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Kansas City-based Hallmark Cards is not messing around, people. They’ve had enough of Missouri-based Senator Josh Hawley, who’s already been taken to the woodshed by local newspaper and dropped by his book publisher for his role in helping to incite the failed MAGA uprising by digging in his heels over certifying the Electoral College vote. Hallmark is now formally distancing itself from not only Hawley but another area Republican senator, Roger Marshall (of Kansas), who also voted against certifying Joe Biden’s (legitimate) presidential election win.

Of course, Hawley, Ted Cruz, and several other GOP senators (along with President Trump) all played a role in stirring up the chaos that led to the MAGA insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. It was an event that left six people (including two U.S. Capitol cops) dead, and Hallmark is standing firm in their position. The company is doing so in a way that it might hurt the most: by asking Hawley and Marshall to return political donations (funded by Hallmark employees) to their campaigns. For the most recent election cycle, this translated into $7,000 being handed to Hawley and $5,000 to Marshall. From Hallmark spokesperson JioJio Shen, via the Kansas City Star:

“Hallmark believes the peaceful transition of power is part of the bedrock of our democratic system, and we abhor violence of any kind. The recent actions of Senators Josh Hawley and Roger Marshall do not reflect our company’s values. As a result, HALLPAC requested Sens. Hawley and Marshall to return all HALLPAC campaign contributions.”

Man, Arnold Schwartzenegger broke out his Conan sword over the weekend over the MAGA shenanigans, and now this. No tiny violins have been heard thus far, but Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post suggested “a condolence card for his career.”

(Via Kansas City Star)

Matt Shakman is a bit of a secret weapon in his own right when faced with the challenge of directing something like WandaVision – the first Disney+ Marvel series, which reunites Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) with Vision (Paul Bettany). But, all is not what it may seem. At least for the first three episodes I saw, WandaVision sticks to its bizarre and unique concept of putting the two characters in a different sitcom each episode, the first three being inspired by The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bewitched, and a sort of The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family hybrid.

What gives Shakman an interesting perspective was his time as a child actor on Just the Ten of Us, a spinoff of Growing Pains that lasted three seasons on ABC. But it’s learning those specific beats of how a situation comedy flows that aided Shakman. Specifically how lines of dialogue work while working with a laugh track and, for one episode, a studio audience. (The Dick Van Dyke Show was filmed in front of a live studio audience. Trying to recapture that energy as much as possible, that episodes, the first one in the series, was actually filmed in front of an audience that was asked to sign strict non-disclosure agreements.)

So I used to watch Just the Ten of Us religiously.

Oh, wow.

It was a Growing Pains spinoff, so of course I watched a show about Coach Lubbock. But did being a part of a sitcom help you do a show like this? Knowing the beats?

Absolutely.

How so?

I mean, this is definitely a trip down memory lane for me. But, I have to say, having done sitcoms and understanding the rhythms of them, it’s been very helpful. But, more than that, we shot a chunk of WandaVision at the Warner Bros. ranch on Blondie Street. Which is this amazing little row of sitcom houses: Bewitched and The Partridge Family and I Dream of Jeannie. And that’s where we shot Just the Ten of Us. I used to go on my lunch break and skateboard around Blondie Street. So, it was very strange to find yourself directing the show about the history of sitcoms while standing on the street that you skateboarded on when you were a sitcom actor many years before. The whole thing just feels like it’s surrounded by the ghosts of my past.

Are you aware of the Twitter account that adds the theme to Just the Ten of Us to everything?

[Laughs] I am.

I’m hoping WandaVision is next. I hope they get the connection.

I’m sure they will. Yeah. “Doing it the best we can,” right? That was part of it, too, in re-creating these shows was the chance to collaborate with an old college friend, Bobby Lopez, and his amazing wife and partner, Kristen Anderson-Lopez. They wrote these extraordinary theme songs for each of our episodes.

Do you worry about people who are younger who might not have a working knowledge of Bewitched to get what you’re doing?

