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While Marvel fans can’t wait to see Chiwetel Ejiofor return as Baron Mordo in the sequel to Doctor Strange (which is gonna be awhile), the actor will appear in another piece of comic book fare when The Old Guard arrives in July. Obviously, the Netflix Original will be a much different experience than the CGI-heavy Marvel movie with its sorcerer battles and ancient demons, but Ejiofor tells Comic Book that the characters are what truly separates Doctor Strange and The Old Guard, which focuses on a team of immortal warriors led by Charlize Theron.

“These characters have a different set of attractions for me, I guess,” he said. “And there’s something about this that’s very, kind of, it’s very grounded. These are people who aren’t, who don’t celebrate their gifts at all. You know, that actually their immortality they carry as a kind of burden, which is quite an interesting way into this, into the story.”

Unlike Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange, Ejiofor’s Old Guard character isn’t defined by a strict code, which allows him to be more multi-faceted.

“My character, Copley, is very, he’s complex,” Ejiofor said. “I have a great deal of empathy for the character, you know, because of what he has gone through, but he’s obviously crossing all of these moral and ethical lines in the way that he is behaving and what he’s getting drawn into.”

Here’s the official synopsis:

Led by a warrior named Andy (Charlize Theron), a covert group of tight-knit mercenaries with a mysterious inability to die have fought to protect the mortal world for centuries. But when the team is recruited to take on an emergency mission and their extraordinary abilities are suddenly exposed, it’s up to Andy and Nile (KiKi Layne), the newest soldier to join their ranks, to help the group eliminate the threat of those who seek to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary. Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Greg Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, THE OLD GUARD is a gritty, grounded, action-packed story that shows living forever is harder than it looks.

The Old Guard hits Netflix on July 10.

(Via Comic Book)

The killing of George Floyd by police in Minnesota has sparked a cascade of responses in America, starting with massive protests against police brutality and a renewed effort for civil rights for Black and Brown people in the United States. One of those major efforts is seeing police actually prosecuted for their wrongdoings, starting with the man who killed Floyd and the officers who did nothing (while Floyd had a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes).

The man in charge of that case is Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison, who many have publicly pleaded with to convict the officers to the fullest of his abilities. Hasan Minhaj did just that on Patriot Act earlier this month, directly addressing the prosecutor because, in his words, he knew he was watching the show.

And it turns out he was, which is why (on Friday) Netflix released a full interview between the two from the Minnesota AG’s office about the case and the Second Civil Rights Movement in America. The video begins with Minhaj’s initial plea and a brief explanation of what happened: Ellison and his wife were watching the show, which he says he’s a big fan of, and he was shocked when the comedian directly addressed him. It was his wife and a number of other people who reached out to Minhaj at Ellison’s request that apparently made it all happen.

With that out of the way Minhaj starts hot, asking directly if the police are going to jail for “40 years or more” for killing Floyd.

“I don’t know,” Ellison said. “And I can’t say.”

From there, though, they talk about the complexities of the case, including Ellison’s decision to file increased charges against Derek Chauvin and the other three officers. The half-hour interview also covers Ellison’s personal experience with police brutality as a Black man in America and his perspective on pleas for police reform from U.S. protesters. The episode is intense, as are the circumstances in the highly public case that will be watched worldwide as it moves forward. But it’s as much insight as we’ve seen into what’s become the biggest murder case in America and a symbolic measure of justice in a world that’s hopefully changing for the better.

After garnering a fanbase from his self-released EP of demos back in 2018, Dominic Fike is gearing up to make his major-label debut. The singer has been teasing his upcoming album’s lead single since he first performed it live in 2019. Now, Fike finally breaks ground with the sultry song “Chicken Fingers.”

Directed by Jack Begert, Fike’s “Chicken Tenders” takes the singer on a surreal journey out of bed. Over a lulling beat, Fike details a passionate night in his hotel room with a girl and an appetizing plate of chicken wings.

“Chicken Tenders” was supposed to arrive two weeks ago, but Fike chose to delay its release in light of the protests against police brutality. Instead, Fike shared a powerful essay of his own experiences facing police violence. “My life has felt cursed since I was a little kid,” he wrote. “I’ve watched police, the supposed good guys, beat my mom and take her away. I’ve watched my brothers taken away. Aunts, Uncles. Sh*t, my dad just got 20. It’s like they had a problem with my family. I’ve since realized the real curse is the system we live in is designed fun us to lose, again and again.”

