GoneTrending

Last week, as California’s oldest state park erupted into flames and the historic Big Basin State Park headquarters buildings burned to the ground, people feared the worst. Would we lose the 2,000-year-old redwood trees that bring visitors from all over the world to the area?

Thankfully, now that the fire at Big Basin is under control and people are able to go in an assess the damage, it looks like most of the ancient redwoods have survived the blaze. According to ABC News, a reporter from the Associated Press hiked the Redwood Trail at Big Basin and found that most of the old-growth giants, among the tallest living things on Earth, are still standing tall. That includes Mother of the Forest, a tree that grew to 329 feet tall before its top broke off in a storm, as well as other elder trees.

Reporter from The Mercury News, Ethan Baron, also took photos of the aftermath and reported on Twitter that the “vast majority of giant redwoods in center of Big Basin Redwoods State park scorched but still standing.”

“That is such good news. I can’t tell you how much that gives me peace of mind,” Laura McLendon, conservation director for the Sempervirens Fund, a group dedicated to the protection of the redwoods and their habitats, told the Associated Press. McLendon said the forest will regrow. “Every old-growth redwood I’ve ever seen, in Big Basin and other parks, has fire scars on them,” she said. “They’ve been through multiple fires, possibly worse than this.”

Fire ecologist director of science at Save the Redwoods League, Kristen Shive, told The Mercury News that redwood bark—which can be up to a foot thick—is fire-resistant. If a fire gets hot enough, it can do serious damage, but even badly burned redwoods can eventually recover.

Managing forests includes managing fire, which can be seen as both a blessing and a curse for forest habitats and humans. Not all forest fires are bad. Some trees need occasional fire to thrive, and controlled burns are sometimes used to prevent out-of-control blazes that destroy homes and animal habitats. When left alone, nature tends to create its own balance, but with climate change causing an increase in the frequency and severity of wildfires, in addition to human activity causing some fires in addition to those caused naturally by lightning, it’s difficult to judge when fires are actually beneficial.

California has seen historically destructive fire seasons in recent years, and two of this summer’s fires are already among the state’s worst. As people are evacuated, homes and buildings are destroyed, and air quality from smoke is disrupting the lives of countless Californians, hearing some good news is a welcome breath of fresh air.

If the Portland Trail Blazers are going to extend their first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, they’ll have to do it without the services of their best player. The team announced on Tuesday afternoon that Damian Lillard will not be able to play on Wednesday evening due to an injury he suffered on Monday night. The injury is classified as a right knee sprain.

Lillard hurt his knee in the third quarter of Monday’s blowout loss, which propelled Los Angeles to a 3-1 lead in the series. He gingerly made his way to the back and was ruled out for the remainder of the game, and the results from the first MRI he received were inconclusive.

While it is, certainly, great that Lillard did not suffer a more serious injury that could require surgery and/or months of rehabilitation, losing him for Game 5 seems like the sort of thing that could lead to the team’s entertaining run in Orlando coming to an end. Lillard has been the team’s heart and soul during their time in the Bubble, earning the MVP award for the seeding games and providing numerous moments where he put the team on his back and led them to a win. Now, the onus to get the team to a Game 6 falls onto guys like Carmelo Anthony, CJ McCollum, and Jusuf Nurkic, all of whom are capable of doing incredible things but have quite the tall task ahead of them,

There’s no word on whether the injury is such that Lillard will be unable to play in a potential Game 6.

It is my position that every actor in Hollywood is either a Batman or a Joker. It’s a gut thing, not always easy to explain but still full of undeniable truths. You can feel it almost instantly, as soon as you see someone’s face or hear someone’s name. It’s one of the things that worries me about Robert Pattinson playing Batman, because Robert Pattinson is in no way a Batman. He looks like a Batman, sure, what with the jawline and eyes and general vibe of an emo billionaire, so it’s understandable how the casting happened. But, I’m sorry, Robert Pattinson is a Joker. I know this because I read the GQ profile where he blew up his microwave making pasta. Blowing up a microwave while making pasta is maybe the most Joker thing possible.

