Month: January 2021

Things are not going particularly well for the Dallas Mavericks right now. The team lost to the Utah Jazz on Friday night, which marked the their fourth loss in a row and seventh loss in their last nine games to drop them to 8-11 on the year. Amid this rough stretch, the team’s superstar decided it was time to speak out.

Luka Doncic, who entered this season with MVP aspirations but hasn’t been able to translate his impressive statistics into wins, called out the Mavericks for their approach this year. Doncic made clear that he’s never been in the situation that Dallas finds itself in right now, and went as far as to say that the team is dealing with a major case of apathy.

“Terrible,” Doncic said when asked about the team’s effort against Utah. “There’s really not much to say. I never felt like this, and we’ve got to do something, because this is not looking good, and we’ve got to step up and talk to each other and play way better than this. It’s mostly effort.”

Doncic was then asked about what he believes needs to change and brought the hammer down, saying, “Right now, it’s looking like we don’t care, honestly, if we win games or not.”

The good news for the Mavericks is that Doncic is optimistic that things will improve, and while they do face a bit of an uphill battle going forward, the team has been hit hard by injuries and COVID-19 absences this season, which has led to issues getting consistent players on the floor. Dallas can also take solace in knowing their star player is feeling the pressure to win games, something that has been reflected in his numbers so far this season — while Doncic has faded in MVP chatter a quarter of a way through the year, he’s averaging 27.3 points, 9.6 assists, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.1 steals in 34.6 minutes per game.

Arlo Parks recently dropped her debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams, and to commemorate its arrival, the British singer brought her talents to Jimmy Kimmel Live! It was her first appearance on a television platform in the United States, and she and her band did a soothing rendition of “Hurt.”

When Parks released the song as a single last summer, she spoke about the song’s meaning, saying it “surrounds the possibility of healing from pain and the temporary nature of suffering.” She added, “It is supposed to uplift and comfort those going through hard times.” Now the track lives on her Collapsed In Sunbeams album, which arrived on Friday. The 12-track release arrived without guest features, and a majority most of the songs were written by Parks and Los Angeles-based songwriter Gianluca “Luca” Buccellati, who also produced the album with her.

Prior to the album’s release, Parks shared a delicate cover of Clairo’s Immunity standout, “Bags,” on SiriusXMU. The cover came after Clairo helped write Park’s “Green Eyes” track, which can also be found on Collapsed In Sunbeams. In addition to the new album, Parks also premiered her TV special Tonight With Arlo Parks on Twitch, descirbing it as a “‘Variety Hour Special’ emulating the spirit of classic, artist-fronted TV formats from the 60s and 70s, yet revamped and reimagined for the 20s.” The film will be available on Prime Video on February 1.

You can watch Parks’ performance in the video above.

Collapsed In Sunbeams is out now via Transgressive. Get it here.

Scottish producer Sophie has tragically died at the age of 34 after an accidental fall, and their outsized impact on the pop world is being mourned after the news broke. Sophie’s label, Transgressive, and management company Future Classic confirmed the news and many of their peers and fellow musicians are sharing an outpouring of support and grief at the tragic loss.

The avant-garde pop producer and performer was in Athens, Greece at the time of their death. “True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us,” the label wrote in their confirmation of the devastating news. “The family thank everyone for their love and support and request privacy at this devastating time.”

Sophie’s last album, 2019’s Oil Of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides was the first record to prominently feature the producer’s vocals, releasing after Sophie came out as transgender and shared their identity with the world. The album was widely regarded as one of the best electronic records of the year, and was nominated for a 2019 Grammy at in the Best Dance/Electronic Album category. It is a tragedy for the music world to lose such a force at such a young age, and fans and critics are joining artists in mourning.

Alex Jones is something like the original contemporary conspiracy theorist — the wacko who launched a thousand deranged ships. So it was not surprising to see him in D.C. on January 6, involved in the violent mob that, whipped up by the president and fueled by baseless claims of voter fraud, stormed the Capitol, leading to five deaths. Jones even boasted about doing some of that whipping up. But a new report says he was an even bigger player than previously thought.

This comes from The Wall Street Journal, who pieced together the top players that funded the aborted attempt to overturn election results and keep now-former president Donald Trump in power. For one thing, Jones pledged a good sum of money — $50,000 — in exchange for, as WSJ reports, a “top speaking slot of his choice.” More importantly, he played Cupid between a top Trump donor and other organizers:

Mr. Jones also helped arrange for Julie Jenkins Fancelli, a prominent donor to the Trump campaign and heiress to the Publix Super Markets Inc. chain, to commit about $300,000 through a top fundraising official for former President Trump’s 2020 campaign, according to organizers. Her money paid for the lion’s share of the roughly $500,000 rally at the Ellipse where Mr. Trump spoke.