Well, I hope that there is enough of a narrative that’s happening in the moment, in the WandaVision show, that doesn’t require an appreciation or love or knowledge of these classic sitcoms. Because ultimately this is a story: It’s a romance, it’s a mystery, it’s an adventure story, it’s a comedy. About these two amazing characters in Wanda and Vision, we’ve gotten to know in these Avengers films, and they’ve had relatively little real estate there. We get a chance to take them and go much further over nine episodes. So, I’m hoping that this is a show that you can watch with your grandparents, and watch with your parents, and your kiddos, and that there’s something in it for everybody. And just as the Marvel fans will get all the Easter eggs, maybe grandpa will love the Dick Van Dyke. Who knows? But ultimately it’s a good story and well-told to drive you through.

To be fair, I think the cutoff age is somewhere around 30 with Dick Van Dyke, because of Nick at Night. So I’ll say he’s more appealing than to just grandparents.

Yeah. They should be! And if they aren’t, they should get caught up.

So what’s the meticulous differences between hitting a beat on a show that’s kind of doing Dick Van Dyke, and the one that’s doing Bewitched? As a director, what’s the difference in timing?

Getting a difference was a huge part of the job. We did a lot of work to make sure that we were being as authentic…

What’s a specific example?

Well, I’ll tell you. The big example was that Dick Van Dyke was shot in front of a live, studio audience. So there’s a performative quality to it that’s almost like theater. There’s an energy that comes from feeding off of an audience. One thing I learned from The Dick Van Dyke Show, which was amazing, was that they didn’t pre-tape the show. They didn’t do pickups for the show. They did the show once in front of the audience. And unless something went drastically wrong, which it only rarely did, that’s the episode. That’s what you watched. So you’re basically watching the one and only time that they did that episode in front of that audience. And you’re watching the audience react. Whereas, Bewitched was shot single camera, in sets, on backlots, and shot much more like a movie. So everything has been constructed in a different way. So obviously, comedy, physical comedy, it’s different in Dick Van Dyke to Bewitched. So we were trying to figure out what the sort of style differences are there. Then, because you have a camera right in front of your face in Bewitched, it’s much more of a naturalistic performance style than something that’s trying to be shared with an audience that’s a hundred feet away.

Was there ever a thought of how to replace Paul Bettany halfway through the Bewitched episode with a different actor? Like on Bewitched?

With Colin Firth maybe?

I’m just wondering if it was seriously brought up, “Hey, should we do the Dick York/Dick Sargent thing here or not?”

I worked with Dick Sargent when I was a kid actor.

Really?

Loveliest man. Yeah. Great guy. But no, I mean, why would I want to get rid of the greatest actor, Paul Bettany? Amazing. That guy is fearless. And he is the best dramatic actor and also the biggest comedic ham. I love that guy.

Have the other shows you’re recreating been announced?

I mean, I think there’s been some vague allusions to skipping through decades. I think Kevin Feige mentioned that we get to that kind of The Office, Modern Family kind of style as well.

What was your personal favorite show to redo?

Well, it’s weird, because as a television director, I actually have directed some of these reference points when we get to a certain point, which is funny. Then, as an actor, I was on a certain other chunk of reference points as well. The whole thing feels a little bit like therapy. So I guess the ones that were further away from my personal experience were the ones that I enjoyed the most: Dick Van Dyke styles. Or I Love Lucy, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, up to The Brady Bunch. They’re very far from my personal experience as a filmmaker now. I’m a theater director and I loved the live audience. I thought it was really fun.

Wait. You actually had a live audience for one of them?

Oh, yeah. We had a live audience for the first episode. Yeah.

For Dick Van Dyke? That’s amazing.

Yeah, we did.

I’ve been at TV tapings. How does the warmup for the audience go for something like this? Do you have to explain, “Okay, here’s what we’re doing, gang. You have to give us the laughs, even if that might be a little weird.”

No. We didn’t do that. Because they didn’t do that at Dick Van Dyke. They did the show from beginning to end, like I said, so they didn’t need to juice the audience and say, “Come on, laugh like you haven’t heard it before,” the way they do now in a modern sitcom taping. So that’s the joy of it. Everyone dressed up in period clothes. You’re using period lighting and period lenses. The whole thing felt like this was something from a time capsule from back in the day. We put it on and it was fast, and it was some fun. Everyone signed an NDA. Those laughs, that energy: it’s like lightning in a bottle. It really makes it work.

