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Leonardo DiCaprio Didn’t Want To Star In ‘Titanic’ Because He Thought It Was ‘Boring’

Way, way back in the mid-90s, Leonardo DiCaprio took on a role that set his trajectory as a global box office star by making him drown in icy waters in a completely scientifically accurate way. Also, there was kissing and nude drawings involved. Director James Cameron has effectively celebrated the 25th anniversary of Titanic by watching Avatar 2 beat all of its records, and as we round the corner on a quarter century with the modern classic in our lives, he’s opened up about the diplomatic process of getting it made.

“He didn’t want to do a leading man,” Cameron told People. “I had to really twist his arm to be in the movie. He didn’t want to do it. He thought it was boring.”

He’s not wrong! As a young actor, DiCaprio was taking on Gilbert Grapey roles, so it makes sense that he didn’t want to dive into an historical romance.

The story gets even more frustrating because Cameron then had to convince DiCaprio to read for the part, and then had to convince the studio that DiCaprio was the right man for the job. No one wanted the movie to be cast the way Cameron did, including a key member of the cast, and it took Cameron’s massive strength of will to pull the vision together.

Thankfully, Cameron convinced DiCaprio and the studio, and the rest is well-researched historical fiction. Also thankfully, DiCaprio wasn’t involved in the Titanic wrap party where dozens of people were hospitalized after eating PCP-laced chowder. It might have made Cameron’s cajoling feel a little bit sour.

(via People)

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Demi Lovato’s ‘Holy Fvck’ Promotional Posters Are Getting Banned In The UK Due To Offended Christians

Demi Lovato’s 2022 album Holy Fvck was her shift away from pop as well as a deep dive into vulnerable topics in her life. Of course, the title introduced a sharp edge, along with the album art, which pictures the singer laying in bondage on a cross. It looks like she’s getting in trouble for that now, many months after its August release.

The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK have received complaints about promotional posters with the album art, according to CNN. They reported that Britain’s advertising regulator banned the poster for being “likely to cause serious offense to Christians.” Others also complained that the posters were “irresponsibly placed” because kids could see it.

The report, published by the ASA today, January 11, reads: “We considered that the image of Ms Lovato bound up in a bondage-style outfit whilst lying on a mattress shaped like a crucifix, in a position with her legs bound to one side which was reminiscent of Christ on the cross, together with the reference to ‘holy fvck,’ which in that context was likely to be viewed as linking sexuality to the sacred symbol of the crucifix and the crucifixion, was likely to cause serious offense to Christians.”

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Ezra Miller Agreed To A Plea Deal In That Vermont Trespassing Case So They Don’t Have To Go To The Slammer

Ezra Miller has been awful quiet for the last few months. Ordinarily that would seem odd; after all, they have a big, hotly anticipated movie coming out. Then again, they did some things most people in their position wouldn’t do. Last year, they kept making the strangest kind of headlines, from starting fights in Hawaii to being accused of brainwashing a teenager to maybe even starting a cult.

One of Miller’s more mundane crimes involved allegedly stealing booze from a neighbor in Vermont. They were facing felony and larceny charges, which in Vermont faces a steep penalty of 25 years. Instead, as per NBC News, Miller has cut a plea deal in which they plead guilty to trespassing. Court documents show that they now face either an 89- or 90-day suspended sentence, a year’s probation, as well as a $500 fine. At least they won’t be sent to prison.

What this means for Miller’s future at the already chaotic DCEU, much less press for this summer’s The Flash, is up in the air. Last fall, as the headlines they inspired grew increasingly more troubling, Miller suddenly pulled a 180, meeting with Warner Bros. Discovery brass and releasing a statement apologizing for their actions and promising to do better.

What inspired the corporation to forgive Miller while punishing everyone involved in Batgirl, none of whom have been accused of choking people at an Iceland bar, as Miller has? It might have something with test screenings for The Flash going through the roof, promising some more multiverse madness for those who loved Spider-Man: No Way Home and the second Doctor Strange. Whether Miller will have to enjoy the success from while serving an alternative form of punishment — or if the James Gunn- and Peter Safran-led DCEU will replace him with some younger Barry Allen from an alternate dimension — remains to be seen.

(Via NBC News)

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Chiiild And Lucky Daye’s ‘Good For Now’ Confronts The Risks Of Vulnerability

Chiiild is the featured artist on Lucky Daye’s “Compassion,” a track on Daye’s Grammy-nominated album Candy Drip from last March. Nearly one year later, the roles are reversed. On Tuesday, January 10, Chiiild released “Good For You” featuring Daye from his forthcoming album, Better Luck In The Next Life.

The ethereal single begins with strings before settling into a soothing guitar base. Throughout, Chiiild gives listeners a vulnerable glimpse into his stream of consciousness — reflecting on impermanence and the risks of falling in love. “Tell me that we’re dreaming,” he sings. Don’t say that we’re in love / Whatever this is, it’s good for now.”

Daye’s verse only compounds the song’s evocative punch, representing the potential pitfalls of a relationship: “And now you’re mad at me, hard feelings and tragedy / Feeling are bad for me, oh, bad for me / ‘Cause I end up shattering all / I stay even if it changes.”

