TV
Understanding Trauma, Grief, and Resilience In WandaVision
It’s a tale as old as time: young woman is traumatized, radicalized, and experimented upon; A.I. takes physical form as a robot before evolving into something more traditionally, distinctly human. Woman and humanoid robot fall in love before humanoid robot is killed and woman, in her grief, semi-accidentally takes an entire town of people hostage. Explaining the concept of WandaVision to anyone not familiar with the expansive Marvel Cinematic Universe presents a bit of a challenge. Perhaps the even bigger challenge is then trying to communicate the way that the show so effectively becomes a truly emotional story. Over the course of nine episodes, WandaVision shares more about the two titular characters than the five movies that featured Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff or the seven in whi...
Steven Spielberg Bringing Stephen King’s The Talisman to Netflix
Steven Spielberg is teaming with Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers to bring Stephen King and Peter Straub’s fantasy epic, The Talisman, to Netflix as a series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deals are still being finalized and in negotiations. For nearly 40 years, Spielberg has owned the rights to an adaptation of the nearly 1,000-page novel and long expressed a desire to bring it to the screen. “I feel that in the very near future, that’s going to be our richest collaboration,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2018. “Universal bought the book for me, so it wasn’t optioned. It was an outright sale of the book. I’ve owned the book since ’82, and I’m hoping to get this movie made in the next couple of years. I’m not committing to the project as a director, I’m j...
Banksy Claims Reading Prison Artwork with Happy Little Video Featuring Bob Ross
A provocative work of street art appeared on the walls of Reading Prison on Monday, and now Banksy has claimed it as his own using a happy little video with Bob Ross. The image shows a prisoner sliding down bedsheets that are tied together and anchored by a typewriter. As the BBC reports, some observers have noted a resemblance between the escaping con and Reading’s most famous inmate Oscar Wilde, who was sentenced to two years hard labor for gross indecency with other men, and who celebrated his release with the poem “The Ballad of Reading Gaol”. While the graffiti appeared to be in Banksy’s style, the author wasn’t confirmed until today, March 4th, when the guerrilla artist shared a video called “Create Escape”. It used archival commentary from the late, great Bob Ross, overlaying his wo...
Will Big T Exact Revenge On Her Former Challenge Partner CT?
One might be the loneliest number, but for Challenge competitor CT, it’s a digit with which he’s expertly familiar. But for the first time in a long time, the three-time champ softened to his Double Agents teammate Big T and vowed to keep her as an ally until the game’s end. However, old habits die hard, and on tonight’s episode, CT kicked Big T to the curb, told her she was too weak to run the final and made a showy demonstration of his preference for Kam. After winning a souped-up version of “Dead Ringer” in The Crater as part of host TJ Lavin’s shocking Security Breach, CT and Darrell — who earned Gold Skulls by knocking out Josh and Devin, respectively — earned the choice to either keep their partners or trade them for new ones. While Darrell quickly vowed to stick things out wit...
The Simpsons Renewed for Two More Seasons
The Simpsons has been renewed for two more seasons. Fox will continue to air new episodes of the iconic cartoon at least through its 34th season in 2023. As The Hollywood Reporter points out, renewing the longest-running scripted primetime show in TV history might seem like an obvious move, but the process has actually gotten a bit more complicated in recent years. After Disney purchased Fox’s assets for $72 billion back in March 2019, the parent company has a lot more say in where Homer, Marge and the gang end up in the vast multiverse of cable and streaming. For instance, after this next renewal period ends in two years, Disney could choose to move The Simpsons to a new network, which would give them the opportunity to negotiate a new deal to the tune of $1 billi...
10 Artists Worth Bringing Back VH1 Storytellers For
Kendrick Lamar photo by Amy Price; St. Vincent photo by David Brendan Hall; Janelle Monáe photo by Philip Cosores VH1 Storytellers was such a cool show. It borrowed the idea of MTV Unplugged — a hugely popular act performing a stripped-down set in front of an intimate audience — and took it one step further. Audiences could see and hear artists in a more relaxed setting, dishing on their careers and telling stories about creating the songs we know and love. Storytellers first aired 25 years ago in late February 1996; Kinks mastermind Ray Davies was the first performer. It ran for 97 more episodes, the last starring Ed Sheeran in 2015. In between, there was a veritable Who’s Who of talent, from classic rock gods like David Bowie and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young to ‘90s stars like Pearl ...
