Category: News

What do you do if you the person you really want to go into business with has a habit of spouting hateful nonsense? That’s the question Warner Bros. Discovery execs have to ask themselves after revealing they are indeed, as predicted, launching a Harry Potter show — with input from J.K. Rowling. On one hand, Rowling has added “incorrigible anti-trans lunatic” to her CV. On the other, she owns the rights to her money-gobbling creation. WB Discovery’s solution? Just try not to talk about the first part.

As per Variety, after the epic presentation that unveiled a weird new name change for HBO Max, a bunch of new shows, and more, Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, took some questions. One, inevitably, was about how Rowling has caught the ire of even the most ardent Potter fanatics and driven stars of the original films to do things like lend a helping hand to trans youth. But Bloys knew how to handle the query, mostly by dancing around it.

“No, I don’t think this is the forum,” Bloys replied. “That’s a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into.”

But Bloys did get into it, sort of. “Our priority is what’s on the screen,” Bloys said. “Obviously, the ‘Harry Potter’ story is incredibly affirmative and positive and about love and self-acceptance. That’s our priority — what’s on screen.”

As for how involved Rowling will be, Bloys said, simply, that she “will be involved. She’s an executive producer on the show. Her insights are going to be helpful on that.” She added, “The TV show is new and we’re excited about that, but, remember, we’ve been in the ‘Potter’ business for 20 years. This is not a new decision for us, we’re very comfortable being in the ‘Potter’ business.”

The Potter show isn’t some prequel, like the middling Fantastic Beasts series, which all but fizzled out by its third entry. It’s going back to the original books, with each season tackling one of the books, treating them to greater detail than could be afforded in a two-hours-and-change movie film.

Will Rowling’s involvement create controversy over the show? Definitely. Will tons of people watch it anyway. Almost certainly. But the news added a dark cloud to what should have been a triumphant day. And then at the end of the day, almost as an ominous sign, Warner Bros. Discovery’s stock took a dip.

(Via Variety)

Paul Simon is back with the announcement of Seven Psalms, his first album of new material since the 2016 release Stranger To Stranger. The record is 33 minutes, and the seven songs are each considered to serve as “movements,” according to the press release; it’s “intended to be listened to as one continuous piece.” He shared a trailer to increase anticipation for the album.

The press release also notes that Seven Psalms is recorded “entirely on acoustic instruments, and predominantly performed by Paul.” It follows the 2018 release of the LP In The Blue Light, which was made up of re-recordings of older songs.

“This album consists of songs that I thought were almost right, or were odd enough to be overlooked the first time around,” he explained in a press release at the time. “Re-doing arrangements, harmonic structures, and lyrics that didn’t make their meaning clear, gave me time to clarify in my own head what I wanted to say, or realize what I was thinking and make it more easily understood.”

Check out the tracklist for Seven Psalms below. Watch the trailer above.

1. “The Lord”
2. “Love Is Like A Braid”
3. “My Professional Opinion”
4. “Your Forgiveness”
5. “Trail of Volcanoes”
6. “The Sacred Harp”
7. “Wait”

Seven Psalms is out 5/19 via Owl Records and Legacy Recordings.

Jamie Foxx experienced what sounds like a significant health scare this week, according to a statement from Corinne Foxx, his daughter, and TMZ.

On Wednesday night, April 12, Corinne posted to Instagram:

“From the Foxx Family:

We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced medical complication yesterday. Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery.

We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time.

Much love,
The Foxx Family”

According to TMZ, Foxx was hospitalized.

“We’re told his condition was serious enough that Jamie’s family — some of whom were not in town — came to the hospital,” the outlet relayed. “One source told us, ‘He’s communicating now, and that’s good news.’”

People and TMZ both noted that Foxx has been in Atlanta filming Back In Action, his Netflix action movie with Cameron Diaz that was announced last June.

“When this project came along and she was pursued by Jamie Foxx, who she has known and worked with for years, she decided to go for it,” an unnamed source shared with People last July regarding why Diaz decided to come out of her acting retirement.