I’ve discussed this theory before once or twice, in brief, but it warrants a full analysis, if only because I need to type it out to have any hope of getting it out of my head. Again, it’s something that’s almost impossible to quantify. A Batman is someone who is typically a little more strong and quietly intense, and a Joker is usually someone with more chaotic energy, but there are exceptions galore. Further complicating matters: being a Batman or a Joker does not mean someone would make a good Batman or a Joker. Mark Wahlberg might be the most Batman-ass dude alive and he should never play the character, not even once, not even as a joke. Sacha Baron Cohen is a Joker but too much, to the degree that he’d probably want to take it the other way and play the character as a boring suburban zero. Again, hard to explain but impossible to deny. Like all truly fun theories.

I think the best way to make my point here is to give you some examples. Let’s run through a few of the more obvious ones first. Will Smith is a Batman. Michael Shannon is a Joker. Adam Driver and The Rock are both Batmen. Lakeith Stanfield and Shia LeBeouf are both Jokers. Michael B. Jordan is a textbook Batman even though his most famous character, Killmonger from Black Panther, had extreme Joker energy. Chris Evans is a Batman. Chris Pine is a Batman. Paul Giamatti is a Joker for reasons I believe with all my heart but cannot begin to articulate. Johnny Depp is a Joker. Bradley Cooper is such a Batman. James Franco is a Joker. Robert Downey, Jr. is a Batman. Ben Affleck was a Batman even before he played Batman, mostly because of that chin. Matt Damon is a Batman. Every actor from Boston is a Batman, basically.

Some cases are a little trickier. Jake Gyllenhaal looks almost exactly like a Batman but, as he has proven many times but especially in his brief but unhinged performance as Mr. Music in John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch, is a Joker from just under that external layer all the way to his core. Donald Glover probably tells people — and believes in his heart — that he’s a Joker even though he’s actually a Batman. Jon Hamm is a Batman who would much rather be a Joker. Timothée Chalamet is a perfect artsy Joker but someone will eventually try to square-peg-round-hole him into being a sensitive Batman. Leonardo DiCaprio is a Batman through and through but he would still insist on playing the Joker to make a point and end up overdoing it. Brad Pitt is a Joker who has been miscast as a Batman his entire life. Will Ferrell is a Batman, somehow, despite a career filled with maniac goofball characters, and his Step Brothers co-star John C. Reilly is a Joker despite handling a number of more reserved dramatic roles. Seth Rogen is a Batman. Jonah Hill is a Joker. Danny McBride is such a Joker that he might be a Batman as a prank.

It works with actresses, too. Charlize Theron is the most Batman woman on the face of the Earth right now. Florence Pugh is a Joker. Gal Gadot is a Batman. Kristen Stewart is a Joker, an apathetic agent of anarchy. Tilda Swinton is such a perfect Joker that now I’m angry she hasn’t played one yet. Emily Blunt is a Batman. Jennifer Lawrence is a Batman even though everyone on Twitter who reads this will probably show up in my mentions to insist that she’s a Joker. Jennifer Lopez is a Batman. Margot Robbie is a Joker, probably, although playing Harley Quinn complicates the issue. Elisabeth Moss is a Joker. Reese Witherspoon is a Batman but not a good one. Regina King is a Batman. Regina Hall is a Joker. Helen Mirren is as much of a Batman as Meryl Streep is a Joker and, yes, I would watch that movie today. Right now. Before I even finish this paragraph.

Sometimes an actor can switch mid-career from a Batman to a Joker or vice versa. The best example is Al Pacino. He started out as a Batman thanks to his role as quiet strongman Michael Corleone in the Godfather movies, but then, possibly around Scent of a Woman in 1992 but definitely by Heat in 1995, he became a raging Joker. Keanu Reeves is an incredible test case because he started as a Joker and then became a Batman for a while after Speed and the Matrix movies but is now somehow teetering back toward being a Joker. Adam Sandler is almost always a Batman but then every 10 years or so he’ll turn in an amazing performance in a movie like Uncut Gems and you’ll find yourself thinking “Is Adam Sandler… actually a Joker?” Denzel Washington had a brief window around Training Day where he could have pivoted to being a Joker but then he made Inside Man and two Equalizers and became a full-on Batman. Walton Goggins is, at present, a Joker, but is one perspective-shifting supporting role away from becoming the most fascinating Batman of all. This is a situation I monitor constantly.

