Culture
Award-Winning Homeworld Composer Paul Ruskay Releases Behind-the-Scenes Documentary
Roughly 23 years ago, Canadian musician Paul Ruskay quit his day job to compose the soundtrack for the first project from an indie game developer based in Vancouver called Relic Entertainment. It was a little real-time strategy title set in a sci-fi universe, and the development for the game was anything but smooth (as debut releases by young companies so often are). But almost immediately after Homeworld was finally released, the popularity and critical acclaim for the game hit levels that no one expected. Rave reviews praised its gameplay, narrative, graphics and soundtrack, “Game of the Year” award nominations started rolling in, and everyone involved quickly realized they needed to strike while the iron was hot. Six Homeworld releases (five games and a remaster of the original), two de...
How Real Is the Karate in The Karate Kid?
Nearly 40 years ago (February 16, 1985, to be exact), the release of the first installment of The Karate Kid films brought combat sports to arguably its widest audience. Thanks to streaming services, the legend continues today with Cobra Kai. The sibling franchises have spawned millions of attempted martial artists worldwide hoping to master Mr. Miyagi’s “wax on, wax off” technique and the infamous “crane kick” that Daniel LaRusso inflicts upon his rival Johnny Lawrence in the championship climax. In fact, Ralph Macchio (LaRusso) and William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence), then a pair of Hollywood babyfaces, were trying karate for the first time themselves during filming. And, thanks to a ton of movie magic – and perhaps more embellishment – they pulled off looking like pros marvelously. Run down...
Jared Leto’s ‘Morbius’ Pushed to Spring Amid Omicron Surge
Morbius is on the move. The movie, starring Jared Leto, has set a new release date of April 1 amid the omicron surge. It had been set to open in theaters on Jan. 28. The Sony and Marvel film had already been delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, Sony announced that the film would move from October 2021 to early 2022. Morbius stars Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius, a scientist who suffered from a rare blood disease and turned himself into a living vampire during an attempt to cure himself. Explore Explore Jared Leto See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Adria Arjona, Matt Smith, Tyrese Gibson and Jared Harris also star in the film, which is directed by Daniel Espinosa. Michael Keaton, who played The Vulture in Son...
Jimmy Fallon Reveals Breakthrough COVID-19 Diagnosis
Jimmy Fallon revealed that he tested positive for COVID-19 over holiday break. Taking to Instagram Monday (Jan. 3), the late-night host shared a photo of himself masked in an isolation room. “Hey guys, on the first day of our holiday break I tested positive for Covid. I was vaccinated and boostered which made me lucky enough to only have mild symptoms,” he wrote. He went on to thank the medical professionals who “work so hard around the clock to get everyone vaxxed.” “Thank you to NBC for taking the testing protocols so seriously and doing a great job,” he continued before joking, “and also thanks for putting me in the ‘What ‘chu talkin’ about Willis?’ isolation room when they told me the news.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news The host has since recovered in time for The To...
Swarovski Crystal Exhibit Highlights Gloves Worn by Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson
“It’s literally like living in a disco ball here,” says fashion designer Michael Schmidt during a video call from the new exhibit that he’s put together spotlighting iconic fashion items worn by mega-stars and all featuring Swarovski crystals. Taking sparkling and dazzling to new heights, the exhibition of embellished costumes opened in November at Swarovski’s Kristallwelten — that’s Crystal Worlds in English — a park and museum, opened in 1995, that’s located near the jewelry company’s headquarters in Wattens, Austria. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Most items in the exhibit, titled The Art of Performance, are original pieces, including one of Michael Jackson’s famed gloves. “To me this is the greatest piece of p...
Denis O’Dell, Beatles Film Producer, Dies at 98
Denis O’Dell, a British film producer and director who worked with The Beatles on the movie A Hard Day’s Night and other productions, has died at his home in Spain, his son said Friday (Dec. 31). He was 98. Arran O’Dell told The Associated Press that his father died overnight at his house in Almería, in southeast Spain. He said the family planned a local private service and a memorial service at a later date in the United Kingdom. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Denis O’Dell was an associate producer of A Hard Day’s Night, the Fab Four’s first film, and How I Won the War, in which John Lennon appeared as a supporting actor. He produced the 1967 Beatles film Magical Mystery Tour, as well as The Magic Christian, which featured Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr. O’Dell’s memoir of his ...
