State Champ Radio TV/Film
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Growing up on shows like Fat Albert, musical multi-hyphenate Raphael Saadiq knows the value of representation in children’s television. “If I turned on my TV and found somebody Black,” he says, “those people were superheroes — even though they weren’t flying through the sky.”
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Today, the three-time Grammy winning producer, songwriter and instrumentalist is working as executive producer of Disney’s animated Marvel series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. The series marks Marvel’s first Black teenage girl superhero (actress Diamond White is voicing Moon Girl) and will feature guest voices from Alison Brie, Andy Cohen, Daveed Diggs, Maya Hawke, Jennifer Hudson, Method Man, Cobie Smulders, Wesley Snipes and more.
“In the comic book world, this is huge,” Saadiq tells Billboard. “To be able to see a Black teenage genius girl doing amazing things, working out problems, explaining to people how not to get caught up in a box without being preachy.”
When it comes to the lyrical messaging of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Saadiq is hitting on topics like loving your hair, overcoming insecurities and being yourself, by way of a fusion of genres that the music legend grew up around. “I had everything from Motown to Neil Young and Steely Dan,” recalls the Oakland native of his own childhood. “Latin music in my neighborhood from Pete Escovedo, so many different layers and soundtracks blaring out of cars in my neighborhood. Music is the backdrop to [children’s] lives. For me, it’s a contribution that I want to give back to the community of kids and their parents.”
Based in New York City, the show is centered on Lunella Lafayette (a.k.a. Moon Girl), who accidentally brings her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur to the city. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur explores universal themes of family and community, while centering the experiences of a Black family living on the Lower East Side. The series arrives to Disney+ today (Feb. 15).
It looks like Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is getting a love story in Joker: Folie à Deux, the upcoming sequel to the 2019 DC film.
Late Tuesday (Feb. 14), Todd Phillips — who directs and writes the Joker films — shared a close-up photo on his Instagram of Phoenix face-to-face with Lady Gaga‘s character, widely believed (but not yet confirmed) to be Harley Quinn. Gaga holds Phoenix’s face in her hands, her eyes open wildly, with evidence on both of their red-paint-smeared faces that they’ve just kissed.
“Happy Valentines Day.,” Phillips captioned the unorthodoxly romantic image.
The pop star/actress confirmed her starring role in the Joker sequel back in August by posting a teaser clip on her Instagram, featuring Phoenix and Gaga’s silhouettes dancing together to the song “Cheek to Cheek,” which Gaga famously covered alongside Tony Bennett.
Folie à Deux, which is currently in production, will also star Zazie Beetz, who returns as Sophie, as well as new castmembers Catherine Keener and Brendan Gleeson in yet-unknown roles.
Lady Gaga is nominated for her fourth Oscar at the upcoming ceremony on March 12, nabbing a best original song nod for co-writing the Top Gun: Maverick power ballad “Hold My Hand.” “Thank you so much to the Academy for nominating my song ‘Hold My Hand’ for an Oscar this year!” Gaga wrote on Instagram last month after nominations were revealed. “Writing this song for the film Top Gun: Maverick was a deep and powerful experience that I will never forget. So grateful for the magic of music and cinema. Love you my co-writer @bloodpop I’m on set filming now big love to little monsters!”
Joker: Folie à Deux is slated to open Oct. 4, 2024.
Priyanka Chopra is in a steady and loving marriage with husband Nick Jonas, but in the first trailer for her upcoming movie Love Again, she stars as Mira Ray, who mourns the loss of her fiancé and uses text messages to feel connected to him in his absence.
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A trailer for the movie, released Tuesday (Feb. 14), sees Chopra cuddling with the fiancé’s old clothing and reflecting on the time she’s spent with him, until one night, she uses her cell phone to send her former lover a message: “I miss you so much. There’s an aching inside of me,” she sends, unknowingly to journalist Rob Burns (Sam Heughan), who receives her texts after getting a new cell phone for work purposes.
In an attempt to move on, Chopra goes on a date for the first time since her fiancé died and gets sets up with none other than a character played by her real-life husband, who she is unable to settle into a comfortable groove with. “Maybe we should just take it slow,” she suggests as they’re in the back of a cab. “Yeah,” he says, awkwardly leaning in for a kiss.