Foxx last posted to Instagram six days ago. The 55-year-old Oscar- and Grammy-winning icon appeared happy and healthy on a yacht. Hopefully, he’ll be able to resume his favorite activities sooner than later.

Speedy Ortiz performed a cover of “Silence Kid” at Pavement’s four-day pop-up exhibition, Pavements: 1933-2022: A Pavement Museum, in New York City last fall. As of today, April 12, we no longer have to live in the past.

Speedy Ortiz shared “Scabs,” their first original single since 2018. According to a press release, it’s also the “first to feature longtime touring members Audrey Zee Whitesides and Joey Doubek.” The bassist and drummer, respectively, join existing members Sadie Dupuis (also known as Sad13).

“Living in progressive cities and working in the arts, you meet peers doing tremendous organizing work. And then there are neighbors who signal their ‘good’ politics through yard signs alone,” Dupuis said in a statement. “I wrote ‘Scabs’ standing in line at the post office, overhearing customers berate a USPS employee. This was during a time of postal unions-opposed budget cuts and other major issues for mail handlers, which were widely reported on. People advertising their support for essential workers acted conversely when faced with personal inconvenience. The song became more widely about self-designated ethicists who don’t quibble about crossing a picket line for individual benefit.”

Speedy Ortiz succinctly delivers such a nuanced message with cutting lines such as “Born-to-scab solipsists are boogying for big commission,” “Yes in your backyard you take handshake squeezes to extremes,” and “Who do you wanna prove you’re a big dog to? / You turn the screw, but you’re using the wrong size tool.”

Watch the “Scabs” lyric video above.

The Toronto Raptors led by 19 points midway through the third quarter in their 9-10 Play-In eliminator against the Chicago Bulls, and it looked for all the world like they would be cruising to a showdown with Miami for the 8-seed on Friday.

However, in the third quarter Zach LaVine picked up his level and the Bulls steadily began chipping away at the Raptors lead, cutting the deficit to nine going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, LaVine would continue his sensational scoring night as he piled up 39 points on 12-of-22 shooting, showing off some truly sensational shot-making to pull the Bulls back into the game. A 9-0 run from the Bulls was punctuated by a LaVine pullup three in transition the forced a timeout from the Raptors as Chicago cut the lead to five, and suddenly the Toronto crowd was feeling very uncomfortable about their situation.

After cutting it to two, Alex Caruso got a steal and runout to tie the game, as he was the catalyst for a tremendous defensive turnaround for the Bulls.

While Caruso, Patrick Beverley, and Patrick Williams all showed up big down the stretch defensively, there was one person who was locked in defensively all night: Diar DeRozan. DeMar’s daughter was courtside underneath one of the baskets and her screeching during the Raptors free throws messed with Toronto all night, as they shot just 18-of-36 from the stripe thanks to Diar’s uncanny ability to time her screams at the perfect time to throw off their rhythm.

With Diar’s help, the Bulls stayed within range long enough for LaVine to heat up and eventually he and DeMar DeRozan were able to push Chicago to the lead.

Fred VanVleet, who started off the night hot, found a key late three to tie the game at 100, but that was as close as Toronto would get to the lead for the rest of the night.

The Bulls would regain the lead and hold a one-possession edge for most of the final few minutes, as Toronto never let them run away, but also couldn’t ever reel them all the way in — once again thanks to Diar DeRozan’s efforts defending free throws.

Still, a Pascal Siakam dunk cut the lead down to one with just under 20 seconds to play, and there was a real chance to get back in the game.

After a pair of Zach LaVine free throws made it a three-point game again, Siakam got a very generous continuation call on Alex Caruso that was ruled a three-point shooting foul, giving him a chance to tie the game at the stripe. However, Diar DeRozan’s screams loomed like prime Dikembe Mutombo, and after making the first, Siakam saw back-to-back free throws rim out to ensure the Bulls would get out of Toronto with a win and keep their season alive.