This is my last question, unless the answer is no and it’s really quick then I’ll ask something else. But is there a show that you wanted to do but it just didn’t work.

[Laughs] No.

Alright. Then I’m going to do another last question.

Sure.

Is this a concept that could keep going beyond these none episodes? Or is it very much its own thing that is only these none episodes?

We certainly set out to tell a completely satisfying and surprising story over these nine episodes. But this is Marvel, so the end is often not the end. So who knows what the future can hold?

‘WandaVision’ is scheduled to begin streaming via Disney+ on Jan. 15th. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Before his death, King Von was one of rap’s finest storytellers. That extended to his visuals as well, like in his recently released “Wayne’s Story” video, which chronicles the downward spiral into a life of crime. Now Von’s estate has shared another visual the rapper made before his passing, for Welcome To O’Block standout “Armed & Dangerous.”

The new video begins with Von taking a trash can out to the curb when he notices he’s being watched by a lot of suspicious characters. Then, in a flash, Von is wearing an orange jumpsuit in prison and playing basketball with other inmates. On the track, he references his run-ins with law enforcement, like on the chorus when he raps, “Police steady watching me, every day they clocking me / Red alert, armed and dangerous, I keep that Glock on me / And I ain’t looking for no trouble, I’m just looking out for me / ‘Cause I done did shit that n****s ain’t talking ’bout no rapping beef.”

In an interview conducted shortly before his death, Von told Uproxx about the inspiration behind the stories in his music and visuals, saying, “It’s really just me making everything up. My imagination is decent. I know how to just think of sh*t. I just come up with what type of story I would want to start off with. F*cking somebody or fixing to rob somebody? What’s his name? Who you fixing to rob? What he rob him for? You see what I’m saying? Then I just put it together.”

Watch the “Armed & Dangerous” video above.

In early December, HBO announced that it would be rebooting its vampire hit True Blood, which caught fans of the supernatural series by surprise, considering it had ended its seven season run not that long ago. You can now add star Anna Paquin to that list after she recently revealed that the original cast and even author Charlaine Harris, who created the book series, were furiously texting each other over the reboot news that seemingly came out of nowhere.

‘Everybody’s phones were blowing up. Cast and crew, by the way, were like, ‘Oh my God, your show is getting picked back up!’ and we were all like, ‘Huh? What?’” Paquin said about the tight-knit group who have remained close since the original series ended. As for the reboot, Paquin has no hard feelings and even jokes about the need for fresh… blood. Via Collider:

“I wish them well. I don’t know if they need us for anything. Aren’t we all too old now? But it’s a fun world. It’s a supernatural world with endless possibilities. Of course, there’s room to do more and to tell more stories within that universe. We don’t own it.”

The True Blood reboot is just one of three series that HBO is bringing back from the dead. A Gossip Girl reboot is on its way to HBO Max, and the network just announced that it’s launching a revival series of Sex and the City. However, that show will feature its original cast except for the noticeable absence of Kim Cattrall, which has left fans fuming on social media.

(Via Collider)

The Philadelphia Eagles had one of the most disappointing 2020 campaigns of any team in the NFL, as they went 4-11-1 to finish last in the woefully bad NFC East despite boasting a roster most anticipated would be among the best in the division.

At the forefront of Philly’s problems was an offense that was dreadful, ranking 28th in the NFL in yards per play (5.0) and had the third most turnovers in the league with 29. Carson Wentz looked rattled and unsure behind an offensive line that was extremely shaky and the one-time MVP candidate became downright unplayable as the season wore on. Eventually, the Eagles turned things over to rookie Jalen Hurts, although some would say it was too little too late, and while there were some bright spots, even with the more dynamic Hurts, the offense still struggled to put points on the board consistently.

The season culminated in a 20-14 loss to the Football Team that saw Hurts get pulled for Nate Sudfeld in the fourth quarter, a move many felt was blatantly tanking and was divisive even within the Philly locker room. All of that seemed to combine to create the perfect storm in Philadelphia this offseason to push head coach Doug Pederson out the door, as was reported by various outlets on Monday afternoon.

The Eagles made the news official shortly after reports emerged, with a statement citing how the coach and ownership had differing views on their vision for the future of the organization.