And then there were said other organizers:

Another far-right activist and leader of the “Stop the Steal” movement, Ali Alexander, helped coordinate planning with Caroline Wren, a fundraising official who was paid by the Trump campaign for much of 2020 and who was tapped by Ms. Fancelli to organize and fund an event on her behalf, organizers said. On social media, Mr. Alexander had targeted Jan. 6 as a key date for supporters to gather in Washington to contest the 2020-election certification results. The week of the rally, he tweeted a flyer for the event saying: “DC becomes FORT TRUMP starting tomorrow on my orders!”

And so, a small group of Trumpists, Jones among them, inspired one of the most disturbing days in America history. But at least they failed at their loftier goals.

(Via WSJ)

British producer Sophie, who was critically acclaimed for her contributions to the electronic music world, has died at the age of 34, following a tragic fall in Athens, Greece early Saturday morning. A representative confirmed the news to Pitchfork and a statement from Sophie’s label, Transgressive and Future Classic, also confirmed it. “True to her spirituality she had climbed up to watch the full moon and accidentally slipped and fell. She will always be here with us,” they said. “The family thank everyone for their love and support and request privacy at this devastating time.”

Born Sophie Xeon, they stepped into the European music scene back in the early 2010s thanks to a number of house-adjacent records, including 2013’s “Nothing More To Say.” Their first project arrived with 2015’s Product compilation and three years later, Sophie’s official debut album, Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides, was released. It was also during the press run for the album that Sophie, whose identity was unknown at the time, came out as transgender. (They preferred to use gender non-binary pronouns.)

Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides earned a nomination for Best Dance/Electronic Album at the 2019 Grammys and the following year, it would land appearances on several decade-end lists. After hearing about Sophie’s death, Sam Smith, Rina Sawayama, Christin And The Queens, and more took to Twitter to share their reactions and honor them.

You can read some of the tweets from Sophie’s peers below.

(via Pitchfork)

We’re only a few days into the GameStop-Reddit trading saga, but it’s been a rollercoaster. The move by Robinhood Markets Inc., the stock market app which started it all, to ban trading with certain companies was so universally condemned that even AOC and Ted Cruz (briefly) found something to agree on. Now it’s driven one person to make their outrage known in the most old-school juvenile way possible: trolling Robinhood HQ in-person with a plane bearing an offensive banner.

On Friday, a Twitter user who identifies as an “internet magician” announced he had hired a pilot to fly him over the company’s San Francisco headquarters. Attached would be a banner with the words “SUCK MY NUTS ROBINHOOD.”

We all post our dream plans on social media but not all of us follow through. This guy did.

The story began when people, fomented by Reddit posts, started buying stock in GameStop, the flailing video game retailer, ballooning its finances to absurd heights. Robinhood, the startup whose m.o. was to “democratize finance for all,” then found itself stuck between a rock and a hard place, with Wall Street traditionalists on one side and the cold, hard demands of the market on the other. The market wanted GameStop, as well as a number of other struggling companies, whose investors were suddenly swimming in cash. And even Meghan McCain tweeting one of her worst-ever takes hasn’t killed fascination in the story.

In any case, let this be a lesson: See the crazy thing you want to do to the end, like the guy who told Robinhood where to go.

It’s been a while since the last big found footage film. In fact — not counting 2017’s desktop-set Unfriended: Dark Web — the most recent one was Blair Witch, the failed reboot of the one that started the craze to begin with. And though The Hollywood Reporter reports that Paramount has greenlit a sequel to one of the big found footage epics — namely 2008’s Cloverfield — it’s with one caveat: It won’t be stem-to-stern comprised of footage shot with a “character’s” extremely shaky hands.

There’s another big difference: The sequel — which will presumably follow another group of puny earthlings fleeing from invading aliens — won’t be helmed by original director Matt Reeves, who has since moved on to Planet of the Apes movies and the Robert Pattinson-starring The Batman. Instead the super belated sequel will be written, at least, by British writer Joe Barton. Apart from not using the found footage gimmick, not much else is known about it.

Mind you, it won’t be the first Cloverfield movie since 2008. The last handful of years have seen the growth of a “Cloverfield universe,” with 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox leaning into its when-aliens-attack without being direct sequels to the original. So presumably this will be that — minus the cinematography that makes you vomit.

(Via THR)

As the shutdown of the live music industry persists in light of the pandemic, MusiCares, the charitable arm of The Recording Academy, is continuing to offer artists relief through their mutual aid fund. But since their fund was established in mid-March, they’re looking for a way to raise even more money. MusiCares compiled items from a handful of popular artists and are auctioning off items to raise money for out-of-work musicians.

