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The Oscars began with a joke about The Slap, and we heard a few others along the way, but by and large, this year’s broadcast avoided that vibe. Executive producer Molly McNearny had forecasted as much (the hope to be comedic and move on) before the broadcast. She’s now revealing that there was actually much more in the works, and these jokes would have been more cutthroat.

However, McNearny is letting the world know that Kimmel and his writing crew decided to pull back for a few reasons. That includes moving past the incident (which is still fueling offshoot drama), so that this year’s show could stand on its own, and also, they wanted to defer to Chris Rock to tell the “harder” jokes. He certainly did that a week prior while taking the gloves off for his Selective Outrage special. Here’s why that decision happened, via Variety:

Kimmel and his writers decided not to go harder with slap jokes because they felt it was Chris Rock’s story to tell. “We didn’t want to make this year all about last year,” McNearney said. “I cannot tell you how many Will Smith jokes we had that then we got rid of. We think that only the best for that room made it. There were certainly some that went harder, but we didn’t think that was our place to do that. That should be Chris Rock, not us.

“But we really liked the idea of making fun of the reaction to it last year,” she added. “I think we’re all still in a bit of shock of how that went.”

Fair enough. That Slap may have saved the Oscars the year prior, but it makes sense that the broadcast would want to prove that it could pull in viewership without that brand of drama. As well, Walt Disney TV alternative head Rob Mills told Variety that he did worry about HBO pushing forth with their The Last Of Us finale on the same evening. “It felt like HBO was saying ‘We’re not scared of the Oscars,’” Mills suggested. However, Mills also insisted, “Our ratings are up. I think we’ve proven that the Oscars are still the defining event in entertainment TV during the season.”

Perhaps the Oscar ratings are “up” over last year (with over 18 million viewers on broadcast night), but The Last Of Us ratings could be even higher when the final numbers shake out. And both entities are doing just fine, which is a fine place to be in the TV and film realm.

(Via Variety)

Garth Brooks is one of the most successful musicians of all time. He has the most diamond-certified albums ever with nine (The Beatles are in second with six). His Garth Brooks World Tour that concluded in 2017 sold 6.3 million tickets, the most ever for a North American tour. He’s also the best-selling solo artist in history when it comes to RIAA certifications. If you want to stream his music, though, you’re out of luck if you use Spotify, Apple Music, or any other platform besides Amazon Music.

In 2016, he signed an exclusive deal with Amazon to bring his music to streaming. Now, he has elaborated on what he saw in Amazon that he didn’t in other services.

As Digital Music News reports, at the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville yesterday (March 13), Brooks said that it has to do with Amazon’s ability to sell physical releases of albums and how that benefits songwriters like himself:

“The fact is that Amazon is a retailer as well. So you can sign your streaming deal, but part of that streaming deal is to move those physical units so the songwriters get paid. And people, we can talk all day that ‘Garth went on to raise his kids, what a great…’ — Garth did that for himself. I stick up for the songwriters because I’m freakin’ one of them! Everything I do for the songwriters, I do for myself.

I’m the most selfish guy you’ve ever met, OK? But if we don’t take care of these songwriters, what do you guys have to play? It’s just tough, so that’s why I love partnering with [Amazon]. So the physical comes in, and nobody’s doing physical anymore. So these songwriters are still doing well.

And I hope that songwriters want to get a Garth Brooks cut. One, because I hope that they think that it would be cool. But two, right behind it closely, I hope it’s because they know that if you’re a Garth Brooks songwriter, you’re going to get paid.”

Given Brooks’ popularity, other platforms have tried to lure him. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek once even had a meeting with Brooks to try to get him on board. In 2017, Brooks said of Spotify and Apple Music:

“Spotify came in, Daniel Ek came down to sit with me, sweet man, I love Daniel, great guy. I think he gets a lot of crap. His parents were both street musicians — he’s a good guy who understands music, and I think he wants to help and believes 100 percent he’s helping.

Apple’s a little different story. They came in with their own set of rules, and if you’re already established, you have to change to get to them. I’m never going to change to fit their rules. Nice guys, we have respect for each other, we’re just never going to work together. So we were kind of dead in the water. Then out of the blue, thank God, Amazon shows up and wants to get into the streaming business. The views they shared seemed to correlate with the views we shared.”

In the battle between dragons and not-zombies, the Infected have prevailed.

