Wait… why is this is actually weirdly accurate?

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Last month, Ruby Rose shocked comic book content fans by announcing she was leaving Batwoman, on which she played lead hero Kate Kane, after only one season. The reason was reportedly less than amicable, and it was revealed the show would carry on with a new protagonist, reportedly killing off Kane. But, as per The Hollywood Reporter, that last bit has proven to be incorrect.

Showrunner Caroline Dries refuted the claim, saying that while Rose is leaving the show, that doesn’t mean that bridge has to be burned down. But it’s not necessarily because Rose could always return for a cameo.

“As a lesbian who’s been working as a writer for the past fifteen years, I’m well aware of the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope and I have no interest in participating in it,” Dries said. She continued:

“That’s why it’s important to me as the showrunner to clarify any misinformation out there about Kate Kane and recasting Batwoman. Like you, I love Kate Kane — she’s the reason I wanted to do the show. We’ll never erase her. In fact, her disappearance will be one of the mysteries of season two. I don’t want to give away any of our surprises, but to all our devoted fans, please know that LGBTQ+ justice is at the very core of what Batwoman is and we have no intention of abandoning that.”

The term ”Bury Your Gays” refers to a trope in which gay characters are seen as more expendable than their straight counterparts. A guest column about it in THR singled out shows like Jane the Virgin, The 100, The Magicians, and The Walking Dead, which suspiciously offed prominent LGBTQ+ characters. Batwoman made history as the first scripted live-action TV series with a lesbian superhero protagonist.

(Via THR)

Welcome to this week’s Wednesday Night Wars open discussion thread. This week it’s an episode of NXT featuring Dexter Lumis vs. Adam Cole and the fallout from NXT TakeOver: In Your House up against an AEW Dynamite with Cody Rhodes defending the TNT Championship against Private Party’s Marq Quen, Chris Jericho’s return to commentary, and more.

On tonight’s cards:

AEW Dynamite

• TNT Championship Match: Cody (Rhodes) (c) vs. Marq Quen
• FTR making their AEW in-ring debut in a tag team match against The Butcher and The Blade
• AEW Women’s Champion Hikaru Shida and Kris Statlander vs. Nyla Rose and Penelope Ford
• Colt Cabana vs. Sammy Guevara
• Best Friends and Orange Cassidy vs. Jake Hager, Santana, and Ortiz
• Chris Jericho’s return to commentary

NXT

• Adam Cole vs. Dexter Lumis in a non-title match
• a rematch between Cameron Grimes and Finn Bálor
• the rest of the fallout from NXT TakeOver: In Your House, possibly featuring Charlotte Flair

As always, +1 your favorite comments from tonight’s open thread and if we get enough comments, we’ll include 10 of the best in tomorrow’s Best and Worst of NXT and AEW reports. Make sure you flip the comments by selecting “newest” in the drop down menu under discussion, and enjoy the show!

After the coronavirus pandemic caused the United States to go into almost nationwide lockdown, one of the companies hardest hit was one of the richest: Disney. Suddenly many of their sources of income — movies, cruise ships, and theme parks — were shut down; things go so bad newly former CEO Bob Iger had to temporarily return. They’ve been very openly itching to at least open some of their parks, with Disney World in Orlando set to reopen in early July. Now, as per Entertainment Weekly, they’ve set another big date.

As per the report, the company’s California parks, among them their crown jewel Disneyland, is aiming for a July 17 opening. If that date sounds familiar, it’s because it’s also the same one chosen to open most of the nation’s movie theaters as well, with the hopes that audiences will…well, not pack multiplexes but social distance while watching Christopher Nolan’s breathlessly anticipated Tenet in a dark room with strangers and no windows.

But at least theme parks are for the most part outdoors (except for the rides in enclosed spaces, also without light and windows and filled with strangers). The parks set for reopening are Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, with their hotels slated for July 23. (The Downtown Disney District, meanwhile, will open a touch earlier, on July 9.)

Of course, as with many other businesses reopening while the pandemic is still going strong, there will be some restrictions. In a statement, Disney brass said there will be “enhanced health and safety measures,” and that certain “experiences that draw large group gatherings — such as parades and nighttime spectaculars — will return at a later date. While character meet and greets will be temporarily unavailable, characters will be in the parks in new ways to entertain and delight guests.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, California has 137,000 confirmed Covid cases, though the numbers are estimated to be even higher. The state is currently averaging nearly 3,000 new cases and about 60 deaths per day.