Siakam finished with 32 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, but the missed free throws were the story of the night. He accounted for six of Toronto’s misses but was far from alone, as OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, and Fred VanVleet all missed three or more from the stripe as well. The 18 missed free throws were Toronto’s most in a game by far this season, and there really wasn’t any reasonable explanation beyond Diar’s screams simply messing with them so badly they couldn’t concentrate at the line, even at home.

After the game, DeMar said he almost didn’t let Diar come to the game, but would be compensating her for the hard work on the defensive end of the floor.

The Bulls, meanwhile, went 18-of-22 from the stripe on the road, hitting most all of the necessary free throws down the stretch to ice the game. DeRozan had 23 points to aid LaVine, but Nikola Vucevic with 14 and Patrick Williams with 10 off the bench were the only other Bulls to reach double figures. It really was a signature performance from LaVine, who carried their offense out of the mud and once he breathed life back into the team, the rest followed suit on both ends to earn them a chance at the 8-seed on Friday in Miami.

(WARNING: Spoilers for this week’s episode of Snowfall will be found below.)

Snowfall is just one episode away from officially closing the book on a series that will stand out as one of the best from the last decade. For its final season, Snowfall has left no stone unturned and no character untouched. Many fans are still reeling from the death of Jerome in episode six which joins noteworthy exits from the season that include Teddy’s father, Veronique’s mother, and Wanda. Franklin has attacked his family and been attacked by them as well, all in an effort to retrieve his stolen $73 million. In episode eight, Franklin moved one step closer to retrieving that money which brings us to the penultimate episode of Snowfall season six.

In the ninth episode of Snowfall season six, we quickly see what Franklin and Gustavo decided to do with Teddy and the KGB agent. Both are still alive, which may arrive as a disappointment to many, but it’s all a part of Franklin’s plan. Teddy is of no value to Franklin if he’s dead, so the best Franklin can do is torture him until he gives up the account numbers for the $73 million. Teddy and the KGB agent are both handcuffed to a chair in a warehouse where they’re for days as Franklin, Cissy, Veronique, and Leon work to get the information they need out of Teddy by torturing him. It starts with Franklin forcibly playing Russian roulette with Teddy, but when that fails, he ups the ante thanks to some advice from Veronique. Franklin then tortures Teddy by pouring hot grease on his chest, and after a couple of that, Teddy finally gives up the information that Franklin spent all of season six looking for… but not without making a deal first. It seems like things will come to a favorable end for Franklin and Teddy, but an angry and frustrated Cissy throws all of that away by shooting and killing Teddy seconds before Franklin got the information he needed.

Here are some of the biggest takeaways that we have after season six’s ninth episode, “Sacrifice”:

Franklin’s $73 Million Safety Net Wouldn’t Save Him

Halfway into this week’s episode, Cissy stops Franklin in the middle of his torturing spree on Teddy and begs him to put a stop to everything. Cissy suggests that Franklin had Teddy over to the KGB while they flee the country. It’s a bewildering suggestion to Franklin who can’t seem to understand why Cissy all of a sudden wants to let go of the money. What he doesn’t know is that Teddy told her Alton wasn’t killed, he was just drugged and thrown in a Puerto Rico jail. Nonetheless, Franklin makes a deal with Teddy to take just half of the $73 million in exchange for Teddy’s freedom and his right to live for another. Teddy promises not to tell anyone about his kidnapping and torture, and though Franklin seems to buy it, we know better than to trust Teddy. There’s nothing that would’ve stopped Teddy from having Franklin arrested once he is free. Furthermore, Teddy staying alive is not only a risk to the Saint Family, but to Gustavo as well who. So much so, that he made Franklin swear that Teddy would be killed as they previously agreed upon. $73 million — well, $37 million now — and that alone wouldn’t have been enough to provide Franklin and his family the safety net they needed. I’m not too sure if he knew that, but it all doesn’t matter now, as Teddy will take that $73 million to grave and leave Franklin in the same position he started the season in.