Betty White, Golden Girl of TV Comedy, Dies at 99
Betty White, the quick-witted comedienne whose ribald humor as showcased on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Golden Girls and Hot in Cleveland made her America’s ageless darling, has died. She was 99. The beloved five-time Emmy Award winner and animal advocate, whose career reached another level after she became an octogenarian, died at home on Friday (Dec. 31), her agent told People magazine. White joined the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show for the CBS sitcom’s fourth season in 1973 as Sue Ann Nivens, the blunt, man-lusting star of the WJM-TV show The Happy Homemaker, and she won two straight Emmys for outstanding continuing performance by a supporting actress in a comedy series. On NBC’s The Golden Girls, which aired for seven seasons, White played the simple-minded Minnesotan Rose Nylun...
Jada Pinkett Smith Embraces Hair Loss: ‘Me and This Alopecia Are Going to Be Friends’
Jada Pinkett Smith is fully embracing her hair loss. The 50-year-old singer-actress posted a video to Instagram on Tuesday (Dec. 28) in which she confronts her battle with the autoimmune disorder alopecia, which can cause hair loss and balding. “Now at this point, I can only laugh,” Smith said in the video while running her fingers along her bald scalp, which includes a prominent ridge near the front of her hairline. “Y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia and just all of a sudden one day, look at this line right here. Look at that.” “So it just showed up like that and this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide,” she added of the ridge. “So I thought I’d just share it so y’all are not asking any questions.” The 40-second video’s caption said it all: “Mama’s gonna...
Letterkenny Is Back to Pummel Both Degens and Lockdown Boredom
On paper, Letterkenny seems like exactly the kind of show that pretty much no one would care about. It’s a very Canadian ensemble-based sitcom about the happenings of a rural town and its population — or as the show’s opening slide explains, “There are 5000 people in Letterkenny. These are their problems.” It’s full of ridiculous characters, bodily humor, a dictionary’s worth of slang (some real, some made-up), and running jokes that’ll appear several times in an episode or two, and then disappear for seasons at a time before a random callback. In other words, it’s a perfect storm to be an extremely niche thing that would get some attention on YouTube, garner comparisons to Trailer Park Boys, and then promptly be forgotten. But that’s not what happened. After debuting as “Letterkenny Probl...
How to Watch ‘Elf’ Online
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, we may receive an affiliate commission. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear — and watching Elf on repeat all season long. For those looking to watch the 2003 holiday classic, which finds Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) in search of his real father in New York City after he was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa’s elves. [embedded content] Elf is available to watch on HBO Max, which you can sign up for here. The streaming service recently lowered its monthly subscription prices so you can watch Elf on HBO Max starting at just $9.99 a month here. Sign up for HBO Max once and you can watch Elf&n...
Eric Wareheim on How the New LCD Soundsystem Holiday Special Came Together
A little over a week ago, LCD Soundsystem announced they’d be the subject of a new holiday special. Not just that, but it was to be released on December 22. The project is shepherded by Eric Wareheim, who is playing LCD frontman James Murphy and directing. The cast features a murderer’s row of who’s who, with Macaulay Culkin, Christine Ko, and Aparna Nancherla as the band. As for the special itself (titled All My Friends after the LCD song), it’s a ’90s-styled sitcom, which, if you grew up in the era of TGIF, teeters between the fun and the corny. According to Wareheim, that was the intent. Backing up for a second, All My Friends came together at a lightning speed that’s pretty uncommon for Hollywood productions. “James [Murphy] gave me a call less than a month ago, he had this idea to do ...
Remember That Unofficial Mariah Carey Ornament From Last Year? Mariah ‘Fixed It’
Mariah Carey, Queen of Christmas, can now say she has an official Christmas tree ornament — and an entire line of holiday-related goodies — with her stamp of approval. On Tuesday (Dec. 21), the singer hopped on Twitter and shared that there’s a new ornament of her likeness available for purchase through Target. Explore See latest videos, charts and news In the announcement, Carey shared an image of a tweet exchange between her and a fan that went viral, which featured a photo of an unofficial ornament of Carey on the Twitter user’s 2020 Christmas tree. “My husband and I exchange Christmas ornaments every year and this year her got me @MariahCarey which is very festive!” the Twitter user wrote. Carey, unimpressed with the ornament, replied, “This is…Not approved. (But it’s the thought that ...