The Last of Us season one finale was seen by 8.2 million night-off viewers across all platforms (HBO or HBO Max), making it the show’s most-watched episode to date even though it aired at the same time as the Academy Awards. The first six episodes of The Last of Us are now averaging 30.4 million viewers, with the premiere nearly at 40 million viewers. Those are even bigger numbers than the spin-off to HBO’s most successful show ever:

The 30.4 million figure, should it hold as more returns come in on the final three episodes, would mean that The Last of Us is bigger than House of the Dragon, which averaged 29 million cross-platform viewers over the course of its run in the late summer and fall of 2022.

The Last of Us is bringing in more eyeballs than House of the Dragon (not this one, though), but it has a long way to go to catch up to Game of Thrones.

The “cumulative audience of 30.4 million is the biggest for any HBO series since the final season of Game of Thrones averaged better than 44 million viewers in 2019,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Except unlike the final season of Thrones, people actually enjoyed The Last of Us season one.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

The White Stripes is one of the most beloved rock bands of its era and “Seven Nation Army” is a bona fide classic. The band is carried by Jack White’s distinct voice and his often-aggressive guitar, as well as by Meg White’s relatively simple drumming style, the latter of which has often been criticized. A Twitter user revived that discourse recently and The Roots drummer and music historian Questlove was not hearing it.

Late last night/early this morning (March 14), Questlove shared a tweet from a user that read, “The tragedy of the White Stripes is how great they would’ve been with a half decent drummer. Yeah yeah I’ve heard all the ‘but it’s a carefully crafted sound mannnn!’ takes. I’m sorry Meg White was terrible and no band is better for having sh*tty percussion.”

To that, he responded, “I try to leave ‘troll views’ alone but this right here is out of line af. Actually what is wrong w music is people choking the life out of music like an Instagram filter—trying to reach a high of music perfection that doesn’t even serve the song (or music).” He added in another tweet, “This is why I walk that Dilla path and play like a drunken sloppy af amateur because them flaws is the human element in music that is missing. Real film >>>>>>> IG filter photo.”

In a 2002 interview, Meg White said of the criticism she faced, “I appreciate other kinds of drummers who play differently, but it’s not my style or what works for this band. I get [criticism] sometimes, and I go through periods where it really bothers me. But then I think about it, and I realize that this is what is really needed for this band. And I just try to have as much fun with it as possible.”

After an epic Hollywood comeback—including a momentous Oscar win—could the well of heartwarming, inspiring Brendan Fraser stories run dry?

Of course not. It’s Brendan Fraser.

Granted, this anecdote is technically from 2007, but thanks to it recently being shared by FX artist Dave Rand, it’s like the world is now privy to a whole new layer of Fraser’s enduring kindness.

In a lengthy two-part Twitter post, Rand detailed how his special effects crew for “Journey to the Center of the Earth” had nearly been robbed of $1.3 million dollars worth of work.

“In November 2007 our paychecks stopped,” he wrote. Meteor Studios, the company producing the film, had convinced Rand and his crew to complete their work on the handful of shots left, guaranteeing that they’d be compensated with overtime.

Then, the studio filed for bankruptcy. “As soon as we delivered the last shot, we were escorted out. It was two weeks before Christmas and we’d soon learn there was no money,” Rand said.

Rand had tried to share his plight with Hollywood news outlets, to no avail. Even Variety rejected him, saying “another visual effects company going bankrupt, however sad, is really not newsworthy at this time.”Even trying to publish their own press release was met with threats.

Desperate, Rand attempted reaching out to Fraser, who was the star and a producer on the film. Or rather, he tried to contact Fraser’s “people.” According to Rand, “they said they’d tell him, they did not.”

Finally, thanks to gossip column Page Six, Fraser actually did see what was happening. And he immediately called Rand.

“My phone rang as I was reading the piece, a 212 area code, I answered to thank the girl, but a man answered and he said. ‘Is this Dave Rand?’ I said ‘Yes,’” he wrote. “’This is Brendan Fraser, what the f**k is going on?’”

Rand continued, “He had no idea that artists were not paid on his movie. He listened intently, asked a lot of questions and promised he would call me regularly until this was solved.”

Fraser publicly campaigned for the artist, starting with a tell-all with The Post. Two years later, the crew got 80% of what they were owed.