Pederson went 42-37-1 in five seasons as the Eagles head coach, with the high point being Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win in 2017. In the three years since, the Eagles went 9-7, 9-7, and 4-11-1, winning just one playoff game in two appearances in that frame. Given how rapidly the Eagles ascended to the top of the NFL under Pederson, it’s a rather shocking demise for his tenure in Philadelphia, but with the way this season ended it appears the Eagles felt they had no choice but to make a change.

It was only a matter of time before Pennsylvania’s Lt. Governor John Fetterman — the man whose recently excelled at roasting Trump and his cronies on all the major news networks — made a run for higher office, but even he didn’t expect the outpouring of support he got from the folks of his home state late last week.

Fetterman took to Twitter on January 8th, first retweeting an Inquirer article claiming he was eyeing a run for one of Pennsylvania’s Senate seats before expanding on his policy points and linking to a page where supporters could donate if they wanted to see Fetterman campaign for Congress. Presumably, Fetterman was going to gauge the temperature of a possible Senate campaign by the number of donations and response he got from the people of his home state.

Well, it looks like that number was so staggering that even Fetterman was a bit surprised by the fervor of his followers hoping to see him enact change on their behalf in Washington D.C. Fetterman again jumped on Twitter to marvel at how many people responded to his potential political bid and to thank the people of Pennsylvania for their support.

According to the Lt. Governor, in just 72 hours, 15,000 donors in almost every county in the state plus residents of every other state in the country, donated an average of $33 to his campaign. In the first three days, he had raised over $500,000. The support for Fetterman comes, in large part, because of his fearlessness in calling out GOP members who continue to support (or as he calls it, “simp”) for President Trump, even as the pandemic spirals out of control and MAGA rioters attempt a coup on Capitol Hill. Fetterman was a clear, level-headed voice in Pennsylvania during the chaotic aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, despite encountering resistance from Republican lawmakers in his state. He’s also proudly progressive, even getting in trouble with the state’s GOP-led legislature for flying marijuana flags (he’s pro-legalization) and Pride flags from his office balcony.

In other words, he’s Republicans’ worst nightmare, so it makes sense so many people want to fund his trip to Capitol Hill right now.

Yesterday, Lana Del Rey shared the art and tracklist for her upcoming album, Chemtrails Over The Country Club, a reveal that probably didn’t go how Del Rey envisioned. Regardless, she’s pressing on with the promotional cycle, and today, she has released the album’s title track.

It’s a slow, pensive number, and like much of Del Rey’s music, it conjures vivid scenes, with lyrics like, “I’m on the run with you, my sweet love / There’s nothing wrong contemplating God / Under the chemtrails over the country club / Wearing our jewels in the swimming pool / Me and my sister just playing it cool / Under the chemtrails over the country club.”

She also shared a video for the clip, and it features Del Rey in a nostalgic setting, driving an old Mercedes convertible dressed in clothes from decades ago, albeit with a touch of modern via a mask (the one that drew criticism recently). Partway through the clip, things take a jarring and creepy twist that involves wolves, fire, and some paranormal humans.

In a conversation with Jack Antonoff for Interview in September, Antonoff asked Del Rey if she feels like she’s “revisiting the past” on the new album. Her response included some of her thoughts on the title track, saying, “Not so much where I’ve been, but more like where I’m going. It makes me anxious listening to it, because I know it’s going to be a hard road to get to where I want to be, to do what I want to do. A lot of that’s going to involve writing classes and being uncomfortable in new places with not many friends and raising my dogs and my cats and my chickens alone. It’s going to be work. I hear Chemtrails and I think ‘work,’ but I also think of my stunning girlfriends, who so much of the album is about, and my beautiful siblings. ‘Chemtrails’ is the title track because it mentions them all and it mentions wanting so much to be normal and realizing that when you have an overactive, eccentric mind, a record like Chemtrails is just what you’re going to get.”

Watch the “Chemtrails Over The Country Club” video above.

Chemtrails Over The Country Club is out 3/19 via Interscope. Pre-order it here.

Last Friday, CBS This Morning aired Gayle King’s interview with Miya Ponsetto, the “SoHo Karen” who was arrested (hours after the interview took place, natch) after falsely accusing a Black teenager of stealing her phone. “I don’t… racism is… how is one girl accusing a guy about a phone a crime?” Ponsetto said at one point. In another, she snapped “enough” at King, who was praised for calmly dismantling the Daddy hat-wearer.