Fike went on to explain that he was charged with a felony after attempting to diffuse a situation between a police officer and his younger brother. Because of his felony, Fike said he will never be allowed to tour in the UK. “I can’t go to so many places, because of a decision this asshole made out of spite,” he wrote. “None of these decisions were based on trying to help us, they wanted us to disappear.”

Listen to “Chicken Tenders” above.

It’s pretty remarkable there wasn’t a sequel to David Dobkins’ Wedding Crashers. If you don’t remember, it was an actual sensation. The Office even did an episode based on its plot. There were ripoff reality shows based on the idea of crashing weddings. And yet, the temptation to do another one was resisted. It’s kind of a miracle there isn’t two bad sequels. And Dobkins says the Monday after that opening weekend, the money was on the table, but there just wasn’t a story that didn’t feel like a complete retread of the first film. But, as he says ahead, he finally has an idea that he likes for a second Wedding Crashers.

In the meantime, Dobkins new film, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (on Netflix as you read this) reunites him with two of his Wedding Crashers stars, Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. Ferrell and McAdams play Icelandic musicians who, through a series of unusual events, wind up as the Icelandic representatives at the Eurovision competition. (And this movie is just a ball. A ball!) Dobkin and Ferrell have been trying for years to reunite on something (he tells us about a couple of the failed attempts), but when this script got to him, frankly he had no idea Eurovision was even real – and even suggested a title change fearing no one would buy it.

I will say, being inside a lot lately, when your movie showed up it was just pure joy.

Aw, that’s perfect, man. That’s exactly what I would have wanted.

This isn’t the first time with one of your movies. When Wedding Crashers came out I had just moved to New York and had no friends, so I just kept seeing that over and over.

They’re your buddies.

Yes, those were my two friends when I first moved here.

John and Jeremy.

And now Eurovision is helping me through a pandemic.

That is really kind of the most special thing as a filmmaker you can hear, to be honest.

Really?

That somebody found a moment, not even just with the movie, but just there’s a moment in their life that fit in with the film that made it special and unique. It really is the most gratifying version of somebody enjoying it.

I’m actually surprised this is the first big movie about Eurovision, at least marketed to American audiences…

Oh my God, me too. Look, I was shocked as well. I kept saying it to Netflix, I’m like, “I can’t even believe that we’re the first people here.” Look, I was lucky. Will and I had been looking for something for 15 years and we’ve been very close on a couple of things, but they didn’t pan out for one reason or another. And when I got sent this script my agent said, “It’s a song contest movie.” And I was like, “Absolutely not. Pass.” And he was like, “Well, Will sent it to you and he wants you to read it. He wrote it.” And I said, “Oh, well, if it’s Will, I’ll read it, but I’m probably not doing this.”

And when I finished the script I said, “Look, it’s really good. I think I’m going to want to do it, but we have to change the title. This is a ridiculous title.” And there was silence on the end of the phone, and my agent said, “David, I think this is a real contest. You can’t change it.” And I was like, “What?” So I literally googled it and then I was like, “Oh my God. What is this?“

You mentioned you and Will tried to get a couple of things going and they didn’t happen. What was one?

We were making Neighborhood Watch together at Fox at one point and it was really exciting. I loved that movie. It later became The Watch, with Ben and Vince. But when we were doing it, the script was amazing, and it just seemed like it was going to be a really fun ride. And I just think budgetarily, we could never agree with the studio. They wanted it to be $50 million and we were at $70 million and I really wanted to make it Ghostbusters. I wanted it to be scary and fun and the aliens to be really unique, and they saw something with people in costumes and masks, and we could never quite come together with that.

It almost seems like a good thing that you didn’t make it? I realize your vision of it would have been something different, but if I remember correctly that movie got caught up in tragic real-world events.

Oh my God, I remember that.

That’s why they had to change the name.

Was that the George Zimmerman moment?

Yeah. It was.

Holy shit. I totally forgot about that, man. Yeah. I’m happy to not have been a part of that.

So that probably would have happened no matter what the movie was.