While there are 60 items to bid on in the auction, the most expensive comes from BTS. The K-pop group donated the pastel-colored outfits they wore during their “Dynamite” video, and the clothes are priced at an upwards of $40,000. Along with BTS’ clothing, other items include a painting signed by Snoop Dogg, an album cover signed by Billie Eilish, a Fender guitar signed by Shawn Mendes, a Folklore-themed acoustic guitar signed by Taylor Swift, and much more.

At the time MusiCares launched their COVID-19 relief fund, their chairperson Steve Boom noted the importance of the industry coming together to support each other:

“The music industry is built on the work of musicians, artists, and music professionals. It is in times like these, that the industry needs to come together to support those who are struggling, particularly those who rely on touring incomes to survive. We know this fund will need to be significant. We will not be able to do it alone, and that’s why we are asking the entire music community including labels, streaming services, and anyone who is able to join us in this important effort. We’re all in when the good times roll, and it’s important that we’re all in when times are tough, too.”

The auction goes live 1/31 at 1 p.m. PST. Check out the full collection here.

R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle are used to doing everything together. They star in the series Grown-ish, together, write music together, perform at awards shows together, and, until recently, post on Instagram together. But now that Halle has flown off to the UK to film her starring role in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, they’re having a hard time being apart.

Though it’s only been a week since Halle’s departure, the two already miss each other. In order to reunite, the sisters shared a heartwarming moment via Instagram Live. Halle began discussing their time apart and then burst into tears. “Because I’ve always needed my sister, so this is really, it’s different for me, not having you by my side,” Halle said. “I feel stupid.”

Chloe then tearfully chimed in: “I miss your really funny jokes. And I miss you being in the car with Branson when we do our little drives around the highway. And I miss just coming in your room and being like, ‘Hey girl. What do you think about [my outfit]? I miss everything. I miss you too but I’m really really proud of you. You’re making me so proud over here. It’s always weird when we’re apart from each other.”

Watch a clip of the heartwarming interaction above.

One of the most successful lead-outs in the history of the Super Bowl was a star-studded 1996 episode of Friends. In the show’s second season, NBC went big and the result helped the show rocket to the top of the ratings. The rest was history, so to speak. But the episode and how it got made is fascinating and has some surprising stories.

The Hollywood Reporter had an oral history of the Friends Super Bowl episode, “The One After The Super Bowl,” and it’s packed with lots of fun moments, including the origin story of Suddenly Susan. And the episode had some big stars, as well as the return of Marcel the Monkey to Ross’s loving arms.

But apparently one guest star was incredibly difficult to work with, and those behind the scenes said he was even tougher to work with than the animal co-star who was infamous for trouble. Jean-Claude Van Damme, who among stars like Julia Roberts, Chris Isaak and Brooke Shields was apparently the worst of the worst.

Littlefield: Jean-Claude Van Damme may have fallen into the category of, “Who’s more difficult to work with, him or the monkey?”

Bright: He arrived at the set three or four hours late and went straight to his trailer. So David and I thought we’d introduce ourselves and ask him if he had any questions. We went over and he says, “No! First, I memorize lines. Then you give me the feeling.”

Sikowitz: I think that when Jean-Claude showed up, he asked through his manager or some other person who came to the set with him for Cocoa Puffs. I believe a P.A. ran out and got them.

Lembeck: Having completely blown up our shooting day, we had to scramble. Then he’s unprepared and arrogant! But this is the story I want to share: We shoot him and Jennifer first. Then she walks over to me and says, “Lem, Lem, would you do me a favor and ask him not to put his tongue in my mouth when he’s kissing me?” I tell him everything is great but it’s a tight shot so maybe let’s not do that. Then we’re shooting a scene later with Courteney. Here comes Courteney walking toward me and saying, “Lem, can you please tell him not to put his tongue in my mouth?” I couldn’t believe it! I had to tell him again, but a little firmer.

It’s notable because Van Damme was famously fired from Predator because of his difficulties. And considering all the other people new to the Friends universe that popped up in that episode, having the title of worst of the bunch is quite a feat.
You can see a bit of his appearance here, or the entire two-part episode on Peacock if you have access to that. Van Damme didn’t get to defend himself, but it’s not a great look for the actor. And some on the writing staff weren’t thrilled by the direction that plot point went in the episode. But the episode itself is regarded as a classic, and the full oral history is really interesting and full of much more fun details that won’t make you feel nearly as uncomfortable.

[via The Hollywood Reporter]