Rob, on the other hand, can’t help but fall for the random woman whose messages he continues to receive, and one day, he makes a plan to meet her face to face, jumpstarting the unfolding of his and Mira’s relationship. Céline Dion also stars in the movie, playing herself and acting as a guiding force for Rob, at one point in the trailer telling him, “These texts you’re receiving are saying something. It might be crazy, but love doesn’t always follow the rules.”
“A journalist, Rob is captivated by the honesty in the beautifully confessional texts,” the film’s synopsis adds. “When he’s assigned to write a profile of megastar Céline Dion, he enlists her help in figuring out how to meet Mira in person and win her heart.”
“I had a lot of fun doing this movie,” the “It’s All Coming Back to Me” singer told People. “And to have the privilege of appearing with the beautiful and talented actors Priyanka Chopra and Sam Heughan in my very first feature film is a privilege that I will cherish forever.” Several new tracks from the singer will also appear in the film. “I think it’s a wonderful feel-good story, and I hope that people will like it and like the new songs too,” she adds.
Love Again will arrive on May 12. Watch the first trailer in the video above.
Driving past a parking structure in midtown Manhattan, you’d never guess what you’d find inside: a group of jokesters and Post Malone pulling some expert hidden-camera pranks.
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Billboard was on set for a season 10 episode shoot of truTV’s Impractical Jokers, which saw the tatted rapper team up with the show’s stars and long-time friends, Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray and Sal Vulcano. It all went down just a day before Post’s two-night stint at Madison Square Garden on his headlining Twelve Carat Toothache Tour.
The set-up was simple: at the entrance to the lot, Post and Q acted as parking attendants pranking a handful of unsuspecting customers looking to pick-up or drop-off their cars. Murr and Sal were out of sight a few floors up, watching everything go down on a couple monitors while using secret earpieces to guide the duo through each prank. Beyond the main monitors and cameras were bins of props, craft services and a couple dozen other crew members — several of whom were situated in front of their own computers, each controlling a different camera hidden on the main floor.
Post Malone x ‘Impractical Jokers’
Aysia Marotta / truTV
In one prank, Post and Q convince a couple of friends that they stashed roadkill in the trunk of their car (complete with an uber-realistic dead possum). In another, Post brings out a couple’s SUV after seemingly hotboxing it.
“Boss, thanks for letting me smoke that up in there,” Post says to Q stepping out of the car’s passenger seat, coughing as smoke rushes out of the open doors. “Give it about five to ten if you guys don’t want the contact high.”
To make matters worse, the female car owner says she’s allergic to tobacco. “Oh, don’t worry about that, it’s not tobacco,” Q assures her as Murr and Sal cackle off-screen. Unsurprisingly, that isn’t enough for these customers to let it go. Post even offers up a can of Febreze, but the couple really isn’t having it — demanding corporate’s number.
Of course, it’s only a matter of time until it’s all revealed as an elaborate prank. But just how long did it take to get the fake marijuana smoke out of the couple’s car? We may never know.
Watch Post Malone hotbox a stranger’s car in the exclusive clip above before his full episode of Impractical Jokers airs on truTV Thursday, Feb. 16 at 10 p.m. ET.
Post Malone x ‘Impractical Jokers’
Aysia Marotta / truTV
Academy President Janet Yang reiterated that the organization’s response to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 ceremony was “inadequate” and that “we must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively” on similar issues in the future.
Yang addressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ response to the incident at last year’s awards show during the 2023 Oscars Nominees Luncheon while touching broadly on “their exciting vision” for the 95th iteration of the show.
“As I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” Yang said. “What happened on stage was wholly unacceptable and the response from the organization was inadequate. We learned from this that the Academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions and particularly in times of crisis.”
“We must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less from us going forward,” she added. “We are committed to maintaining the highest of standards while creating the changes we wish to see in our industry.”
During the 2022 ceremony, ahead of his best Oscar win, Smith took to the Dolby Theatre stage and slapped comedian Rock after he made an unscripted joke about Pinkett Smith’s baldness while presenting an award. Smith has since offered several apologies, in addition to resigning from the Academy, which previously said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony but declined. What ensued was several weeks of deliberation over how to address Smith’s behavior, resulting in the actor being banned from appearing at their events for 10 years.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable,” Smith wrote in an Instagram post at the time. “I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.”