‘Welcome To Our Crib’: Take A Tour Of The Real World Homecoming: New York Loft
Becky Blasband, Andre Comeau, Heather B. Gardner, Julie Gentry, Norman Korpi, Eric Nies and Kevin Powell were picked to “live in a loft” in 1992. Fast-forward to 2021: The Real World: New York cast is “back” in their Big Apple digs when the franchise returns on Paramount+. In the video, The Real World Homecoming: New York roomies Heather B and Norman invite the world back into their iconic residence. It’s the loft 2.0. “It’s a little bit larger and little bit bigger — we didn’t have such glamor back then,” Norman says of the abode. Obviously, there are a few recognizable features from the ’90s version — like the fish tank and the book Love & Sex. But how are the pets (aka Smokey and Gouda) who lived with the roomie...
‘Mommy Has A Baby In Her Belly’: Cheyenne Just Gave Ryder The Best News Ever On Teen Mom OG
Cheyenne and her beau Zach had some special news for the guests at her 28th birthday gathering featured on tonight’s Teen Mom OG: A baby is on the way! “I like to give gifts to everybody on my birthday — it’s like my little thing,” Chey told her guests (who were celebrating on a boat) pre-munchkin reveal, while instructing them that they all had to open their surprise something at the same time. The goodie bag featured drinkware: Her mom’s mug read “grandma again, est. 2021,” while her sister’s stated “Wow, look at you becoming an aunt again and sh*t.” Hugs and joy all around! The pregnancy was also news to Ryder, who “found out with everybody” at the party. Cheyenne took her daughter off to the side to have a li...
Danny Boyle Shares First Look at Sex Pistols TV Series
Louis Partridge as bassist Sid Vicious, Anson Boon as singer John Lydon, Jacob Slater as drummer Paul Cook and Toby Wallace as guitarist Steve Jones, photo by Miya Mizuno for FX Danny Boyle has shared the first look at his upcoming TV series about Sex Pistols, which is slated to premiere on FX. Entitled Pistol, the six-episode limited series is based on the 2017 memoir Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol by Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. As such, the show will center around Jones’ journey from his West London council estates home to the iconic Sex boutique owned by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, an epicenter of early punk culture. From there, Boyle will trace the relatively short but furious rise and fall of Sex Pistols. Toby Wallace (Babyteeth) will play Jones, ...
2021 Golden Globes Winners: The Complete List
The 2021 Golden Globe Awards took place on Sunday night after being delayed for nearly two months due to COVID-19. Now in its 78th year, the Golden Globes honor the best in film and television as determined by the Hollywood Foreign Press. Film was scattered, but as expected. Nomadland and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm predictably ran away with their respective top honors, Minari won the only nomination it (tragically) could, Daniel Kaluuya matched the award seasons buzz with his Best Supporting Actor win for Judas and the Black Messiah, and Soul nabbed both Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. Television belonged to Netflix with essential wins for both The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit. The former ruled over Best Drama, Best Actor for Josh O’Connor, Best Actress for Emma Corrin,...
Is the Media Still Cashing in on Britney Spears’ Trauma?
In the past month, the steadily growing #FreeBritney movement became a mainstream phenomenon following the release of The New York Times Presents documentary Framing Britney Spears. The documentary dissects the pop star’s controversial conservatorship, which placed her under the strict supervision, financially and personally, of conservators like her father, James “Jamie” Spears, among others since 2008. Acting as a thorough introduction for newcomers, Framing Britney Spears provides a heartbreaking portrait of both the rise of the wide-eyed teen singer from Louisiana and her fall from grace, including that infamous head-shaving, umbrella-wielding night anyone who lived through 2007 saw footage of at least a million times over. Framing Britney Spears casts a much kinder, more sympathetic l...
WandaVision Dusts Off the Comics to Tease Vision’s Future
The following editorial is heavy on spoilers… “Previously On”, this week’s eighth episode of Disney+’s WandaVision, is enlightening in many ways. It explores the details of Wanda’s (Elizabeth Olsen) tormented past, re-writes the origin of her powers, and yet also tells the backstory of the villainous Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn). By far the most interesting reveal, however, is the resurrected, colorless version of Vision (Paul Bettany), which is unveiled during the post-credits scene. Not only does this suggest an emotional series finale, it also has some interesting links to the comics that could hint at Vision’s future within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Vision being drained of all color is an unsettling sight, not just because of his cold appearance, but because it speaks to t...