Rand concluded with perhaps the world’s most accurate statement:

“Brendan Fraser is a righteous dude.”

#BrendanFraser is a righteous dude.

In November 2007 our paychecks stopped. I was the FX lead on #JourneyToTheCenterOfTheEarth for Meteor Studios in Montreal and was asked to convince my crew to stay and finish the picture with a guarantee we’d all get paid with overtime. We had… https://t.co/DmQUIEAkMQ pic.twitter.com/1jegFlWECd

— Dave Rand (@daverandla) March 13, 2023

It’s all too often that artists do not get paid what they deserve for the work they do. That goes especially for those who work in crafts that aren’t exactly the center of attention. Fraser using his celebrity to offer these people some leverage in a dire situation is reason #132 why he’s seriously the coolest guy in Hollywood.

Prior to the season, not many would’ve circled Bucks-Kings on the calendar in March and expected it to produce one of the more intense and exciting games of the season, but that’s what we got in Sacramento on Monday night.

The top-seed in the East and the three-seed in the West went toe-to-toe, with Milwaukee coming back from a double digit deficit to win the game 133-124, but not before some fireworks in the final minute. After a physical game, Giannis Antetokounmpo was dribbling the clock out when he cut across the court towards the Bucks bench in front of Trey Lyles. Lyles decided to reach in and try to poke the ball away, fouling Giannis and then shoving him away.

Brook Lopez took exception to that and got in Lyles face, which led to Lyles mushing Lopez’s face and sparking a brawl. Lyles appeared to have his hand on Lopez’s neck while Brook had a firm grip of Lyles’ head that he would not let go of, pushing Lyles and a pile of bodies onto the scorers table as everyone tried to pry and incensed Lopez away.

Lopez had been running hot for a bit, as he had taken a shot to the eye that had him bleeding earlier in the fourth and that fire was still smoldering when Lyles put his hand in his face and that led to Brook snapping. Lopez is a very large individual and it took a lot of people to separate the two, with Lopez eventually getting escorted back to the Bucks bench. You don’t often see the Bucks center get that mad, but he and Lyles both earned their ejections just prior to the end of the game, with Milwaukee coming out ahead with the win.

Latto can’t help but be a constant topic across social media. Instead of fighting it, the “Lottery” rapper is learning to change the tide of the online chatter to fit her needs. Whether she’s putting her cooking skills on full display each and every Sunday evening for her Soul Food Sundays segment on TikTok or just taking a moment to chat with fans, the entertainer manages to fit in some time to browse online in between her recording sessions for her forthcoming projects.

Now, the musician is using her latest guest feature on Chicago rapper Mello Buckzz’s song “Mouskatool” to subtly clap back haters. Back in January, Latto went head-to-head with an online troll that accused her of wearing the same cheetah print panties. After recording a video of her intimates drawer, revealing her dozens of both washed and unopened leopard print undies, Latto took it a step further by listing the underwear she was photographed in on eBay. Before the listing was removed for violating the site’s used garment policy, it garnered over $100k in bids.

However, bringing the moment full circle, during the video shot for “Mouskatool,” proudly sports another cheetah print thong as her designer denim jeans sit halfway off of her voluptuous derriere. Although Latto doesn’t mention the panties directly, she holds nothing back as she twerks for the film crew, putting the article of clothing on full display.

Watch the clips below.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra are preparing to release the double album V. Singles “Layla,” “I Killed Captain Cook,” “Nadja,” “That Life,” and “Weekend Run” have all been shared so far and portray an exciting record, and today they’ve unveiled the newest one, “Meshuggah.”

“Meshuggah” is an idiosyncratic glimpse of the record, with a buzzy atmosphere and distorted vocals from bandleader Ruban Nielson: “I know what people say / And I know much sweeter days / And I know I’m out of my mind / Darlin’ reach out to me.” Sonically and lyrically, it feels spiritual: “Your enemies are fierce and foul / Energy is peace and power / Darling only know / You give meshuggah,” he sings.

In a statement about the LP, Nielson said, “In Hawaii, everything shifted off of me and my music. Suddenly, I was spending more time figuring out what others need and what my role is within my family. I also learned that things I thought were true of myself are bigger than I thought. My way of making mischief – that’s not just me — that’s my whole Polynesian side. I thought I was walking away from music to focus on family, but the two ended up connecting.”

Listen to “Meshuggah” above.