I could go on. And I will, privately, quite possibly forever, usually in the wee hours of the morning when I should be sleeping but am instead on minute 45 of an internal “Would Jason Statham be more of a Joker if he had hair?” debate. But I’ll stop here for now, as I believe I’ve accomplished the two goals I had in starting this conversation:

• Give everyone a fun game to play with friends the next time you get together
• Justify all the time I’ve spent thinking about this by making it “a work thing”

I feel great about it.

If nothing below suits your sensibilities, check out our guide to What You Should Watch On Streaming Right Now.

Trinkets: Season 2 (Netflix) — The teenage trio from Shoplifters Anonymous keeps the unlikely friendship going between two misfits and a girl who’s considered to be imperfectly perfect, in a high school-popularity kind of way. The show’s based upon a novel by Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, and She’s The Man screenwriter Kristen “Kiwi” Smith, and these friends find strength in the group as a whole.

The Republican National Convention 2020 (ABC, CBS, NBC, 10:00 p.m.) — The 2020 Republican National Convention is officially underway while taking over the networks and plenty of cable coverage as well. Tonight’s speakers include multiple Trumps (Melania, Eric, and Tiffany) along with Mike Pompeo, Rand Paul, Pam Bondi, and many more.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — Trey Gowdy, Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter

Jimmy Kimmel Live — The Avett Brothers

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, James Bay

Netflix’s comedy Tuesdays have yielded several stand-up highlights if you need a laugh tonight:

Eric Andre: Legalize Everything — This New Orleans-filmed special shows Eric Andre once again busting through comedic boundaries while taking on the wars on sex, drugs, and… fart jokes? Alright. Seriously though, It’s the best comedy special of the year and highly relevant to the U.S. police-related discussion today.

Jim Jefferies: Intolerant — The Aussie comedian (who remains notorious for his gun-control opinion) pulls a 180 from where he was five years ago. He’s less focused on issues these days and grows incredibly banal at times, but he’s still uproariously funny. While reflecting upon the state of comedy today, he manages to dole out some hefty insight on life while telling an epic tale of the pursuit of lactose at all costs.

Pete Davidson: Alive From New York — From SNL to a ton of upcoming movies, Pete Davidson’s doing everything, and now, he’s got his very first Netflix original comedy special. Yes, he’s dropping all kinds of unfiltered anecdotes on everything from his SNL-related discomfort to his Louis C.K. beef and Ariana Grande relationship.

Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything — The Emmy and Grammy winning comedian brings his newest comedy special to the streaming giant. Look forward to anecdotes involving a full-scale Millennium Falcon replica and how home buying gets tied to the term “suicide squad.” Stick around for the post-credits bonus, in which Patton introduces another one-hour comedy special, Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities.

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours To Kill — The legendary Jerry Seinfeld has dropped his second Netflix special. Expect him to keep mining everyday life to unveil comedy in the commonplace. Although the title of this special feels Bond-esque, Seinfeld doesn’t disappoint those expecting his trademarked sharp perceptions about everyday life.

Marc Maron: End Times Fun — The long-time standup comic, GLOW star, and prolific podcaster unleashes his latest comedy special. Expect Maron’s thoughts on cell phones, vaccinations, and Tumeric. Oh, and he’s definitely talking about his ongoing beef with Marvel movie fans.

Since George Floyd’s death earlier this summer, the Black Lives Matter movement has sparked nationwide protests demanding social justice and police reform. Many NBA players have taken up the torch and used their voices and their influence to facilitate meaningful change.

