Entertainment News
Oscars 2021 Moved to April, Eligibility Window Extended
Due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, the 2021 Oscars have been postponed two months. Originally set to take place on February 28th, Hollywood’s Biggest Night will now occur on April 25th, 2021. Additionally, the Academy has extended the eligibility period for nominated films by two months. The window for qualifying films now spans from January 1st 2020 to February 28th, 2021, with a general submission deadline set for January 15th 2021, according to Variety. The Academy plans to return to a standard January to December eligibility period next year. Previously, the Academy made substantial, unprecedented adjustments to the eligibility rules this past April in response to the outbreak. One of those allows for digital screenings, altering the long-standi...
System of a Down’s John Dolmayan Calls Democrats the “True Bigots” While Wishing Trump a Happy Birthday
Despite being antithetical to the sociopolitical ideals that have long been presented in his band’s music, System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan keeps doubling and tripling down on some far-right viewpoints. Now, he has gone so far as to call Democrats the “true bigots” in his latest Instagram rant. At this point, it may seem like Dolmayan is just trying to get a rise out of the band’s fans, but he has made it clear that he stands on the opposite end of the political spectrum than his bandmates, especially singer Serj Tankian. Already the two have expressed very different views about the ongoing protests, with Dolmayan hailing President Trump as the “greatest friend to minorities” and Tankian calling for the Trump regime to resign. Last week, Dolmayan followed up his initial comments by d...
Jon Stewart Discusses Police Brutality and FOX News in New Interview
With all that’s going on in the world, there’s no better time for the return of Jon Stewart. The former Daily Show host is back making the media rounds for his new movie, Irresistible, coming to PVOD on June 26th. Given the political nature of the film and the socio-political landscape it’s being released into, it’s no surprise Stewart has a lot to say about the current state of things. In a new interview with The New York Times, he touched on everything from Trump to police brutality to FOX News, all with his usual intelligence and nuance. Some might wish Stewart would return to the televised political comedy and commentary scene, but even if he were to return (he’s certainly not eager to) it wouldn’t be like The Daily Show. He praised the show’s current host, Trevor Noah, ...
UK “Quarantine Raves” Result in Death, Rape, Multiple Stabbings
Manchester, England was the site of two illegal “quarantine raves” on Saturday, June 13th. Attended by some 6,000 people total, the events resulted in one suspected overdose death, three stabbings, and the rape of an 18-year-old-woman. As reported by the BBC, the two separate events took place in Daisy Nook Park and Carrington, both within Greater Manchester County. 4,000 people piled into the park at Daisy Nook, including the 20-year-old man who is believed to have died of a drug overdose. An additional 2,000 people raved at Carrington, and it was this smaller event that hosted the rest of the weekend’s tragedies. Three separate stabbings took place, one of which left an 18-year-old man in critical condition. Police officers gave him first aid before paramedics arrived, and his healt...
Star Wars Celebration Canceled Due to Coronavirus Pandemic
This year’s edition of Star Wars Celebration has been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This marks the first time in Celebration history that the event won’t be held as planned, notes The Hollywood Reporter. Understandably, organizers fear COVID-19 would spread rapidly amongst attendees if it were held indoor as planned. “At Star Wars Celebration, the health and safety of our fans, attendees, exhibitors, guests and staff is always our number one priority,” organizers said in a statement. “Due to the global impact of the COVID-19 virus and in speaking with local and state authorities on the latest public health guidelines related to indoor conventions, we have made the decision to cancel Star Wars celebration for 2020.” Star Wars Celebration was originally scheduled to...
Fiona Apple to Donate Two Years’ Worth of Song Royalties to Charity
Last year, Fiona Apple donated $90,000 worth of royalties from TV and movie placements of her hit song “Criminal” to While They Wait Fund, an organization that provides refugees with legal services and basic necessities. Apple is now launching a similar charitable campaign using two songs off her superb album Fetch the Bolt Cutters. According to a statement, Apple said that for the next two years she will pledge all royalties from TV and movie placements of “Shameika” and “Heavy Balloon” to a pair of nonprofit organizations. Royalties for the former will be given to the Harlem Children’s Zone, which helps support the higher education of kids. Earned royalties for the latter, meanwhile, will benefit Seeding Sovereignty, an Indigenous-led collective working to dismantle imperialist instituti...