The Academy previously addressed Smith’s behavior, at one point admitting that “we could have handled the situation differently.” They also called Smith’s actions “unacceptable and harmful behavior” and, once again, noted that they did not “adequately address the situation in the room.”
“This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented,” it concluded.
The remainder of Yang’s speech saw the AMPAS president addressing how the “collaborative nature of cinema” will be the focal point of this year’s ceremony.
“The Academy aims to be a driver of unity for our artists and for the public,” she said. “I urge us all to focus our efforts on nurturing the extraordinary, brilliant community that we inhabit. I want to remind us of the deep respect and love we have for our fellow colleagues and for the art of filmmaking. I invite us to grow together because the collective power of this room and this industry are unstoppable.”
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.
The Super Bowl averaged an impressive 113 million viewers on Sunday (Feb. 12), a one percent increase in comparison to last year’s big game and the broadcast’s greatest viewership in six years.
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About 106 million of the viewers watched the game on Fox and a Spanish-language feed on Fox Deportes, while the remainder opted for Fox and NFL digital platforms, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As expected, viewing peaked during Rihanna‘s halftime performance, which averaged 118.7 million viewers, making it the second-most-watched halftime show on record behind Katy Perry’s 2015 performance.
During her 12-minute show, RiRi was dressed in a curve-hugging red outfit, surprising fans with a pregnant belly during the airborne performance at the State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona, where she treated viewers to a medley of some of her biggest hits.
The new baby will have a big sibling, as Rihanna just welcomed her first child with A$AP Rocky in May. “When I first got the call to do it again this year, I was like, [hisses] ‘You sure?’ I’m three months postpartum,” RiRi previously said about accepting the Super Bowl gig, during an Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show press conference earlier in the week. “Should I be making major decisions like this right now? I might regret this. But when you become a mom, there’s something that just happens where you feel like you can take on the world. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest stages in the world, so as scary as that was because I haven’t been on stage in seven years, there’s something exhilarating about the challenge of it all … It’s important for my son to see that.”
Jay Park had a busy day after delivering his new singles and twerking skills for Kehlani.
On the evening of Feb. 13 local time in South Korea, the rapper-singer-CEO dropped two new songs, “Yesterday” and “Love Is Ugly” featuring Hwa Sa of K-pop girl group MAMAMOO. While Park is most known for his rap skills, the two new tracks see the Korean-American star embracing his R&B sensibilities and showcasing a tender vocal approach.
“Yesterday” is an English acoustic track that comes with a stripped-down music video where Park sings heartfelt lyrics (“Your smile is all I need, without you these lungs can’t breathe/ I’d fall from the sky for you, want to do better and thrive for you”) in a white T-shirt and jeans. Soon enough, the love interest Jay’s singing to joins him, played by actress Lee You-mi who’s best known as the Emmy Award–winning Squid Game actress who was the first Korean named Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
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Park’s second new song, “Love Is Ugly,” stays in a similarly laid-back, R&B sound with Jay and Hwa Sa trading off expressive, emotive verses. The two performed the track live for Hwa Sa’s cable television show on Korean TV station tVn (below), with the latest episode also including a cover of Park’s excellent pop-R&B single “Ganadara” and Hwa Sa covering “Stay” by 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner Rihanna.
After dropping the new music, Jay Park made his way to Seoul’s YES 24 Live Hall where Kehlani was performing as part of the Asia leg of her Blue Water Road Trip tour that night. Not only was Jay spotted watching the show, but he eventually joined Kehlani on stage for what appeared to be an impromptu dance lesson of how to twerk to Park’s 2015 single “MOMMAE.” Fans in attendance shared footage throughout the night, including the moment when Jay pulled his shirt off prompting a hyped-up reaction from the crowd and Kehlani herself.
“Yesterday” and “Love Is Ugly” are the latest releases from Jay Park under his newly created More Vision record label that launched nearly a year ago. Like these two new tracks, More Vision has seen Park serving more in the pop and R&B lane with singles like “Ganadara” and “Need to Know.” The former track earned Park his first Top 10 entry on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart since 2016, perhaps indicating that U.S. fans are especially loving his latest venture.