Before the restart in Orlando, a vocal segment of the players expressed their apprehensions about resuming the season amid all the upheaval, fearing that it might divert attention away from a movement that has mobilized citizens around the country in a way we haven’t witnessed in years.

But after the latest police shooting involving an unarmed Black man, several players now fear that those concerns might be coming true. Jacob Blake, 29, was shot several times in the back by Kenosha police as he leaned on his car after trying to break up a fight. Blake survived, but his father has reportedly said that shooting left him paralyzed.

Video of the incident went viral over the weekend, reigniting outrage among protesters and prompting players around the NBA to re-evaluate whether they might have made a mistake by agreeing to resume the season in Orlando, as George Hill of the Bucks questioned in his postgame press conference on Monday. Raptors players Normal Powell and Fred VanVleet both spoke extensively about the shooting, their exasperation with having to constantly speak out without seeing change, and more during their media availability on Tuesday.

Here’s Powell’s full initial response when asked about Jacob Blake. pic.twitter.com/uxF6wUgNYq

— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020

Here’s some extended VanVleet, as well. pic.twitter.com/aOJdrOThO5

— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) August 25, 2020

Both expressed their frustration about the lack of accountability for police officers in these cases and shared the sentiment that there is much more work to be done to affect real change. VanVleet also alluded to the idea that boycotting upcoming playoff games could put tremendous pressure on officials to take action — particularly in pushing team owners who wield significant influence both locally and nationally to use that to push for effectual change in their communities.

Jaylen Brown also delivered a stunning statement about the unjust treatment of Black people in America, issuing a powerful plea for the basic acknowledgment of their humanity.

Jaylen Brown opens up his media session by asking America a question about its treatment of African Americans. #BlackLivesMatter #NBABubble pic.twitter.com/8VdWa4RXgv

— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) August 25, 2020

It also emerged that some players have at least discussed the possibility of sitting out games, although there is, for now, no plan in place to do so.

“We tried to be peaceful, kneeling, we tried to protest,” Marcus Smart said, via ESPN. “And for us, we tried to come out here and get together and play this game and try to get our voice across. But it’s not working, so obviously something has to be done. Right now, our focus shouldn’t really be on basketball. I understand it’s the playoffs and everything like that, but we still have a bigger underlying issue that’s going on and the things that we’ve tried haven’t been working, so we definitely need to take a different approach and we definitely need to try new things out to get this thing working the way that we know it should and get our voices heard even more.”

“It’s being talked about …. taking a knee is not getting it done.” Norm Powell about the possibility of boycotting games.

— Michael Grange (@michaelgrange) August 25, 2020

The Raptors and Celtics are scheduled to kick off their second-round series on Thursday on ESPN, but there are two full nights of basketball before then, and viewers will be watching intently to find out what the players’ response will be in the wake of the latest preventable tragedy. Even just voicing the possibility of not playing might be enough to push owners to speak up, but if that doesn’t happen, players seem to be reaching the conclusion they need to do much more than wearing shirts and kneeling for the anthem.

Anyone who wants to see Tenet will soon (August 26 for countries that have their sh*t together, September 3 for the United States) face a moral dilemma: go to a potentially unsafe theater or wait until it’s on digital? Tom Cruise has already made his choice. “Big Movie. Big Screen. Loved it,” the Mission: Impossible actor tweeted on Tuesday, along with a video of himself watching Tenet in a crowded theater. It’s extremely weird.

I’m tempted to break the 0:34 clip down like the Zapruder film (“Jack… and to the left”?), but let’s stick to the highlights.

1. The unnecessary establishing shots of London (?).

2. How did these teens recognize World Famous Actor Tom Cruise in his SUV? Even he seems stumped. “How does that happen? I’m wearing a mask.”

3. It’s nice of Christopher Nolan to let Cruise borrow Bane’s mask from The Dark Knight Rises.

4. If Tom Cruise isn’t there to welcome me “back to the movies” when I go to a theater for the first time since March, whenever that is, I am going to be upset.