(Via EW)

With the announcement that his beloved mixtape Crybaby had been made available on all DSPs, Lil Peep re-entered the conversation for the day (before it was derailed by Ice Cube conspiracy theories and the backlash against Tekashi 69’s reunion with Nicki Minaj) as fans discussed the tape’s impact. As fans reminisced about their hero’s life and legacy, a charming reminder of Peep’s personality appeared on the timeline as well: A vintage interview the young emo rapper conducted with with the Ham On Everything podcast in 2016, which he recorded shortly after playing the hosts his then-new mixtape in its entirety.

The interview, recorded when Peep was just 19 years old, describes the recording process for Crybaby, as well as revealing behind-the-scenes tidbits for fans about his inspirations and influences. He admits that he recorded the tape in just three days on a $150 microphone with a sock over it as a pop screen. He also says that he was inspired by LA underground group Seshollowaterboyz, which consists of SoundCloud rappers Bones, Chris Travis, Eddy Baker, and Xavier Wulf. There are also fan call-ins, as Peep chops it up with fans via phone.

Listen to the throwback interview above and stream Crybaby on your favorite DSPs now.

Ever since production began on Top Gun: Maverick, the long-awaited sequel to the’80s classic, Tom Cruise has been adamant that the movie will feature real flying and practical effects. In fact, the actor wouldn’t even agree to do the film unless the studio promised him that there would be “no CGI stuff,” which should come as no surprising considering Cruise’s reputation for routinely risking his life while making the Mission: Impossible films.

“I said to the studio, ‘You don’t know how hard this movie’s going to be. No one’s ever done this before,’” the actor told Empire back in January. “There’s never been an aerial sequence shot this way. I don’t know if there ever will be again, to be honest.”

True to his word, there is footage of Cruise definitely flying a jet. In a new interview posted to Skydance studio’s Twitter account, high speed fighter jets are seen rattling crew members and kicking up dust as they zoom overhead for the cameras. Sure enough, there’s Cruise right there in the cockpit, and there’s nothing CGI about it.

You can watch the high-octane video below:

After the Top Gun: Maverick trailer blew audiences away, director Joseph Kosinski revealed that one of the shots featured Cruise literally launching his jet off an aircraft carrier, which no actor had ever done before; it even required special permission from the Navy. “It was one of the most extreme aerial sequences that we could come up with,” Kosinski said. “Also, getting to do a real launch off a carrier and a real landing on a carrier — no one else has been able to ever do that in a movie before. Tom got to fulfill every kind of aviation dream that he had.”

For his next trick, Cruise will film a movie in space, so we’re really looking forward to hearing what kind of requests he’ll make to NASA when production blasts off.

(Via Skydance on Twitter)

If you forgot that Anna Kendrick was in Twilight, don’t feel bad, she forgets about it sometimes, too!

Thanks to a new interview with Vanity Fair, it’s starting to become clearer why Kendrick isn’t overly sentimental about her time playing Bella Swan’s friend, Jessica Stanley, in the vampire love story. Filming often took place in Portland, Oregon, and if you’re not familiar with the Pacific Northwest, it rains a lot, which led to some less than fond memories for the actress, though her choice of words might not land too well.

“I just remember my Converse being completely soaked through and feeling like, ‘You know, this is a really great group of people and I’m sure that we would be friends at a different time, but I want to murder everyone,” Kendrick told Vanity Fair (via Entertainment Weekly).

Although, despite the soggy times, the actress still considers it a bonding experience in a back-handed sort of way. “There was like something about it like you go through some trauma event like you imagine people who survive like a hostage situation, and you’re kind of bonded for life.”

But this isn’t the first time Kendrick’s aired a grievance with the Twilight films. Earlier this week, the Trolls actress revealed that she almost lost out on her Oscar-nominated role in Up In The Air when a scheduling conflict arose with Twilight: New Moon. According to Kendrick, the Twilight folks had the contractual right to pull her from Up In The Air, but fortunately, everything worked out in the end. As long as you don’t count wet shoes.

(Via Vanity Fair)

One of the most popular calls to action by protesters in America’s streets after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer is to “defund the police.”

