Fushi. I stayed at a sister property called Soneva Jani and went to a surf break that was about a 20-minute boat ride from the island. I surfed a left reef break, the way the islands are set up is the resorts occupy an entire atoll, my atoll was in what’s considered the North Atoll.

What I like about surfing the Soneva Jani though, is that they have an eco-friendly surf program and all of their boards are made from recycled material.

What is your favorite beach in the Maldives?

The North Side of Medhufaru Island

My favorite beach is on the North Side of Medhufaru Island. That’s where we had a bbq dinner for my birthday. They cook right on the beach, there is no pollution out there so you just see entire constellations sparkling against the sky. It’s pretty amazing to experience eating a three-course dinner on the beach with nothing but some lanterns surrounding you.

At the resort I stayed at, it was much more about the over-water experience. Staying at an over-water villa was great, I could just walk out onto my deck and walk down a ladder into the water. During low tide, the water would come as high as my calf, so I could just walk about 100 yards out from in front of my villa and walk to these different sandbanks. Then during high tide, you can use the water slide. You just walk to the second floor and slide into the ocean.

Describe the perfect day in the Maldives

Morning — Yoga

Biking on the island was awesome. I would ride the bike to a morning yoga session, it would only be me and three other people, so you have the instructor directly adjusting your posture, it was definitely one of the best yoga practices I’ve ever had.

Late Afternoon — Cinema Paradiso

After my morning yoga session, I would bike to an overwater cinema, Cinema Paradiso. It has a Japanese restaurant with a big movie theater screen that sits over the water, and you get to watch the movie with blue tooth headphones. They do that so the speaker system doesn’t disturb the wildlife on the island.

All those eco-conscious details, I really appreciated.

Dinner — The Crab Shack

After, jump on your bike and hit The Crab Shack. They have these different Maldivian-style dishes with different crab options. I had a curry style crab, a spicy crab, and they had some broccoli that accompanied it that had all these flavors. You’re sitting there and the ground is the beach, you can walk 10 yards from your table and put your feet in the water, and then walk back and eat.

What would you consider the hidden gem of the Maldives?

Island leisure life

There is a soccer field in the middle of Medhufaru Island that the Soneva Jani staff uses at night after their shifts. It’s not advertised, not really for the guests, but it was cool to see the staff just having an after-work soccer match. It was equivalent to watching a good park basketball game, for that part of the world soccer is huge. It was refreshing to see, you’re always getting the smiles and five-star service, which is bar none, but then you see them cutting loose and being real.

It’s a cool vibe. I keep telling people that the island is like my happy place.

How should someone best prepare for a trip to the Maldives?

Break Up The Trip

Fly through the Middle East to get there. I would suggest people stopover in Dubai or if they’re flying Emirates, Qatar, or Abu Dhabi. Spend two or three nights there to break up the trip and get acclimated to the jet lag. Then you get to see the Middle East and the Maldives, you get a two-for-one experience.

I spent three nights in Dubai and four nights in the Maldives, but I was able to enjoy my time because I wasn’t spending getting acclimated to the jet lag. If you flew through Europe you could break up the trip that way, but my suggestion is the Middle East because it’s the same time zone.

From Dubai to the Maldivian capital Malé it’s just a four-hour flight.

What’s the first thing people should do when they land?

Indulge Yourself

Well, with the quarantine you’re gonna spend the first night completely in the resort. I’d say, really enjoy that first night, let yourself be a little kid. Run around, enjoy those amenities, unpack, unwind. And then when you go out and about, enjoy everything you can about the island, don’t worry about how little time you’re spending in your nice luxury villa.

Take the earliest flight you can, I took the 4:30 am flight, we landed in Mali at 9:35, we got to Soneva at about 11, then got our Covid results around 8:00 pm.

What’s the best way to witness the beauty of the island?

Get Lost

If you’re visiting Soneva Jani there are a bunch of pathways that you can take to get from one side of Medhufaru Island to the other. What you do is transition from overwater villas to white sand beaches into this jungle area. You can ride your bike, or you could walk to the other side of the island. Just get lost and adventure through, it’s almost like being in two different environments on a single island.