Watch Jay Park’s “Yesterday” video with Lee You-mi and “Love Is Ugly” live performance with Hwa Sa below:
“You will never be able to break my family.”
Universal Pictures unveiled the new trailer for Fast X during Super Bowl LVII on Sunday (Feb. 12), and in the clip, Vin Diesel, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson and their crew face off against a new enemy in Jason Momoa’s Dante Reyes — the son of Fast Five baddie Hernan Reyes who’s now out for revenge.
“Dominic Torretto, you’re about to learn all about fear,” he warns in a voice-over, as an ominous remix of 1997’s “Notorious Thugs” by The Notorious B.I.G. and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony plays. “You built such a beautiful life, filled with love and family. I never got that chance. You stole that from me: my future, my family. And now I’m gonna break yours piece by piece.”
Diesel’s character later adds: “When it used to be about winning, we raced for respect. Today I race to stop the bloodbath.” But Momoa still, apparently, holds the upper hand, responding, “That’s the problem with having such a big family. How do you choose the ones you save?”
The 10th installment of the Fast & Furious franchise also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, John Cena, Jason Statham, Sun Kang, Scott Eastwood, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno and the late Paul Walker via flashbacks. The movie will hit theaters nationwide on May 19.
During the Super Bowl, Ludacris — who’s starred in the action franchise since 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious — also appeared in a new DraftKings commercial opposite Tony Hawk, Kevin Hart, The Undertaker, David Ortiz, Emmitt Smith, Lisa Leslie and Julius Erving.
Watch the trailer for Fast X below.
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler announced Monday (Feb. 13) that they are headed out on their first joint comedy tour.
The besties broke the news to Rolling Stone. Produced by Live Nation, Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: Restless Leg Tour will start its four-city run April 28 at Washington, D.C.’s DAR Constitution Hall before heading to Chicago, Boston and Atlantic City through June 10.
In a bicoastal video, recorded with the 30 Rock star in New York City and the Parks and Recreation lead in Los Angeles, the two pals shared just how excited they are to be hitting the road together. “It’s gonna be an evening of comedy, conversation, improv, maybe a little slow-dancing between us… we don’t know yet! But it’s gonna be awesome,” Fey promised while Poehler added, “We cannot wait to see you. I cannot wait to see you in person, buddy! And yeah, let’s do it!”
Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday (Feb. 17) at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster, though a presale begins two days prior on Wednesday, also at 10 a.m., using the code “RESTLESS.”
The Restless Leg Tour will be the first time the two Saturday Night Live legends have appeared together on stage since they last hosted the Golden Globes together back in Feb. 2021. That ceremony marked the fourth time they had MC’d the now-embattled awards show following a three-year stint in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Most recently, Poehler popped back into SNL late last month to support her former Parks and Rec co-star Aubrey Plaza for the one-time NBC page’s hosting debut. Fey’s latest projects include Only Murders in the Building, Girls5eva and the upcoming Netflix series Mulligan.
After smelling success with last season’s acting challenge, RuPaul’s Drag Race decided to bring back a flatulent favorite soap opera drama for their latest episode — The Daytona Wind.
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On last week’s episode (aired Friday, February 10), the remaining contestants were tasked with over-acting in the latest “episode” of the much-beloved, made-up TV show from last season. This time, the show ditched the farting sound effects for a ’80s sitcom-style laugh track, asking the queens to hit every catchphrase and corny line delivery possible.
While Mistress Isabelle Brooks managed to wow the judges with her campy characterization, Jax and Aura Mayari failed to impress with their half-baked performances, finding themselves in the bottom. Lip syncing to Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Sweetest Pie,” Jax pulled out every stop — including a number of perfectly executed acrobatic stunts — to secure her spot on the show, leaving Mayari on the chopping block.
Billboard caught up with Aura following her elimination to talk about struggling in the lip-sync, her BLACKPINK talent show performance and how she’s dealt with being dubbed the “cringe” queen of the season by Twitter.
We are six weeks into Drag Race — what has it been like getting to watch yourself on national television?
Well, interesting question! It’s been a lot of ups and downs; I’m just one of those people that hates watching myself and hearing myself. It’s weird and I don’t like it. But part of the job is doing viewing parties and watching yourself in front of a literal crowd, which is so gross.