Also Tuesday, Chiiild announced that Better Luck In The Next Life will arrive on March 3.

In November, Chiiild dropped his adventurous single “Bon Voyage” and provided insight into the larger themes that will be found on the album: “My aim with [Better Luck In The Next Life] is to give you a look inside my mind. Into the doubts, fears, ambitions, and a few connections along the way. It was a form of healing, putting these real situations into songs. When everybody is out here on the same thing, we’re just out here levitating.”

Listen to “Good For Now” above.

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Genesis Owusu Shares The Colorful Video For The Groovy ‘Get Inspired’

Genesis Owusu‘s “Get Inspired” is possibly the catchiest song to end up in an ad. You may have heard it while scrolling TikTok and coming across a clip for Apple Fitness+; the groovy chorus makes it impossible to skip. The track follows the 2021 release of his debut LP Smiling With No Teeth, which won Album of the Year at the Australian Recording Industry Awards, and that was only one of four awards he took home that night.

He’s back now with a video for “Get Inspired.” Directed by Babekuhl and Chris Yee, the video is chaotic and entrancing, full of bursting color and glitches. The dancing is plentiful to the absurdly infectious, energetic hook: “Shawty, get inspired / How ’bout that / How ’bout that this time.”

In July of last year, the Ghana native released “GTFO,” a metaphorical song about ambition and desperation. “There are many people like Roach. Strugglers, doing whatever they can to get through hell and high water,” Owusu explained in a statement at the time. “Bankruptcy, depression, sickness; God himself can try to stand in the way, but a struggler has to keep struggling. And a Roach has to keep Roaching. Even when it’s told to GTFO.”

Watch the video for “Get Inspired” above.

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Cordae Hasn’t Commented On Naomi Osaka’s Pregnancy Announcement, But His Fans Are Really Excited

As Uproxx’s October 2022 cover star, Cordae teased his next project. “I wouldn’t compare it to anything, but it’s going to be vulnerable, bro,” the 25-year-old rapper (and TED Talk speaker) said. Cordae is definitely in for his most incomparable, vulnerable chapter yet, but it has nothing to do with his discography.

Naomi Osaka, the tennis great whom Cordae has been dating since 2019, announced today, January 11, that she’s expecting her first child. (She withdrew from the Australian Open earlier this week.)

“The past few years have been interesting to say the least, but I find that its the most challenging times in life that may be the most fun,” Osaka, 25, wrote on Instagram alongside an ultrasound. “These few months away from the sport has really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I’ve dedicated my life to. I realize that life is so short and I don’t take any moments for granted, everyday is a new blessing and adventure. I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom,’ haha.

The four-time grand slam champion continued, “2023 will be a year that’ll be full of lessons for me and I hope I’ll see you guys in the start of the next one cause I’ll be at Aus 2024. Love you all infinitely. Sidenote : I don’t think there’s a perfectly correct path to take in life but I always felt that if you move forward with good intentions you’ll find your way eventually.”

Cordae has yet to comment, but his fans are taking it upon themselves to handle the public celebration. The three-time Grammy nominee is trending on Twitter because of the hilarious reactions. And while Cordae was teasing new music just months ago, some fans are questioning whether he will rap again after this news.

See some of the best tweets below.

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

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Kaash Paige’s ‘All Girls Cry’ Video Finds Her Sitting In The Pain

Kaash Paige recently spoke with Uproxx about reconnecting with her hometown Dallas and realizing, “Whatever is meant for you is always gonna happen.” In her “All Girls Cry” video, Kaash bears out that sentiment. The moody visual perfectly mirrors the message within her Soundtrack 2 My Life single.

“You just know what to do with it / I just know and I pursue it / All girls cry, all girls cry,” Kaash coos. Her eyes are hidden by sunglasses but her heart is fully exposed. Sitting alone inside of an all-red room, she’s willing to sit in her uncomfortable emotions and observations. “You just play with my mind like no other, baby, why would you do that?” she poses in the introspective first verse.

The second verse zooms out the lens — “so many girls cry every night” — but still hinges on a relationship that’s painfully unresolved. Despite her tears and unanswered questions, Kaash would do it all again. “Come and hold me tonight, I know you miss this,” she sings.

“I’m not trying to be toxic,” Kaash additionally told Uproxx last month. “I might just have a little bit too much honesty in me, and it comes off [toxic] to certain people. But I feel like when people call me ‘toxic R&B princess’ or whatever – that was a cool era, but right now I’m in my rockstar era. I’m in my alternative R&B era where it’s like, if you still think it’s toxic, that’s how you perceive it. But I’m not going for that.”

Kaash’s S2ML era has included the release of singles “Doubted Me,” “Miss My Dawgs” featuring 6lack, and “24 Hrs” featuring Lil Tjay. Around the album’s November release, Kaash announced the Me Vs Myself Tour, her first headlining tour. The nine-date trek begins on January 27 in Oakland, California. Tickets are available here.

Watch the “All Girls Cry” video above.