John Cleese Mocks Fox News for False Reporting on a Monty Python Quote
“What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?” Not everyone knows the answer to that cult-favorite query, least of all news anchors. Fox News proved as much to be true when they fell for a similarly popular Monty Python and the Holy Grail joke while covering Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, going so far as to mistakenly cite a quote from the film as fact. Now, John Cleese is mocking them for it, reports UPROXX. It all began when Martha MacCallum, the host of Fox News’ segment The Story, was reporting on the CHAZ zone in Seattle, claiming that there were leadership problems within the group. As proof of such, MacCallum pointed to a screenshot of a Reddit post entitled “I didn’t vote for Raz”. (“Raz” refers to Raz Simone, the rapper and alleged unofficial leader of CHAZ.) “I ...
Rammstein Working on New Songs While in Lockdown
Rammstein would have been in the middle of a European tour right now had it not been for the pandemic, but the industrial metal veterans are not sitting around twiddling their thumbs. Instead, the legendary German band is working on new music. In an interview with Germany’s “Bosshoss” podcast on Rodeo Radio, drummer Christoph Schneider was asked what the band has been up to during the lockdown. Schneider responded, “Last week, we were supposed to play our first 2020 concert and then we said, ‘Let’s meet and think about what we could do this year.’” He continued, “We still have so many ideas lying around, so many unfinished songs. We met and we’re working on new songs. We want to work on songs, but whether it’s going to be a new record, nobody knows.” It took Rammstein roughly 10 year...
Penny Lane from The Beatles Song “in Danger of Being Renamed” over Possible Slavery Ties
As the Black Lives Matter movement continues to surge worldwide, citizens and governments alike are being forced to reconsider monuments to heritages of racism. In America, everyone from GWAR to Taylor Swift is calling for the removal of confederate statues, with one petition proposing they be replaced with ones of Dolly Parton. Meanwhile, over in Liverpool, England, folks are seeking to rename the famed Penny Lane — immortalized in the classic song by The Beatles — over its purported connection to the slave trade. It seems many believe the road was named for James Penny, a slave merchant who spoke against abolition in Parliament. Last week, as protests over racial injustice and inequality gripped the country, signs for the street were defaced and graffitied, with “racist” being sprayed ab...
Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge Now An Actual Playable Game
Boredom is at an all-time high thanks to the ongoing quarantine, so perhaps now is the best time for the world to finally experience Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge. The Simpsons joke game has been turned into an actual playable online simulation. The original Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge game was referenced in “Marge Be Not Proud”, a season 7 Simpsons episode that aired in 1995. Its storyline focused on Bart, who was caught attempting to shoplift an expensive and violent Mortal Kombat-style game called Bonestorm. In lieu of Bonestorm, Comic Book Guy suggests Bart purchase a cheaper and extremely dull alternative: Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge. In the episode, Carvallo is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the actor who also plays Homer. <img data-attachment-id="1044878" data...
Garth Brooks Announces Concert Event at 300 Drive-in Movie Theaters
Garth Brooks has announced a one-off concert event which will be simulcast at 300 drive-in movie theaters across North America on June 27th. Tickets are priced at $100 per car and go on sale beginning Friday, June 19th at 12:00 p.m. ET via Ticketmaster. Due to the limited capacity of drive-ins, tickets are limited and will likely go quickly. A full list of participating theaters can be found here. The event is being billed as the “the largest ever one-night show to play at outdoor theaters across the United States and Canada.” Speaking to Good Morning America on Thursday, Brooks commented, “They’re going to run it just like a regular concert, but this is going to be all over North America, one night only. We are excited because this is a reason to get out of the house, but at the...
The Sopranos Creator David Chase Accidentally Reveals Tony’s Fate
The Sopranos has been off the air for over a decade. Yet ever since Steve Perry’s pipes cut off by that now-iconic fade to black, fans have wondered, “What the hell happened to Tony Soprano?” Now, exactly 13 years to the day, we have our answer. In a recent roundtable discussion promoting his new book, The Sopranos Sessions, creator David Chase slipped up and confirmed the fate of his legendary character, putting an end to the exhausting debate that has left fans twisting and turning forever. But first, some context: If you recall, the series finale, “Made In America”, culminates at the real-life New Jersey diner Holsten’s, where the entire Sopranos family gathers around for a basket of onion rings. It’s a charming portrait that suggests an alternative, almost Rockwellian existence for the...