I completely get that — I’m sure it also hasn’t helped that a certain section of the fanbase has decided to bombard you with criticisms of being “cringe.” But props to you for taking that and running with it online!
Yeah, at the very beginning, I really did not expect to have people coming for me. After we taped the show, I was really like, “It’ll be fine, I don’t think anyone’s gonna hate me for what I did — except for maybe the Snatch Game.” But then, yeah, they really did come for me. It took me a minute to kind of figure out how to respond to that situation, because we’re all pretty new when it comes to being in front of thousands and thousands of people online. But at the end of the day, if you feel that way, then you feel that way. I’m not here to make you love me, I’m here to do what I want to do.
To be real, I also watched a video online that was sent to me by Salina [EsTitties], of this speaker saying, “You never take criticism from somebody who isn’t in the same playing field as you.” But, I also want to be clear — if I did horrible, then I will say it, too. I’m not gonna sit here and make this about not accepting any criticism whatsoever. The situation is what it is, and I’m just rolling with it.
I want to actually go back for a moment to the premiere episode, and your performance of “Kill This Love” by BLACKPINK for the talent show — tell me about what went into that number?
So, that wasn’t my original plan! That came together about three days before I had to leave for filming. Originally, when we were told about the talent show, I messaged production and told them that I was going to do a fun “workout routine.” I tore my hamstring while I was onstage in Nashville, and I got the call that I made it onto the show while I was in the hospital. So, the plan was that I would hopefully be able to fully heal before going, and I was stretching every day, but during that time, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to do an all-out performance for the talent show, so I came up with the idea for this workout sketch.
I wrote it and performed it to my boyfriend a couple of times, and he was basically like, “It’s funny, but you shouldn’t do this on the show. You should show them what you can do on stage.” But I knew if I moved in the wrong way, I’d hurt myself and then I’d have to go home. So we went back and forth for a while, before finally settling on this dance. I didn’t have time to choreograph it, so my friend actually choreographed it and made a video so I could learn it in three days. So, for all of the fans talking about why I was wearing flats for that performance, now you know why!
Let’s talk about this episode and “Daytona Winds”; things did not really go your way in this challenge. Walk me through what was going on in your head as you were filming this acting challenge.
Yes, there was a lot of struggle! The truth is, I was so excited for an acting challenge — I was so ready to make an absolute fool of myself, because the challenge isn’t really about “good acting.” If you’re being goofy, you’ll be okay! Well, I ended up just thinking about it way too much. I was so focused on the “over-acting,” and had a fully different idea of the character than the script did. It was also my first time working directly with RuPaul, and I got so nervous.
You were also very kind in switching your role with Mistress at the last minute, avoiding another “Metal-gate” moment.
I’m always trying to be a team player — if this is a group effort, then I want it to be a hit, I want everyone to do well with their parts. I fully forgot about myself at that point. Looking back now, I feel like I definitely could have picked a better part, but it was fully nerves.
I’m sure this was a hard lip sync to do, because Megan raps pretty fast in her verse and nailing all those words is tough. Credit where it’s due, though, you definitely brought the moves.
I appreciate that, but I was simply so gone during the lip sync because I didn’t know my words. Truly, I was doing whatever I could to distract the judges from looking at my mouth. Honestly, I don’t really remember what I did because I was so busy trying to get these words down.
I gotta tell you, I was so nervous for you when you started the lip sync with the kimono on — I was truly thinking, “How is she going to perform in this.” But the strip reveal to those pasties was incredible.
I had nothing prepared for a reveal, truly! I made those pasties on set, knowing I was going to lip-sync, and just slapped them on to cover my ta-ta’s [laughs].
The puffer kimono was such a clever way to do the theme without doing the same thing as everyone else. Where did that idea come from?
When we found out there would be a puffer runway, I immediately started thinking about what the other girls would do so I could do something different. I started listing out ideas I didn’t think anyone else would try with this, and I love myself a kimono, so that won. I wanted to represent for the Asian community on the show, so I knew I wanted to do an homage to my sisters out there.
Fun fact, Utica was actually the one who helped me create this! Her sleeping bag runway she did on her season was so iconic, and it was amazing that she was able to make this happen. That thing was humongous and heavy and hot.