V is out 3/17 via Jagjaguwar. Pre-order it here.

This year’s Oscars were a feel-good, slap-free affair, short on controversy or shocks. Even a lot of the wins were straight-up heartwarming. Not all was peaceful. Some didn’t care for host Jimmy Kimmel’s odd Robert Blake joke. The In Memoriam segment featured a ton of glaring omissions. One of the strangest things happened before the red show, on the red carpet, when a reporter tried — and failed — to get Hugh Grant to care about being interviewed. Now she’s responding.

The erstwhile Paddington baddie was very clearly not in the mood for light banter when engaged by model-turned-red carpet interviewer Ashley Graham. She asked him some very basic awards show questions. He was powerfully disinterested. When asked what he likes about attending the Oscars, he stammered for several seconds, then made some vaguely sarcastic to Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. Was he rooting for anyone to win? Nope. Who was he wearing? “I can’t remember my tailor,” he replied. What about being in Glass Onion? He pointed out that he was in it for about three seconds.

Throughout the encounter, Graham was a trooper, consistently pleasant with him, and she gave him four tries before politely sending him on his way. When asked about the run-in by TMZ the following day, she had a succinct response. “You know what, my mama told me to kill people with kindness,” she replied. “So there you go.”

Lesson being: If Hugh Grant clearly doesn’t want to talk to you, just take the high road, smile, and try to let him ditch you as soon as it’s polite to do so.

(Via TMZ and The Daily Beast)

When someone wins a Powerball lottery jackpot, they aren’t the only ones who get a cash prize. The store that sells the winning ticket also receives a cash bonus for selling the winning ticket. The amount of the reward varies depending on the state and the total amount of the lottery, but it can end up being a significant chunk of change.

On February 6, a Fred Meyer store in Auburn, Washington, sold the winning ticket for the $754.6 million Powerball jackpot—the fifth largest Powerball amount ever seen. As a bonus for selling the ticket, the Fred Meyer store received a check for $50,000.

But instead of pocketing the cash, the Kroger-owned store turned around and gave it to the Auburn Food Bank.

The donation was made in honor of the company’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste program, which includes a goal to donate 3 billion meals to local communities by 2025. According to the City of Auburn, that $50,000 will provide approximately 66,000 meals in the area.

Naturally, the food bank was grateful to the Fred Meyer store for the unexpected gift.

“Hunger and food insecurity are critical issues across the state and partnerships like this one with Fred Meyer and QFC aim to shrink the numbers of people facing food insecurity,” Debbie Christian, executive director of the Auburn Food Bank, told KING5 News.

Despite passing along the entirety of the lottery reward, employees of the Fred Meyer store will still benefit from the sale of the winning ticket, thanks to their generous company headquarters.

“It’s always good to give back and today everyone wins,” Fred Meyer President Todd Kammeyer said in a statement. “In addition to this donation, Fred Meyer is giving $10,000 to the store for our associates to celebrate.”

As for the winner of the $754.6 million jackpot? Well, she has a fun story, too.

Becky Bell is a supply chain analyst for The Boeing Company, which just delivered its last 747 jumbo jet at the end of January. Bell has worked for the aircraft giant for 36 years and was planning to retire in June. When she saw that the Powerball estimate was $747 million while on a trip to the store with her daughter on February 5, she took it as a sign.

“That’s when it hit me…I had to buy one more ticket,” said Bell, according to a Washington Lottery press release.

That second ticket she bought was the sole winner of the jackpot, which ended up being over $7 million more than the estimated $747 million. But at first, she didn’t know. When she scanned her ticket and it said it was a winner, all she knew was that she had won at least $600, “which was pretty exciting,” she said. She’d never won more than $20 in her life.

Then she checked the numbers and realized she had all of them—the whole jackpot. She had to call her daughters, sisters and mom to double, triple and quadruple-check that she had the right numbers.

“The funny thing was my mom misheard me when I told her how much I won,” said Bell, who said she would help take care of her family members. “She said ‘Seven million…that’s great, honey. Everyone can have a million.’ Then I had to say, ‘No, mom, seven HUNDRED million dollars. Pretty soon, everyone was crying.”

After choosing to receive her winnings in one lump sum instead of gradual payments over 29 years, Bell will take home almost $309.5 million. She has moved her retirement date up to the end of March, staying on long enough to finish training her replacement at Boeing.

So much winning all around.