Entertainment News
Dexter Limited Series Revival Coming to Showtime
Halloween is the one time of year everyone wears masks, not just Dexter Morgan. That makes this the perfect time of year to announce the character’s return, and indeed a limited series revival of Dexter has been set at Showtime. The Hollywood Reporter has it that the premium cable network has ordered 10 new Dexter episodes — seven years after the original run ended. Michael C. Hall is set to return as the title character alongside original showrunner Clyde Phillips. Phillips ran the show and executive produced it during its first four seasons from 2006 through 2009 — widely considered to be the series’ peak. Dexter was nominated for Best Drama Series thrice during his tenure. Hall, meanwhile, was nominated for Best Leading Actor five times straight and won a Golden Globe in 2010 for h...
Netflix Just Released the Trailer for Hillbilly Elegy and It’s Rightfully Getting Skewered: Watch
ddNetflix has released the first trailer for Ron Howard’s new film Hillbilly Elegy. The multi-generational addiction drama stars Amy Adams and Glenn Close, a pairing alone that should make the movie a highly anticipated feature — but instead, it’s already been met with a mixed reaction on social media. Hillbilly Elegy follows Gabriel Basso, a former Marine and current Yale Law student, as he returns to his Appalachian home in southern Ohio to take care of his mother Bev, as played by Adams, who’s struggling with addiction. During the trip, he’s forced to reckon with his childhood, his upbringing, and his troubled family, including his terse grandmother, played by Close. Both Hans Zimmer and David Fleming contribute to the score. The trailer sees Adams and Close bringing this plot to life i...
Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up Casts Leo and Meryl and J-Law, Oh My!
It’s as if Adam McKay clicked his ruby slippers together and said, “There’s no place like the Oscars.” His new Netflix film Don’t Look Up had already secured the talents of Cate Blanchett and Rob Morgan; now, via The Hollywood Reporter, the project has added three more heavyweights in Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Her Gloriousness Meryl Streep. Don’t Look Up is written and directed by McKay. It follows a pair of scientists who make the apocalyptic discovery that a meteor will impact the Earth in six months. They embark on a media blitz to warn the world, only to discover that most people either don’t believe them or don’t care. This definitely-fictional and not-at-all-based-on-real-events story will star DiCaprio and Lawrence as the unfortunate scientists. In addition to t...
Ice Cube Working with Trump Admin to “Platinum Plan” for Black Americans
Ice Cube, who once famously shouted “Fuck Tha Police” as a member of N.W.A., is currently working with the Trump Administration to develop a proposed “Platinum Plan” for the Black community in America. The news first broke early on October 14th when Trump senior advisor Katrina Pierson tweeted, “Shoutout to @icecube for his willingness to step up and work with @realDonaldTrump Administration to help develop the #PlatinumPlan. Leaders gonna lead, haters gonna hate. Thank you for leading!” According to Ice Cube’s representative (Rolling Stone), the rapper was interested in meeting with both the Trump and Biden campaigns to discuss an “agenda for black Americans” and support for his Contract With Black America, which “strikes at the heart of racism and presents a blueprint to achiev...
The Flaming Lips Actually Performed Their First Bubble Concert
Those crazy SOBs actually did it. On Tuesday night, The Flaming Lips performed their first concert for a live audience that was entirely protected in inflatable space bubbles. Taking place at the Criterion in the band’s hometown of Oklahoma City, the short gig was half test run for future concerts, half music video shoot (via Brooklyn Vegan). Setlist.fm notes The Flaming Lips performed a dance remix of “Assassins of Youth” as well as “Brother Eye”, both tracks from their latest LP, American Head. Frontman Wayne Coyne posted video of the event, which showed him singing in his familiar bubble, only this time it was rolled atop a number of fans in inflatables of their own. Another image showed a floor decal that read, “The Flaming Lips ask you to please wear masks when not in the space bubble...
CARM (of yMusic) Shares New Song “Land” Featuring Justin Vernon: Stream
After a decade of guesting on high-profile albums, founding member of yMusic CARM (CJ Camerieri) will drop his star-studded solo debut CARM next year. His latest single is “Land”, which reunites him with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. yMusic is a contemporary classical ensemble, and over the last few years they’ve become one of the most in-demand backing bands in the world. Led by trumpeter Camerieri and violinist Rob Moose, they’ve appeared on recent Bruce Hornsby efforts Non-Secure Connection and Absolute Zero, Paul Simon’s In the Blue Light, and Ben Folds’ So There, to name a few. Camerieri has also won two Grammy awards as a member of Bon Iver, and he comes highly recommended by that group’s lead singer. As Vernon said in a statement, “CJ and I have worked together ...