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These Were 2022’s Most-Streamed Songs Across All Platforms

Last year was full of great songs. Many acts returned with long-awaited new material, from hitmakers Beyonce and Blackpink to indie bands Alvvays and Big Thief. Records were broken by pop powerhouses such as Harry Styles with Harry’s House and Taylor Swift with Midnights.

Today, January 11, the Billboard Charts Twitter account shared the most-streamed songs across all platforms. Coming in at No. 1 is “Industry Baby” by Lil Nas X featuring Jack Harlow with 877.2 million streams. Following is Styles’ “As It Was” with 763.4 million. Then, there’s the Glass Animals hit “Heat Waves,” which was revived after being released in 2020, followed by “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from the film Encanto.

At No. 5 is “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons and JID, followed by Justin Bieber and The Kid Laroi’s “Stay.” Kodak Black’s “Super Gremlin” is at No. 7. Future, Drake, and Tems take No. 8 with “Wait For U.” “Me Porto Bonito” by Bad Bunny and Chencho Corleone follow, and finally Bad Bunny takes the next spot as well with “Titi Me Pregunto.”

It’s no surprise Bad Bunny takes up two spots on this list — “Spotify Wrapped” deemed him the world’s most-streamed artist of last year. Meanwhile, he also got a nod from Apple Music, who named him their 2022 Artist Of The Year.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Jeremy Strong Is Even More Committed While Playing Kendall Roy On ‘Succession’ Than Previously Reported

In late 2021, The New Yorker published a head-turning profile of Jeremy Strong, the very serious actor who gained fame as Kendall, the very serious son on the very funny HBO drama Succession. The piece painted Strong as more than just committed; it showed that he had a habit of staying in character, which perplexed and even slightly annoyed some of his castmates. The profile earned a fair amount of pushback for making him seem like a bit of a weirdo when he simply takes his job seriously. Now it turns out he’s a bit more committed to the role than previously reported.

In a new interview with W Magazine (in a bit teased out by The AV Club), Strong talks about his last year’s very good film Armageddon Time, in which he plays a sometimes explosive father to a kid growing up in early ‘80s Queens. His starmaking show, set to return in sometime in the spring, inevitably came up, which is when he supplied a piece of his methodology not known before.

“I don’t know if it’s a skill or secret, but fashion is a passion,” Strong revealed. “I pick out all the wardrobe for Kendall Roy, my character in Succession, and I live in those clothes when we’re shooting the show. The clothes maketh the man, and aesthetics are so personal.”

That green turtleneck with the trying-too-hard-to-be-hip chain he wears in the hilarious Season 3 episode “Too Much Birthday”? Presumably his idea.

Strong also reveals going to unusual lengths for his Armageddon Time role. (Note: We already knew he learned how to fix a refrigerator for it.) The film is inspired by an incident in director James Gray’s childhood, which meant Strong was effectively playing his dad. He had trouble getting a lock on the character, but one way in was finding the voice. Gray, he said, was “hesitant to reveal too much, so Strong came up with a creative solution: He gave Gray’s wife and daughter a tape recorder and “deputized them as researchers.”

“I was able to get a few hours of his father speaking and answering the Proust questionnaire,” Strong revealed, referring to a parlor game popularized by legendary French essayist and novelist Marcel Proust involving a list of 35 probing questions, like “What is your greatest fear?” “Actually, the first night I met James, we went to Shun Lee, and I asked him to answer the Proust questionnaire as Irving, his father. His answers were uncannily exact to when his father then answered it himself. So I got a composite picture and a visceral sense of who he was.”

In other words, Strong will go even more above and beyond than you thought.

(Via W Magazine and The AV Club)

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‘Abbott Elementary’ Is Coming Back For A Third School Year

After scoring three Golden Globes Tuesday night, earning the devotion of millions of fans, and delighting the entire world, Abbott Elementary has capped off Awards Season with an official renewal for season three. This may be the least surprising news of the day, but it’s also the best. Creator/star Quinta Brunson‘s antidote to 2022 deserves at least six seasons and a movie.

For the unenrolled, Abbott Elementary is an Office-esque “documentary” comedy set in a Philadelphia school where a group of teachers struggle through red tape and a lack of funds while trying to do right by their students. It’s been hailed as eerily accurate as a depiction of teaching life, and Brunson has mined comedy gold from everyday problems inside the classroom. The show took home the award for Best TV Comedy, Brunson won for Best TV Comedy Actress, and her co-star Tyler James Williams won for Best TV Supporting Actor. Now they have a renewal to celebrate.

“This renewal is a richly deserved feather in the cap of Quinta Brunson, Justin Halpern, Patrick Schumacker and Randall Einhorn, as well as the rest of the cast and crew of ‘Abbott Elementary,’” Channing Dungey, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Television Group, told Variety. “Each week, this talented group of artists celebrates true unsung heroes — public school teachers. And for some extra icing on the renewal cake, our favorite group of teachers was honored this morning with two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and last night with three Golden Globe Awards. ‘Abbott Elementary’ is the gift that keeps on giving, and I look forward to many more magnificent episodes of this brilliant, authentic and just plain funny series.”

(via Variety)