Then they have a huge crab population, they don’t eat those crabs but there is a lot of natural wildlife on the island. They come out at night, it’s really interesting to see. Just go have a jungle adventure.

What kind of food should people expect to find?

Anything and Everything

It’s a universal menu. For breakfast, you get all the stuff you’re used to, plus a Maldivian take on breakfast. But I was just having pancakes, eggs, sausages, all the different meats, and pastries. They have a 24hr ice cream and chocolate room. All these different flavors of ice cream to partake in, so the menu isn’t limited.

The sort of resorts you see in the Maldives, which aren’t cheap, are set up to cater to a wide range of diets.

What is one thing someone visiting the Maldives has to experience?

So Starstruck

So Starstruck has this elevated dining room, it’s about two stories in the sky. They have dinner at night, in between your meals they have an astronomer who leads you through a presentation about the constellations. He shows you Orion’s belt, the brightest start, different planets. They have this telescope that rises from a tower in the ground and then you can look at the stars up close and he points out all the different sites.

What was your favorite thing about visiting the Maldives?

Being Off Grid

The resort I stayed at’s motto was “No shoes, no news.” When you arrive they take your shoes and put them in a shoe bag and encourage you to walk around barefoot and not pay attention to the news. Fully immerse yourself in the experience of being on the island. They have TVs, but it’s all movies, no CNN or BBC or local news, they really want you to forget about the world you came from and focus on being here in this special space. I love that

A leaked quarterly business report from Epic games reveals the studio might have quite a bit in store for Fortnite fans in the coming years. According to the report, Epic is planning to add an arcade basketball mode to the game with an accompanying “Downtown Dunk” event that will feature NBA stars LeBron James and Zion Williamson front-and-center. In addition, Epic is also bringing some of the most iconic celebrities and characters from across numerous properties to the popular battle royale game. Among those revealed are:

• LeBron James
• The Rock
• Ariana Grande
• Lady Gaga
• Samus Aran (Metroid)
• Naruto (Naruto)
• Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)
• The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo (Kill Bill)
• Snake Plissken (Escape From New York)
• John McClane (Die Hard)

While the document was never intended to be made public — and therefore could be inaccurate or perhaps overly ambitious — several of the ideas mentioned have already come to life. These ideas include the popular Marvel crossover event as well as the game’s skin partnership with Brazilian soccer star Neymar and streamer LazarBeam.

The leak comes as a result of the ongoing Epic v. Apple lawsuit, which started last year when Epic “declared war on Apple” following a dispute over in-app purchases. This accusation resulted in Fortnite being taken off the app store indefinitely and led to further escalation from both sides. As of yesterday, the Epic vs. Apple trial has officially started, with sessions being held daily Monday-Thursday for the next three weeks until a decision is eventually reached.

Trump’s back, in blog form. It’s been nearly four months since the 45th American president was permanently banned from Twitter, as well as most of the rest of social media. Since then he’s had to subsist on “press releases,” wherein what would have been his deranged, typo-ridden, randomly all-capped tweets are surreally placed beneath formal-looking letterhead. No one’s really been paying attention to those, but maybe this will do the trick: He’s finally started his own blog.

As per The Wrap, the former commander-in-chief has launched a wing of his personal website, which is now the home for said press releases. It’s here that he can drop what would have been rage-tweets typed out on the can at 3 in the morning. “So nice to see RINO Mitt Romney booed off the stage at the Utah Republican State Convention,” goes one, posted Monday morning, a day after the event in question. “They are among the earliest to have figured this guy out, a stone cold loser!”

A video atop the new page boasts that Trump has cleverly circumvented his social media cancelation. “In a time of silence and lies, a new beacon of freedom arises,” the narrator crows. “A place to speak freely and safely.” Well, not for anyone who’s not Donald Trump: There is no place on the site for anyone to comment, much less re-tweet, quote-tweet or share in any way. “This is just a one-way communication,” a source admitted to Fox News, where he still calls in on the regular to complain about a myriad of issues.