Look, I’m always concerned for movies, even right now, Mulan, which friends of mine made. And I know the movie happens to be really freaking good, and it’s just so sad right now. You’re like, “God, what is going to happen to that movie right now?” In this environment. This country’s going through, as far as racism and finally acknowledging our true responsibilities for our own past. And that minorities in this country are oppressed through financial inequality, amongst many other things. And now you finally have a movie with all Chinese cast and a Chinese lead and we’re in the middle of this thing and we have a president who is saying the most ridiculous, terrible shit every day.

Yes. Making racist jokes about the pandemic.

I’m concerned. Yes. I’m concerned for that movie because of that, exactly.

And then on top of that, if you go to a theater right now, you could catch a deadly virus and die.

Oh, that’s right. On top of that, you may die from going to the movies.

Yes. Don’t forget that part.

You do forget, by the way. That’s what’s sad.

When I mentioned earlier how many times I saw Wedding Crashers in theaters, how did that not get an immediate sequel? I’m actually impressed it doesn’t have one.

Thank you for saying that.

Oh, why is that?

Because you know what, man? They asked us to do it. I mean, they asked us to do it by Monday morning of opening weekend! And they put a king’s ransom on the table for us to say yes. And the couple times we sat down and hashed it out — Vince and Owen and I, by the way, we spent a couple of afternoons laughing our asses off, but in the long run, I was like, it’s the same movie. I don’t want to make the same movie again. It just felt like we worked really hard and we had a target in mind. It was almost like I led the battle of the bulge and we succeeded, and any good movie is really hard to pull off. And it just seemed really unlikely that we were going to make people as happy again the second time, especially at that point.

I would get a call every year, had I thought about it? Every year around July 15th, “Have you thought about maybe wanting to do this?” And I’m like, “I would do it. It’s that I don’t have a better movie to make or a movie that I think would be as good.” And about four years ago, I hung up the phone after saying no and I was like, you know what? Two guys that are in their mid to late 40s, that all of a sudden find themselves single again and have a skillset for that? But it’s actually a skillset that’s not going to work for them anymore? They’re kind of too old for this. I’m like, at least that’s a real story.

Right, so it’s actually a different story this time.

My friends that are in their late 40s who, either their marriages didn’t work out or they never even necessarily ended up with the girl that they wanted to marry. In either version, you can’t just have the life you want because you want it. And when you get later in age and you find that even going out dating is weird and strange and you’re looked at as a bit of an old man. I was like, that’s funny. How can we take that? That would be the story I would want to see of these two guys, and so we started hashing it out and we played around with it. It seems very promising. None of us feel like we need to go make the movie, we only would want to do it if we really thought we could nail it. But we’ve had conversations even recently. Owen and I connected last week and Vince and I connected the week before that, and there’s something that may be close. But we’re not going to move until we all agree if that ever happens. But that’s why we didn’t do it. I grew up remembering Jaws 2.

I literally just watched Jaws 2 for an interview.

Oh, that’s crazy, but that movie’s a mess. And my memories are of loving Jaws so much. And by the way, I was underage and too young to see that movie, I was six years old. But I remember two years later, or something, being eight years old, and at that point I had seen Star Wars and become a movie fanatic. And going to the theater so excited to have that experience again and being completely blue balled by it. I was like, “This sucks.” And that would happen over, and over, and over again with sequels, frankly. So sequels, for me, in my mind there were some good ones. We’ve all seen Godfather II.

The Empire Strikes Back.

The Empire Strikes Back, yeah. But we didn’t have that story yet. I think we may have it now. We’ll see, but we weren’t going to go make a shitty version and just cash out. I’m sure that my kids’ education would have been better off, been paid for.

I think The Hangover, the original The Hangover, is great.

It’s a classic.

And the other two, the response wasn’t as good, and I think it kind of brought down the whole thing with it because people kind of have a weird feeling towards The Hangover now.

I think it can color the original.

And Wedding Crashers is just a standalone comedy.

You’re taking advantage of an audience and promising the same thing and you’re not delivering it, and you know you’re not. And it’s like they have to keep buying the shittier and shittier version and I’m just not into that. And by the way, I thought actually Todd [Phillips] did a really good job with The Hangover sequels. They’re not the first movie and they can’t be. I felt at least the third one was a different kind of movie in a sense, and I kind of appreciated that.

The third one is definitely different.

But none the less, I do think that it’s really hard to make a sequel that’s going to be as good. Though, Austin Powers 2, I thought was better than Austin Powers, so they do happen.

‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ is available to stream via Netflix this weekend. You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Hip-hop is moving as fast as ever. Luckily, we’re doing the work to put the best new rap music in one place for you. This week, there were videos from Doja Cat, Aminé, and Jpegmafia. There were also new songs from Doja Cat and Jack Harlow featuring Lil Wayne, DaBaby, and Tory Lanez. Here’s the rest of the best new rap this week:

G-Eazy — “Had Enough”

There’s the diss song reply track, and there’s the “replying to my ex’s song about me” track. G-Eazy offered up the latter on “Had Enough,” sending a not-so-subliminal reference to Halsey’s “Without You” by rhyming “how could I forget about you?/ You wonder how I live without you, babe,” over glitzy synth play.

Guapdad 4000 — “Lil Scammer That Could” Feat. Denzel Curry

Guapdad 4000 and Denzel Curry turn up over a hypnotic James Delgado production on “Lil Scammer That Could.” The intensity of Guapdad’s verse belies his cool finesse god image, but it works all the same.

French Montana — “Straight To The Bag” Feat. LGP Qua

French Montana got with rising Philly SPITTER LGP Qua on “Straight To The Bag,” a Harry Fraud production that breathes new life into the titanic horns from Missy’s “Sock It To Me.” Qua is true to his lineage on the money-hungry track, rhyming with fervor about his paper chase.

Lecrae — “Deep End”

Lecrae speaks to the times on “Deep End,” a Foushee-sampling confessional from his upcoming Restoration album. He vocalizes the thoughts of many when he rhymes, “Me, I’m just tryna hold onto my peace / ‘Cause I’m liable to lose it and go get the piece.”

K Camp — “Friendly”

K Camp and Yung Bleu talk to the woman of their eye on “Friendly,” a sultry single that they paired with a colorful Nfluence and Creedlife-crafted video. The visual inadvertently shows the peril of the strip club scene as they toss dollars around on a dancer in a field.

YFN Lucci — “Wet (She Got That)”

YFN Lucci is looking to set the mood on “Wet (She Got That),” a sultry single that he also released a creative, steamy video for.

Apollo Brown — “Freedom“ Feat. Che Noir

Apollo Brown and Che Noir offered up another taste of what to expect from their upcoming As God Intended album on their “Freedom” single, where Che delves into pensive rhymes about the state of her native Buffalo — and America — rapping, “Get my family out the hood, the only reason that I’m stressin’ / small city but, n****s carry heat the size of precious.”

Meyhem Lauren & Harry Fraud — “Steamed Monkfish”

Mayhem Lauren dropped a video for his rugged “Steamed Monkfish” single, adding moonlit visuals to his Harry Fraud-scored track from their Glass 2.0 album. Glass 2.0 adds three original new to their original Glass album.

Blu & Exile — “Miles Davis”

Eight years after their last collaboration album, Blu and Exile are set to light up July 17th with their Miles: From An Interlude Called Life, double album. They offered up another appetizer in the form of a Zack Mack and Exile-directed video for the jazzy “Miles Davis.”

Jahmed — “TwoTen” (Remix) Feat. Mozzy and D Smoke

Jahmed got Mozzy and D Smoke to bolster the impact of his bouncy “TwoTen” single,’ a track from his TheBoofMobile album. The two MCs also joined him in the crimson-tinted video.

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

Are you sitting down? Good, because Netflix just rolled out their July lineup, and it’s full of action-packed shows and movies that will, literally, blow your mind. The weirdest superhero series on TV returns as The Umbrella Academy sends its dysfunctional, super-powered family back to the ’60s. Katherine Langford wields a legendary sword in a new YA fantasy series. And Charlize Theron heads up a group of immortal mercenaries in The Old Guard.

Oh yeah, and there are dozens more blockbusters and TV shows landing on the streaming platform this month, too.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix this July:

The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 (Netflix original series streaming 7/31)

The Hargreeves are heading back in time to ’60s-era Texas, but really, with how deliciously weird this superhero series is, should we even be surprised? After Vanya (Elle Page) chipped off a bit of the moon and destroyed the world with her unstable powers, Number Five teleported the siblings back in time, and they have to stop another world-ending threat. First, though, they need to reunite with each other and sort out their sibling squabbles.