James Blake Surprise Releases New EP Before: Stream
As announced just 24 hours ago today, James Blake has released a new EP called Before. Stream it below via Spotify. Before follows Blake’s 2019 full-length Assume Form and spans four tracks in total. As the title suggests, the London musician revisits his early work in dance club music — the same era that spawned his self-titled debut LP, one of the best albums of the 2010s — for this new project from the comfort of his home studio in Los Angeles. According to Blake, most of the material was recorded in 2020 in between covering popular songs. A handful of notable guests are featured on Before. Composer Nico Muhly provided guest assistance, as did Mount Kimbie, who previously partnered with Blake and slowthai on last month’s “Feel Away”. Blake also tapped Erick Arc Elliott, who he worked al...
Bad Religion Share New Song “What Are We Standing For”: Stream
Venerable L.A. punks Bad Religion have returned with a new single, “What Are We Standing For”. It’s a sincere political anthem just in time for the impending November election. The song’s titular question is on the minds of many this election season, with the future course of US politics seemingly at stake. Per the press release, the song is in solidarity with athletes who decline to stand during the national anthem and for those who have “taken a knee to protest police brutality and racism.” “In this time of tribal nationalism, dissent, as a form of political speech, is vital to democracy,” co-songwriter and guitarist Brett Gurewitz remarked. The track is an outtake from Bad Religion’s 2019 album, The Age of Unreason, and would have fit nicely on that record. It’s a rollicking uptempo roc...
The Simpsons Lists 50 Terrifying Reasons To Vote Against Trump: Watch
It’s hard to imagine how a Treehouse of Horror edition from this year could muster up anything scarier than what’s going on outside of Springfield. Appropriately, the next episode of The Simpsons doesn’t even bother trying to toe that line with comedic subtlety. In an exclusive Variety preview clip from the 31st (!) installment of the annual Halloween-themed Simpsons episode, Homer is presented with a frightening list of 50 reasons why Trump needs to be voted out on November 3rd. After considering writing in Judge Judy, Lisa comes to the rescue and reminds her father of all the insane bullshit that our president has served over the last four years. A literal scrolling list of political atrocities (kids in cages, gutting the E.P.A.) and cringe-worthy moments (serving McDonald’s to the ...
Mysterious Woman from Black Sabbath’s Debut Album Gets Her Own Funko Pop! Figure
Funko’s popular line of collectible Pop! figures has expanded over the years to include a wide array of music, film, and television subjects. Even with the toy company’s vast roster, who would’ve thought that the mysterious woman from the cover of Black Sabbath’s debut album would get her own Funko Pop! figure? That’s the case with a new line of Funko Pop! figures based on classic albums. The first Funko “Pop! Albums” series features figures modeled after three iconic album covers. They include Sabbath’s self-titled debut, The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready to Die, and AC/DC’s Back in Black. Upon its release in 1970, Sabbath’s debut album helped usher in what the world knows now as heavy metal. The woman on the ominous cover had remained a mystery until earlier this year, when she was locat...
Ian Curtis’ “Love Will Tear Us Apart” Guitar Sells for $210,000
An iconic piece of Joy Division history has found a new home. On Tuesday, Ian Curtis’ signature Vox Phantom guitar was auctioned off by Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia Sale for a staggering £162,562 (or $211,513). The guitar most famously appeared in Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” video. However, it also toured with the late frontman during the band’s 1980 European tour and was used on the recording of Closer track “Heart and Soul”. Curiously enough, the Vox Phantom has quite a history that extends well beyond Curtis. Following his untimely death, the guitar passed on to bandmate Bernard Sumner, who eventually gave it to his Electronic colleague Johnny Marr. The buck doesn’t stop there. Fifteen years later, Marr later returned the guitar back to Sumner, who finally left it with...
Cast for Mad Max Spinoff Furiosa Confirmed: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Things are starting to rev up for George Miller’s Mad Max spinoff film Furiosa. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have climbed aboard the next parable in the wasteland. Taylor-Joy will play a young Furiosa, a role originally iconized by Charlize Theron, who will not be a part of the production. As of press time, it’s unclear who Hemsworth and Abdul-Mateen II will be playing. It’s funny how both have played gods of sorts. Miller will direct, co-write, and produce the project that’s yet to be greenlit by Warner Bros. However, seeing how 2015’s Fury Road proved to be both a critical and commercial success for the studio — even nabbing a Best Picture nom — the light is imminent. Back in May, Miller announced the project to in an in...