Teddy’s Leverage Killed Him

For all of season six, and even seasons prior, Teddy used the leverage he had against the other Snowfall characters as a weapon against them. That leverage only worked because he was feared, but Teddy knew that and he made sure to use it against the likes of Franklin and Louie every time he could. In that end, all that leverage did for Teddy was hurt him more than it helped him. It got his father killed, it got him kidnapped, it got him tortured to extreme levels, and it got him killed. Instead of using it to get what he wanted faster and exit from the operation to safer grounds, all Teddy wanted to do was keep the Saint family under his thumb. It’s no surprise that someone, that being Cissy, cracked and retaliated with an attack that ended things once and for all. Leverage is something to use not to keep, simply because its use goes away once the opposition becomes fearless. Cissy lost her fears once Teddy told her he shot Alton twice and Cissy returned the favor directly to Teddy with no hesitation. So much for that leverage.

Cissy Finally Stopped Living Under Franklin’s Rule

Since the height of Franklin’s partnership with Teddy, there wasn’t much that Cissy could say to stop Franklin from diving headfirst into the drug game. She tried to talk him out of it, refused to take any money from him, and more, all to eventually accept his new lifestyle and get closer to him where she felt it was safer. As soon as the decision was made, especially when Franklin’s real estate business was alive, Cissy found herself under Franklin’s rule. Sure, Franklin remained respectful to her more times than not, but her influence wasn’t enough to talk him out of things which was more or less the case for people around Franklin. The latest example of this is seen in episode nine when Franklin dismisses his mother’s plea and requests for him to let Teddy go in favor of just packing their things and fleeing the country. For the first time in a long time, Cissy refused to just oblige by Franklin’s commands. This time, she took it upon herself to make her family and other loved ones were safe. And the only way to do that, in her eyes at least, was by killing Teddy.

Franklin Couldn’t See Past The Money

All Franklin wanted was his $73 million back. Nothing could stop or distract him from getting it back either, something he boastfully declares in “Sacrifice.” “Hear me very clear,” he says in the episode. “I’ll never give up. Never. I will get back my motherf*cking money.” Franklin’s pursuit of his money stopped him from appropriately grieving the death of his uncle Jerome. It stopped him from seeing the perspectives of anyone who questioned his decisions in the slightest bit. It caused him to curse out Veronique’s mother earlier this season and made him kill Teddy’s grandfather, though that’s something that most viewers won’t really object to him doing. In season six of Snowfall, Franklin could not see past the money, and while the journey towards it seemed worth it when he had a chance at getting the money, you can’t help but run through the what-ifs and could’ve-beens now that the $73 million is long gone. Regardless of what they were, we can agree that through it all, Franklin couldn’t see past that 8-figure number. Maybe things could’ve been a bit different if he considered other options and not waiting until irreversible damage was done to consider taking half of what was taken.

New episodes of ‘Snowfall’ are available on FX on Wednesdays at 10pm EST/ PST.

This time last year, Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream Sellout debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The album was supported by a 52-date international tour of the same name, including a date at FirstEnergy Stadium in MGK’s hometown Cleveland, Ohio.

Today, April 12, it was announced that Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout Live from Cleveland: The Pink Era will enjoy a “one-night-only cinema event” in theaters worldwide on May 13, according to a press release, as “the first full-length feature from the recently launched multimedia and music imprint Floor 13” via Trafalgar Releasing.

Showtimes and tickets can be found here.

“It’s not just a concert film, it’s the end of an era,” MGK posted along with the film’s trailer. “May 13th in theaters.”

Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout Live from Cleveland: The Pink Era was directed by Sam Cahill, who also directed MGK’s Hulu documentary, Life In Pink, from last year.

“Machine Gun Kelly’s remarkable journey from Cleveland to meteoric superstardom and back to where it all began gives us an unfiltered look at the emotion and rawness of coming home,” Trafalgar Releasing’s SVP Of Programming And Content Acquisitions Kymberli Frueh said in a statement. “We are so lucky that this moment was captured so it can be shared with fans across the globe.”

The release additionally noted that MGK’s Mainstream Sellout Tour show in Cleveland “marked the first and only Ohio native to sell out the largest venue in the city and home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns.”