So kudos for yet another first for this one-time president! He can add “started a blog” to all his other unique presidential accomplishments, such as “inspired a failed but deadly coup,” “praised Nazis,” “stared into the sun during a solar eclipse,” “pissed off the Pope,” “bought lots of McDonald’s for chiseled athletes,” “signed Bibles,” “signed blank papers,” “clutched a glowing orb,” “Scotch-taped his tie,” and many, many others.

If you’d like to catch up with Donald Trump’s blog, you can do so here.

(Via The Wrap)

Actress Billie Lourd paid tribute to her late mother Carrie Fisher on Tuesday by sharing a photo of her son Kingston watching Fisher as Princess Leia in 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope.”

Kingston was born last September to Lourd and her fiancé, actor Austen Rydell. The infant is pictured wearing a knitted hat with buns on its side and a Leia-themed onesie.

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via PrisetheLourd / Instagram

Unfortunately, Fisher died in December 2016 at the age of 60 after suffering cardiac arrest on a plane. Her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds, tragically died the next day at the age of 84. Fisher played Princess Leia in six “Star Wars” films. Her final, posthumous performance in 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” was cobbled together using footage of her taken for other films.

Lourd co-starred with Fisher in all three of the films in the Star Wars sequel trilogy in the role of Lieutenant Connix. She auditioned for the lead role of Rey, but it went to Daisy Ridley.

Lourd has also starred in the Fox horror-comedy series “Scream Queens” and the FX horror anthology series “American Horror Story.”

The actress got to play her mother’s iconic role of Princess Leia in a brief flashback scene in “The Rise of Skywalker.” Lourd’s face was digitally replaced with an image of Fisher taken from 1983’s “Return of the Jedi.”

Lourd shared the photo to commemorate “Star Wars” Day, also known as “May the Fourth,” a play on words using the films’ catchphrase “May the force be with you.”

Over the past decade, “Star Wars” fans have celebrated the popular film franchise on May 4. Since 2013, The Walt Disney Company has commemorated the holiday with “Star Wars” events. On May 4, 2021, it premiered an animated series “Star Wars: The Bad Batch” to coincide with the holiday.

May the 4th be with you

Happy #StarWarsDay https://t.co/9U65cM7Oad

— Vintage Los Angeles (@alisonmartino)
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Does anyone know what day it is? 🤔😂 #StarWarsDay #MayThe4thBeWithYou #MayThe4th #TBBT https://t.co/sIMgndQapZ

— Mayim Bialik (@missmayim)
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Happy #StarWarsDay from Freddie Mercury.
#MayThe4thBeWithYou
#MayTheFourth https://t.co/GB2c8PBNMb

— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper)
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I’m beginning to accept the fact that I’ll probably never do another movie that gets its own day.… https://t.co/EWSQJdqBBe

— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself)
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Some fans have turned the holiday into a two-day celebration by commemorating “Revenge of the Fifth” or “Revenge of the Sixth” in the days after the fourth. The secondary celebrations are plays on the title of the third film in the series, “Revenge of the Sith.”

It’s believed that the phrase “May the fourth be with you,” was first used in 1979, when the U.K. Conservative Party paid for a newspaper advertisement saying, “May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations!” to celebrate the party’s general election victory.

It’s unclear whether this was young Kingston’s first time seeing his grandmother as Princess Leia, but it probably won’t be his last. The child has no idea that he’s been born into Hollywood royalty.

“Star Wars” first came out nearly 44 years ago and the film franchise is as popular as ever. There’s no doubt that Carrie Fisher will continue to inspire future generations with her portrayal of one of the most memorable strong female characters ever committed to film.

Super stylish hand-printed-t-shirt-brand-turned-print-magazine Whalebone has just unveiled the winners of their annual photo contest, and these stunning photographs couldn’t have us more psyched to capture our own upcoming summer adventures. The contest, now in its second year, bills itself as a celebration of “the amazing humans who point and shoot all sorts of cameras” and featured six different vaguely defined categories which included: Water, Human, Joy, Adventure, Weather, and finally Motion — all of which were judged by an all-star cast of photographers including legendary hip-hop photographer Mel D. Cole, adventure photographer Krystle Wright, and underwater photographer Mike Coots.