5. The only social distance-friendly seating in the theater appears to be next to Cruise, where there are at least six empty rows. Then again, if Cruise’s cameraperson is going to have their phone on the full time to film him, I wouldn’t want to be in that row, anyway.

6. I could brighten this image, but no, it’s perfect as is. Tom Cruise, living in the moment. He does seem like a guy who leans forward for an entire movie.

7. Hey Tom Cruise, did you happen to love Tenet?

Welp, back to work jumping off mid-air motorcycles.

Emerging Memphis rapper Jucee Froot has had a star-making 2020, but she’s far from finished. Following up on her previous singles “Girls Kissing Girls” with Juicy J and “Eat Itself” from the Insecure soundtrack, Jucee declares herself a “Champion” with her latest new song. This song hails from the soundtrack for Electronic Arts’ latest Madden NFL installment and fits the theme with an aggressive beat backed by brassy fanfare and sports-themed lyrics from Jucee. “Yeah, yeah, this the winning team,” she boasts. “Six rings with a pinkie ring.”

While that line may apply more to the recent Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance, Jucee is still in good company on the football videogame soundtrack. Other high-profile additions to the game’s playlist include Anderson .Paak and Rick Ross on “Cut ‘Em In,” Big KRIT on “Kickoff,” Earthgang on “Powered Up,” and Jack Harlow on “Automatic.”

Jucee’s soundtrack successes this year have been complemented by the release of her ear-catching debut mixtape, Black Sheep, on which she has big-name collaborations with A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Juicy J, and Rico Nasty.

Listen to Jucee Froot’s “Champion” above.

Jucee Froot is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Los Angeles duo The Score — comprised of Eddie Anthony (vocals, guitar) and Edan Dover (keyboards, production) are slated to release their new album Carry On later this month, fully leaning into anthems that are suited for stadiums and chorus hooks that don’t cease across the record’s 15 tracks. You might recognize the duo’s music just from watching TV, as their songs have soundtracked campaigns for Jeep, NBA, and even the recent Netflix blockbuster 6 Underground. These syncs, paired with a steady stream of releases over the last few years, have earned The Score a fervent fanbase, which includes recognizable names like Travis Barker and Awolnation, as well as songwriters/producers Pete Nappi (30 Seconds To Mars, Dreamers, Shinedown) and Tim Randall (Imagine Dragons), all of which lent a hand as collaborators on Carry On.

Ahead of the album’s release, the duo sat down to talk Coldplay, Joe Rogan, and more in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.

What are four words you would use to describe your music?

Anthemic, motivating, loud, unapologetic.

It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?

We’d like to remembered as the soundtrack to dreamers who strove to be bigger than themselves. The music that helped people fight their demons and find themselves.

What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?

That’s tough. As of now Prague or Hamburg probably so far.

Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?

Too many people have inspired us creatively to narrow it down to one.

Where did you eat the best meal of your life?

Rome, hands down.

What album do you know every word to?

Coldplay – Parachutes.

What was the best concert you’ve ever attended?

James Blake at ACL was one of the best in recent memory for me.

What is the best outfit for performing and why?

One where you don’t sweat too much.

Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?

Barstool Sports or Joe Rogan.

What’s your most frequently played song in the van on tour?

Cautious Clay – “Cold War.”

What’s the last thing you Googled?

“White living room inspo” can u tell I’m decorating my house? Ha.

What album makes for the perfect gift?

The Killers – Hot Fuss

Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?

A really questionable hotel room in San Francisco.

What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?

We don’t have tattoos.

What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?

The Strokes.

What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?

The nicest thing anyone has done is when fans come up to us after shows and tell us about their lives and how our music helped them during a really rough time, or that it’s making them chase their dreams. Hearing that level of honesty from a stranger makes us feel like what we’re doing is bigger than just making music.

What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?

The best advice I would give my 18-year-old self would be to throw that timeline out the window. Chasing your dream never goes according to plan, and you will fail and hear the word “no” a ton, but you need to enjoy the ride and not get discouraged by the little things.