Lil Wayne is not messing around on his Welcome To Tha Carter Tour. The highly anticipated run kicked off earlier this month in Minneapolis, and every night has been getting better and better. In Chicago on April 9, the rapper welcomed Chance The Rapper onto the stage to perform “No Problem” from his 2016 LP Coloring Book.

Tonight (April 12), Lil Wayne had a surprise opener for his show in Toronto. That happened to be the one and only Drake, who’s famously a native of the city. The crowd immediately lost their minds and grabbed their phones to capture the unbelievable moment. Watch some videos of the performance below.

Earlier this year, Drake attended the Recording Academy Honors Presented by the Black Music Collective at Hollywood Palladium and honored Lil Wayne with a video message: “Lil Wayne… I love you so much. I know I probably get annoying with saying how much you mean to me and my family, but I think I speak on behalf of everybody when I say that our careers, our cadences, our melodies, maybe our face tats or our outfits or our decisions in general would not have been the same without your natural gift to just be yourself.”

Drake also brought out Lil Wayne during his co-headlining set at Dreamville Festival at the beginning of April.

Did Donald Trump have an affair with Stormy Daniels? He’s long insisted he didn’t. And yet he keeps accidentally admitting that he did. Back in February, Daniels thanked him for letting slip on Truth Social that their tryst “happened a long time ago.” On Wednesday he filed a lawsuit against Michael Cohen, the lawyer who claims he helped provide her with a hush money payment shortly before the 2016 election, alleging defamation. (Not that he hasn’t done that before.) But that may be Trump inadvertently admitting it again.

Former Manhattan prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo went on CNN shortly after news of the lawsuit — which accuses Cohen of violating attorney-client privilege — was made public. She couldn’t for the life of her figure out how that isn’t an admission of guilt.

“It’s an interesting case here because, on the one hand, he’s saying everything is false, right?” Agnifilo said. “So if he was breaching attorney-client privilege, you’re doing that by telling things that were said to you in confidence. But so, is he saying things that Michael Cohen is saying are true because I told him in confidence, and now he’s breached that privilege? Or is he saying that the things are false? Because if they’re false, why didn’t he bring a defamation claim? So it kind of makes no sense.”

Agnifilo said Trump also violated another law: witness intimidation, saying that “he’s just using the court system like he seems to want to do, by going after his foes and adversaries.” She added that “to Michael Cohen and others who might want to come forward and give testimony in any situation against Donald Trump. It’s a warning. It’s, look what I’ll do to you.”

The former president has a lot of plates spinning in the air now, and it’s not clear which one will crash first. His indictment over the Daniels case might not lead to a conviction, though it has provided us with yet another case in which he was called out on what really seemed to be a very bad lie.

You can see Agnifilo’s CNN appearance in the video below.

(Via Raw Story)

The Toronto Raptors took an early lead on the Chicago Bulls in Wednesday night’s Play-In eliminator and steadily built it into what was at one point an 18-point third quarter advantage.

The only thing really keeping the Raptors from blowing the game wide open for most of the night was free throw shooting woes, as they missed 12 of their first 24 free throw attempts. What was notable about that was it wasn’t like the Bulls were sending noted dreadful free throw shooter Jakob Poeltl to the line a ton, as he had just two of those attempts, but it was a total team effort in clanging freebies off the rim. Given the game was at home in Toronto, that was bizarre, but there was one explanation for their struggles at the stripe that was very evident to anyone watching the game with the sound on.

Every single Raptors free throw attempt featured a blood-curdling scream in the middle of it, which came courtside from a rather hilarious source: DeMar DeRozan’s daughter.

The Raptors broadcast noted the former young Toronto resident was the one screeching during every attempt, and it was one of the most effective free throw distractions I, and anyone else, have ever seen. As such, many viewers took note of the young DeRozan’s efforts and named her preemptive defensive MVP of the game for Chicago, as she was doing more to keep points off of the board for Toronto than any of the players actually on the court.