Cursed (Netflix original series streaming 7/17)

Katherine Langford ditches high school drama for an Arthurian adventure in this Frank Miller-created series based on a best-selling YA fantasy book. Langford plays Nimue, a powerful young woman (with a mysterious gift), who eventually becomes the legendary Lady of the Lake in the OG legend of King Arthur. But before that, she has a key role to play in the fight against the terrifying Red Paladins, who are destroying the kingdom, and she’ll need the help of a destined mercenary and Merlin to do it.

The Old Guard (Netflix film streaming 7/10)

Charlize Theron stars in this sci-fi action flick based on a popular graphic novel. Theron plays Andy, the leader of a cover group of mercenaries who never seem to die. They’ve been protecting the world from unseen threats for centuries, but when the world finally learns of their existence, they’re faced with a new fight — one to keep their enemies from replicating and monetizing their abilities.

Here’s the full list of titles coming to Netflix in July:

Avail. 7/1
AnneFrank: Parallel Stories
A Bridge Too Far
A Thousand Words
A Touch of Green: Season 1
A Walk to Remember
Abby Hatcher: Season 1
Airplane!
Ali
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
Charlotte’s Web
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Cleo & Cuquin: Season 2
Cloud Atlas
David Foster: Off the Record
Definitely, Maybe
Delta Farce
Donnie Brasco
Double Jeopardy
Fiddler on the Roof
Frida
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
Killing Hasselhoff
Kingdom: Season 1-3
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Mean Streets
Million Dollar Baby
Paranormal Activity
Red Riding Hood (2011)
Schindler’s List
Sleepless in Seattle
Sleepy Hollow
Spaceballs
Splice
Stand and Deliver
Stardust
Starsky & Hutch
Sucker Punch
Swordfish
The Art of War
The Devil’s Advocate
The F–k-It List
The Firm
The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid Part II
The Karate Kid Part III
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!
The Town
The Witches
This Christmas
Total Recall (1990)
Trotro
Winchester
Chico Bon Bon: Monkey with a Tool Belt: Season 2
Deadwind: Season 2
Say I Do (Netflix Original)
Under the Riccione Sun (Netflix Film)
Unsolved Mysteries (Netflix Documentary)

Avail. 7/2
Warrior Nun (Netflix Original)
Thiago Ventura: Pokas (Netflix Comedy Special)

Avail. 7/3
The Baby-Sitters Club: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
Cable Girls: Final Season Part 2 (Netflix Original)
Desperados (Netflix Film)
JU-ON: Origins (Netflix Original)
Southern Survival (Netflix Original)

Avail. 7/5
ONLY

Avail. 7/6
A Kid From Coney Island

Avail. 7/7
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax

Avail. 7/8
The Long Dumb Road
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix Documentary)
Stateless: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
What Is Love? (Netflix Original)
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Season 1

Avail. 7/9
Japan Sinks: 2020 *Netflix Anime
The Protector: Season 4 *Netflix Original

Avail. 7/10
The Claudia Kishi Club (Netflix Documentary)
Down to Earth with Zac Efron (Netflix Original)
The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants in Space (Netflix Family)
Dating Around: Brazil (Netflix Original)
The Old Guard (Netflix Film)
The Twelve (Netflix Original)

Avail. 7/14
The Business of Drugs *Netflix Documentary
On est ensemble (We Are One) *Netflix Documentary
Urzila Carlson: Overqualified Loser *Netflix Comedy Special

Avail. 7/15
Dark Desire (Netflix Original)
Gli Infedeli (The Players) (Netflix Film)
Skin Decisions: Before and After (Netflix Original)
Sunny Bunnies: Season 1-2

Avail. 7/16
Fatal Affair (Netflix Film)
Indian Matchmaking (Netflix Original)
MILF (Netflix Film)
Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Avail. 7/17
Boca a Boca (Kissing Game) (Netflix Original)
Cursed (Netflix Original)
Funan

Avail. 7/18
Gigantosaurus: Season 1
The Notebook

Avail. 7/19
The Last Dance

Avail. 7/20
Ashley Garcia: Genius in Love (Netflix Family)
How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast): Season 2 (Netflix Original)
Ip Man 4: The Finale
Jack Whitehall: I’m Only Joking (Netflix Comedy Special)
Street Food: Latin America (Netflix Documentary)