What’s the last show you went to?

Kyle Dion around Valentine’s Day at The Echo.

What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?

The Godfather Part II.

What would you cook if Kanye were coming to your house for dinner?

Jon & Vinny’s takeout.

Carry On is out August 28 on Republic Records. Pre-order it here.

We have written at length about Steve Carell’s final days, weeks, and hours on The Office, about the real reason why he left, and about what Jenna Fischer — as Pam — said to Steve Carell as Michael Scott in their final scene together.

It was a hugely emotional final week for Steve Carell, who — in the final episode — arranged it so that Michael Scott had an opportunity to say goodbye individually to every character, which allowed Carell to stay goodbye individually to all the cast members. While that took viewers only one episode to experience, it took Steve Carell an entire week of emotional torture, as he told Brian Baumgartner in this week’s episode of An Oral History of ‘The Office’.

“It was almost more than I bargained for…I had [goodbye] scenes with everyone in the cast and it was emotional torture… it was like just fraught with emotion and, and joy and sadness and nostalgia. But it was also really beautiful. I’d like treasure just doing that episode because it did allow me to kind of have a finality with everybody.”

One thing that An Oral History of ‘The Office touched on and that Andy Green expanded upon in The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History was the extraordinary honor bestowed upon Carell by the cast and crew after he left.

To understand the honor, however, it’s helpful to know that a “call sheet” is a document sent out to the cast and crew that outlines where they need to be for the following shoot day. Each actor is assigned a number on the call sheet that corresponds with their stature on the show, so Steve Carell was obviously #1 on the call sheet.

When he left, that did not change.

“We decided that we were not killing off Michael Scott,” line producer Randy Cordray said in Green’s book. “He was merely moving to Boulder with Holly, so we decided to retire the number one designation on the call sheet.

“Steve, we will never forget you,” Cordray told him during his farewell party. “And we’re hoping that you’ll never forget us. This is a small token of our affection toward you. We are retiring your number on the call sheet. It will never be used by anyone other than Steve Carell from this day forward on The Office.”

Cordray then revealed a hockey jersey the entire cast and crew had signed. “From now on until the day you return” Corday stated, “all of our call sheets will begin with the #2. And that had never been done, as far as I know, in the history of Hollywood.”

That was also the moment during the farewell party when Oscar Nunez had to sneak behind a wall to cry because he became so overwhelmed with emotion, as he said on The Oral History of ‘The Office.’

For those who are curious, Rainn Wilson — not John Krasinski or Jenna Fischer, surprisingly — was #2 on the call sheet.

Sources: The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s and An Oral History of ‘The Office’.

Speedy Ortiz leader Sadie Dupuis is readying a new Sad13 solo album (Haunted Painting), and she has teased it with some creative visuals before it drops in about a month. Now she is back with another, this time for “Hysterical.”

In the clip, Dupuis is browsing the internet on her laptop, and before she knows it, a murderous ghost enters her life and those of her friends. The song is targeted at “unfunny comedians [who] love to argue that ‘PC culture’ destroys comedy.” She expanded on that idea in an interview with The Fader, saying:

“I think there were three comedians in really short proximity last year who made some kind of claim that comedy isn’t funny anymore and they can’t work in it because ‘PC culture’ and ‘cancel culture’ have made things unfunny. I think one was Todd Phillips in promoting Joker, he was like, ‘I won’t do comedy because the feminists have destroyed it’ [laughs]. This was around the time that Hari Kondabolu — who did The Problem With Apu — was getting death threats again because they finally decided to relent on that character in The Simpsons. It’s just a common refrain that, to me, is ironic. I never had a big interest in comedy growing up because it was always not for me. It was intentionally shutting women out or making them the butt of jokes that just weren’t good. As comedy has become more inclusive, I’m actually interested in it now and was able to get some of my favorite people in comedy to be in this music video.”

Watch the “Hysterical” video above.

Haunted Painting is out 9/25 via Wax Nine. Pre-order it here.