The city of Minneapolis took the call to heart and a veto-proof supermajority of city council members have approved a plan to defund and dismantle the city’s police department.

“We committed to dismantling policing as we know it in the city of Minneapolis and to rebuild with our community a new model of public safety that actually keeps our community safe,” Council President Lisa Bender told CNN.

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Now people are calling for city governments across the nation to do the same, but what does that actually mean? Will cities be devoid of law enforcement altogether, leaving residents to fend for themselves?

Is it a call for privatized security forces, who aren’t deputized by the state to use violence?

via QB Factory / Twitter

Camden, New Jersey defunded its police department in 2012, and it’s a wonderful example of how blowing up a corrupt organization can revitalize a community.

In 2012, Camden was the most dangerous city in the United States with over 170 open-air drug markets in just nine-square miles.

The city also had a big problem with police corruption and with officers routinely planting drugs on its citizens.

According to the ACLU, in 2013, the City of Camden agreed to pay $3.5 million in damages to 88 people whose convictions were overturned because of widespread corruption in the Camden Police Department.

“This prolonged campaign to plant evidence on innocent people was a true stain on Camden Police and represents one of the most serious forms of police corruption,” said Alexander Shalom, policy counsel for the ACLU-NJ.

“Unfortunately, the systems that are designed to prevent corruption and protect the public eroded and allowed rogue officers to operate unabated for years,” the statement continued.

As crime escalated in the city, the town wanted to add more officers to the streets, but the average unionized officer cost the city $182,168, on average, with benefits. So the city disbanded the police department and created a new a county community force instead.

The city fired its entire police force, rehiring 100 officers at an average cost of $99,605 per officer.

WSMV / Twitter

This massive windfall allowed the city to reallocate funds to other community-building initiatives. The local economy received a boost from new educational and workplace programs and the city’s blighted and abandoned properties were demolished.

The new community-oriented police force now focused on the de-escalation of violence instead of sending officers out with an us-against-them, warrior-like mentality. This approach to policing would have prevented the death of George Floyd.

A major reason for Floyd’s death was that fellow officers stood by, doing nothing, while Derek Chauvin kneeled on his throat for nearly nine minutes.

This new approach to law enforcement starts with officers on their first day of employment. On day one, they are asked to knock on doors in the communities they serve to introduce themselves and ask residents how they can help.

“Back then residents of Camden city absolutely feared the police department and members of the department,” Louis Cappelli, Camden County freeholder director, told CNN. “They (the residents) wanted that to change.”

“We want to make sure residents of the city know these streets are theirs,” he said. “They need to claim these streets as their own, not let drug dealers and criminals claim them.”

Overall, this new approach to community building and policing has had a tremendously positive impact on the city. Data shows that over the past seven years, violent crimes have dropped 42% in the city, and the crime rate has dropped from 79 per 1,000 to 44 per 1,000.

However, there is still work to do in Camden. it is still still America’s 10th most dangerous and the population has declined by about 10% over the past seven years.

The success of Camden’s approach to law enforcement was evident on May 30, when police and citizens marched arm-in-arm with the police to protest the murder of George Floyd.

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On Saturday, J.K. Rowling angered and disappointed many by dropping a tweet thread filled with controversial comments about trans people. In the days since, a number of actors associated with her works — and in some cases wouldn’t have careers or their wealth without the Harry Potter-verse — came out in defense of the people she was targeting. First came Daniel Radcliffe, then Fantastic Beasts star Eddie Redmayne. On Wednesday Emma Watson, the erstwhile Hermione Granger, joined them.

While Radcliffe made his statement on The Trevor Project, the non-profit devoted to suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, and Redmayne released his to Variety, Watson went straight to Twitter.

“Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” Watson wrote. She continued:

“I want my trans followers to know that I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are,” Watson added, noting the number of Potter fans among the trans and non-binary communities, who’ve made their hurt and anger well-known since Saturday. Watson also asked people to donate to the U.K. charity Mermaids, which supports gender diverse and trans children, and the feminist fund Mama Cash. She ended by celebrating Pride 2020 and “sending love.”

Despite the pushback from fans and a growing number of actors, Rowling has not retracted or apologized for her comments. Instead, earlier on Wednesday, she released an open letter in which she attempted to defend her statements while talking about the mistreatment of women.