CBS This Morning aired the rest of King’s “exclusive interview” on Monday. “I had noticed my phone had been missing, so I just approached the hotel manager, asked him if he could kindly just check the footage,” Ponsetto recalled. “In my opinion, I was, like, ‘OK, any person walking down could possibly be the person that might’ve had my phone.’ I wasn’t racial profiling whatsoever. I’m a woman. I’m Puerto Rican. I’m a woman of color. I’m Italian, Greek, Puerto Rican.” King asked whether that means “you can’t be racist because you’re saying you’re a woman of color? Is that what you mean?” Ponsetto replied, “Exactly,” causing a bewildered King to say, “I would disagree with that.”

Toward the end of the contentious chat, King asked Ponsetto what she thought when she saw the video of herself attacking 14-year-old Keyon Harrold Jr. “You already asked me that. You already asked me that at the beginning of the interview,” she responded. “I’m not going over it again. “I would like to have a real interview with real questions and real heart and real sincere apologies. Let 2021 be the moment of healing. Seriously.”

King also spoke to the victim’s parents, Kat Rodriguez and Keyon Harrold Sr., who called Ponsetto’s apology “as genuine as when she shushed you. It said a lot. I have an issue with the idea of entitlement versus character. It’s all been tragically consistent.” The jazz musician said that if he acted the way she had, “I’d be in jail now. If I had hurt her in any way, I’d be in jail now. We wouldn’t even be able to have this conversation. As a Black man, every day I walk outside, I have to play the perfect game — almost like doing a no-hitter — just to be believed.” As for Ponsetto, who was charged with with attempted robbery, grand larceny, acting in a manner injurious to a child, and two counts of attempted assault over the weekend, claiming that she wasn’t racial profiling, Harrold Sr. told King, “No one has to say the N-word for something to be an act of racism.”

You can watch the rest of the interview below.

Just a week after Dr. Dre’s Los Angeles home was targeted by burglars, his fellow hip-hop impresario Diddy also recently experienced a home invasion, according to TMZ. The house, located in Toluca Lake, was also where Diddy’s ex Kim Porter died in 2018.

According to police, a side door was pried open, setting off the burglar alarm. A caretaker noted that the place had been tossed for valuables, filing a report. However, TMZ notes that someone from Diddy’s family would have to take stock of whether anything had been taken.

Diddy’s year is off to a much worse start than the end of his 2020, which saw him giving back with gift cards and hygiene products in Miami and celebrating his mother’s 80th birthday with an expensive gift. He also recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of his collaborative album with Dirty Money, Last Train To Paris.

Meanwhile, the recent attempted break-in at Dr. Dre’s home was foiled by police, who noticed the thieves’ SUV and gave chase, leading to the arrest of four individuals who’d been targeting the neighborhood. Dr. Dre wasn’t home at the time; the pioneering hip-hop producer had recently been hospitalized after having a brain aneurysm. He’s still in the ICU being checked out.

The 1975 released Notes On A Conditional Form last year, and it looks like the band, or perhaps just Matty Healy, has some new music on the way with some noted collaborators.

Yesterday, Healy took to his personal Instagram account to share some photos of his home and noted, “Lockdown in the bunker. Keeping sane by cleaning and taking pictures currently. Very excited about new music in the coming months with some brilliant artists (thank you to them!) – new playlist tomorrow, for sanity reasons.” One fan shared a brief wishlist of who they hoped Healy had worked with, and they actually got a response.

The follower commented, “Please tell me you’re collabing with [Beabadoobee] or charli xcx!!!!” Healy responded, “BOTH.”

A collaboration between Healy and Beadaboobee isn’t be the biggest surprise, considering that Beabadoobee’s 2020 album Fake It Flowers was released on Healy’s label Dirty Hit. Meanwhile, Healy hasn’t worked with Charli yet, but given how many new people Charli has worked with over the past couple years, it’s not a shock to see her and Healy link up. These collaborations may end up appearing on the solo project Healy’s mother said he is working on.

Charli XCX is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.