Avail. 7/22
61
Fear City: New York vs The Mafia (Netflix Documentary)
Love on the Spectrum (Netflix Documentary)
Norsemen: Season 3 (Netflix Original)
The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion
Signs (Netflix Original)
Spotlight

Avail. 7/23
The Larva Island Movie (Netflix Family)

Avail. 7/24
A Cantar (Sing On! Spain) (Netflix Original)
Animal Crackers (Netflix Film)
Dragons: Rescue Riders: Secrets of the Songwing (Netflix Family)
In the Dark: Season 2
The Kissing Booth 2 (Netflix Film)
Ofrenda a la tormenta (Netflix Film)

Avail. 7/26
Banana Split
Shameless: Season 10

Avail. 7/28
Jeopardy!: Collection 6
Last Chance U: Lany (Netflix Documentary)

Avail. 7/29
The Hater (Netflix Film)
Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons: Season 4 (Netflix Original)

Avail. 7/30
Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie
Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy (Netflix Anime)

Avail. 7/31
Get Even (Netflix Original)
Latte and the Magic Waterstone (Netflix Family)
Seriously Single (Netflix Film)
The Speed Cubers (Netflix Documentary)
Sugar Rush: Extra Sweet (Netflix Original)
The Umbrella Academy: Season 2 (Netflix Original)
Vis a Vis: El Oasis (Locked Up) (Netflix Original)

Here’s the full list of titles leaving Netflix in July:

Leaving 7/4
Blue Valentine

Leaving 7/5
The Fosters: Season 1-5
The Iron Lady

Leaving 7/8
Solo: A Star Wars Story

Leaving 7/9
47 Metres Down

Leaving 7/11
A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III
The Adderall Diaries
Enemy
Ginger & Rosa
Locke
The Spectacular Now
Under the Skin

Leaving 7/12
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain

Leaving 7/15
Forks Over Knives

Leaving 7/18
A Most Violent Year
Laggies
Life After Beth
Obvious Child
Room
Tusk

Leaving 7/21
Bolt
Inglourious Basterds

Leaving 7/25
Dark Places
Ex Machina
Mississippi Grind

Leaving 7/26
Country Strong

Leaving 7/28
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Her

Leaving 7/29
The Incredibles 2

Leaving 7/31
Back to the Future
Back to the Future Part II
Back to the Future Part III
Can’t Hardly Wait
Casper
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Chernobyl Diaries
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Freedom Writers
Godzilla
Guess Who
Hancock
Hitch
Jarhead
Jarhead 2: Field of Fire
Jarhead 3: The Siege
Open Season
QB1: Beyond the Lights: Season 1
Resident Evil: Extinction
Romeo Must Die
Salt
Scary Movie 2
Searching for Sugar Man
Sex and the City 2
Stuart Little
The Edge of Seventeen
The Interview
The Pianist
The Pursuit of Happyness
Twister
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

The 10 best Will Ferrell movies? That was easy. The 10 best Rachel McAdams movies? Way tougher. There are so many gems in her filmography: Mean Girls, Wedding Crashers, Midnight in Paris, Doctor Strange, Game Night, etc. And yet despite starring in a Best Picture winner (Spotlight), the Canadian actress is still probably best known for her role in The Notebook. No list of the best tear-jerking films is complete without the 2004 romantic-drama, and its most famous scene, McAdams’ rain-soaked kiss with co-star Ryan Gosling, inspired Kobe Bryant to buy the dress for his wife, Vanessa.

While appearing on Access Hollywood, McAdams recalled the time the basketball legend, who tragically passed away earlier this year in a helicopter crash, approached her at the premiere of Sherlock Holmes. “I got to meet him. He said, ‘You know, I bought your dress.’ I didn’t know what he meant at first. I was like, ‘You bought my… what?’” It was her actual dress that she wore on-screen in The Notebook. “I was, like, blown away,” she continued. “I didn’t realize he was such a movie fan and such a romantic.”

Vanessa Bryant recalled that moment during her eulogy for her husband:

He just thought outside the box and was so thoughtful, even while working hard to be the best athlete. He gifted me the actual notebook and the blue dress Rachel McAdams wore in The Notebook movie. When I asked him why he chose the blue dress, he said it was because it’s a scene when Ally comes back to Noah. We had hoped to grow old together like the movie. We really had an amazing love story. We loved each other with our whole beings — two perfectly imperfect people, making a beautiful family, and raising our sweet and amazing girls.