The six winning photos are currently available as prints for purchase with proceeds going in support of both the winning photographers as well as No Kid Hungry, a non-profit that seeks to end childhood hunger in the United States. We’ve included each of the winning photos below as well as the corresponding captions from the photographers. If you want to purchase a print be sure to head over to the Whalebone Print Shop, which offers a variety of sizes for each.

We’re planning on using these photos for inspiration as we document our first post-covid quarantine road trips, but we’re probably going to stop short of putting any sea creatures on our faces. We’re not ready for that much excitement (if that’s what you want to call it) yet.

Grand Prize Water — Michael Francis Connelly “Hide ‘n’ Suck”

Spending so much time with octopuses has definitely changed how I see them. Instead of sushi, they have become unreal photo props for me now. This was after I spent some time free diving reef, learning about them, and handling them with some amazing, out of this world water people, out on Oahu, Hawai’i.

I bonded with these amazing eight-limbed beings, to the point where they have become my favorite animal to come across while in the water, and to always return safely to the reef. — Michael Francis Connelly

Grand Prize Human — Tyler Schank “Harmony House Hugs”

Gracelynn Noland, 6, and her grandmother Janet Noland hold hands and touch foreheads through a plastic cover as they say goodbye Friday, Feb. 12, 2021, after their visit in a garage at Harmony House assisted living facility in Superior, Wisconsin. Janet and her husband Frank were surprised to see their grandchildren and even more surprised to have the chance to hug them. “They can do that every day!” Janet said of the experience. — Tyler Schank

Grand Prize Joy — Sultan Ahmed Niloy “Enjoying the biggest festival Durga Puja”

Children are enjoying the biggest Bengali festival which is Durga Puja. It’s a very big ritual for Hindu community people in Kolkata, India, and Bangladesh. — Sultan Ahmed Niloy

Grand Prize Adventure — Mark McInnis “Mulcoy’s World”

All credit goes to my brother, my hero, and my favorite surfer, Josh Mulcoy, for this photo. He has towed me into a lot of memorable images over the years, but this one simply takes the cake. — Mark McInnis

Grand Prize Weather — Daniel Pullen “Tidal Pool”

Storm Surge from Hurricane Teddy spinning off of the coast of Cape Hatteras pours into the bottom floor of this cottage in Avon, NC. — Daniel Pullen

Grand Prize Motion — Siddharth Kaneria “Wall of Death”

The photograph is of Daredevil Stuntmen at “Well Of Death” performing in their car. Hundreds of spectators crowded around a circular pit to witness daredevil drivers in cars & motorcycles performing stunts in a vertical pit known as the “Well of Death.” Once a sight at festivals across northern India, the practice is now waning but that doesn’t stop festival-goers and stuntmen from capitalizing on the few remaining Wells of Death in the country. The Photograph is one of the biggest “Well of death” which exists in India. It is said that only 6 of this kind is in practice. — Siddharth Kaneria

Eva Longoria has found the leads for her directorial debut, Flamin’ Hot, which chronicles the real-life tale of a Frito-Lay janitor who invented the Cheetos flavor that became a global sensation. Jesse Garcia (Quinceañera) will play Richard Montanez, the man who created Flamin’ Hot Cheetos by combining the flavors of his Mexican-American heritage with the cheesy snack food, while Annie Gonzalez (Gentefied) rounds out the main roles as his wife Judy. Via Deadline:

Said Longoria in a statement, “It has been my biggest priority to make sure we are telling Richard Montañez’s story authentically. I am so happy to have two extremely talented and fellow Mexican-Americans on board in these pivotal roles. Jesse and Annie have a deep understanding of our community and will be able to help tell this story of great importance for our culture.”

Flamin’ Hot was announced back in August 2019 with Longoria attached to direct for Fox Searchlight. Presumably, the pandemic slowed down production on the film, but Longoria has remained committed to telling Montanez’s story of a Mexican immigrant who went from custodian for a potato chip conglomerate to the inventor of one of the most popular flavors in snacking history. Also along for the ride is Genetefied writer Linda Yvette Chavez, who was recently brought aboard to revise the script. It seems like a nice story that will leave your heart warm and your taste buds ablaze. Who could possibly ask for more, you know?

(Via Deadline)