You can watch the interview with McAdams below.

(Via Today)

In addition to June being Pride Month, it’s also Black Music Month. What better opportunity for Lizzo — herself an icon of pride and Black music — to link up with Queer Eye‘s Fab Five for an exuberant, animated lyric video for her new single, “Soulmate”? The song is a bright celebration of self-love, with inflections of pop, soul, and Lizzo’s own brand of brash hip-hop, and the video matches that energy, with animated Lizzo hanging out with her collaborators, playing with Corgi puppies (shout-out to Antoni!) and pampering herself on “Self-Love Lane.”

The positive lyrics reinforce the message of the upbeat song, as Lizzo boasts about being her own soulmate, “She never tell me to exercise / We always get extra fries / And you know the sex is fire.” The video represents this by depicting two Lizzos, who share fries and get married by the Fab Five’s Bobby.

Even though Lizzo’s “soulmate” never tells her to exercise, she recently posted a video doing just that in response to critics’ fat shaming her. She also led fans in a self-care session on Instagram Live during quarantine, showing that she practices what she preaches.

Watch Lizzo’s animated lyric video for “Soulmate” above.

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

Like her microwave-exploding co-star, Zoë Kravitz is stuck in London and waiting patiently for production to resume on The Batman. The pandemic threw a monkey-wrench into the highly-anticipated reboot from director Matt Reeves, which had barely gotten started before the whole world shut down. Naturally, Kravitz is excited to get back into the role of Selina Kyle (a.k.a. Catwoman), and she recently opened up about what it was like wearing the costume for the iconic character.

After talking to Variety‘s The Big Ticket podcast about her work as Rob in Hulu’s gender-swapping reboot of High Fidelity, which could land a few award nominations for Kravitz, the actress revealed what it was like suiting up as Catwoman for the first time on set and how the role carries a lot of expectation from not just fans, but her friends and family who can’t wait to see her portrayal of the classic hero-villain:

“It’s cool, man. It’s cool. I can’t say it wasn’t cool, but I’ve been really trying to not think too much about just what that character means to everybody else. Just because it can be distracting in the wrong way, especially when you’re trying to become someone else…. The script is phenomenal. The story’s really strong. I feel very clear on who Selena is and what she wants, and I’m trying to stay more focused on that.”

Kravitz also received words of encouragement from former Catwoman actresses Anne Hathaway, Halle Berry, and Michelle Pfeiffer who personally hugged Kravitz not long after she got the part. “[They] sent really sweet, encouraging messages when that was announced. So I feel supported by my girls,” she told Variety.

(Via Variety)

Late-night talk shows are continuing to rely on their new virtual platform in light of the pandemic. Even across screens, Jimmy Fallon has brainstormed some fun games for his guests to participate in. On Thursday night, Fallon invited Demi Lovato to join him on The Tonight Show, and the singer was asked to perform renditions of popular songs with jumbled lyrics.

Lovato joined Fallon for the quasi-karaoke game, Google Translate Songs. The premise of the show is fairly self-explanatory: Fallon types popular song lyrics into Google Translate, puts them into another language, then translates them back into English. The result is a hilariously reimagined song with confusing lyrics.

Lovato was the first to play and was tasked with singing “Walking On Sunshine” translated into Russian, which became, “Now Mom’s In The Sun Now.” Lovato’s captivating voice allowed her to still give a beautiful rendition of the song, even though the lyrics made no sense. “I will congratulate you on grasping email / I cannot wait to write on you when you finally move,” she sings.

In other Lovato news, the singer appears in the Netflix film, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, alongside Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. In a recent interview, Ferrell gushed over Lovato’s talent. “And she was so sweet and lovely and she was actually shooting during her birthday,” Ferrell said about Lovato. “We kind of had this really special moment. She had just come out of her last rehab stint. I really wanted to work with her on this because I’m a fan. I go, ‘You’re so sweet I can’t believe you’re doing this, I just can’t believe.’ And she said, ‘Well I had to tell you, watching your movies really, kind of, helped me go through what I had to go through. It’s weird when you get hit in the chest with something like that and it’s so personal to her, it was one of the sweetest things ever.”

Watch Demi Lovato on The Tonight Show above.