Steve Pond's Blog, page 2052
November 30, 2019
Watch Rihanna and Paul McCartney’s ‘How Are You on My Flight?’ Midair Reunion (Video)
If a fear of flying has stopped you from air travel, witnessing a chance reunion of Rihanna and Paul McCartney aboard a post-Thanksgiving flight just might have compelled you to tough it out.
In a video posted to her Instagram Stories on Friday, Rihanna filmed her unexpected midair reunion with McCartney, whom she last worked with in 2015.
“I’m about to put you on blast, Mr. McCartney,” Rihanna said, captioning her video with the hashtag #RihUnion. “How are you on my flight?”
Also Read: Seth Meyers and Rihanna Get Sloppy Drunk From Day Drinking (Video)
“What’s going on here? Who is this filming me?” McCartney responded, as he stood by Rihanna’s seat.
“Who is this peasant filming this legend?” Rihanna laughed.
You can check it out below.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Rihanna Snaps & IG Story ???? (@rihchat) on Nov 30, 2019 at 11:15am PST
Also Read: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr Reunite Onstage to Perform Beatles Classics (Video)
The two icons last collaborated on “FourFiveSeconds,” the 2015 hit that also featured Kanye West. Since then, Rihanna released her 2016 album “Anti” and launched her luxury beauty and fashion line, Fenty, with LVMH, making her the first woman of color with an LVMH label and the first woman to start an original luxury brand for the group.
McCartney released “Pure McCartney,” a career-spanning album of his solo work in 2016. He’s since made appearances on “Saturday Night Live” and in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” released two new singles, and wrote a children’s book in 2018.
As for next year, the Beatles star is continuing his “Freshen Up” tour with performances across Europe.
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Steph Curry’s Young Daughter Doesn’t Understand the Golden State Warriors’ Losing Streak
With a 4-16 start to the season, the Golden State Warriors are amidst an unusual losing streak — and Steph Curry’s 7-year-old daughter Riley doesn’t understand why.
In a feature published earlier this week in The Athletic, Curry’s teammate Draymond Green recalls the Warriors’ recent loss to the Boston Celtics and the rather harsh — but humorous — question posed by Curry’s eldest daughter.
“The other day, I was getting them out of the family room after the [Celtics] game and Riley Curry was in there,” Green said. “She’s like: ‘Did we lose?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, Riley, we lost.’ She’s like: ‘Why do we keep losing?'”
Also Read: Steph Curry, Will Arnett to Develop Basketball Comedy 'Second Half' at Fox
“All my kids know is the Warriors winning,” Green told The Athletic. “So, us losing, it doesn’t make sense to them.”
Riley, who was born in 2012, has never seen the Warriors miss the playoffs. The team has also won three NBA championships since 2015.
But as several of the Warriors’ star players have been , including Riley’s father Steph, it remains to be seen whether the team will be able to turn the season around. As for how Green responded to Riley’s question?
Also Read: Steph Curry and John Legend to Develop Sports Drama 'Signing Day' at Sony
“Green resisted the urge to point over at Riley’s father, mention that giant cast over his left hand and explain that, well, that’s the reason they keep losing,” The Athletic’s Anthony Slater wrote.
Instead, Green simply answered, “We’ll get better.” Or so he hopes.
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Louis C.K. Tells Israeli Audience He’d ‘Rather Be In Auschwitz Than New York City’
Disgraced comedian Louis C.K. inserted his foot in his mouth again, telling an audience in Israel that he’d prefer to be in the concentration camp where millions of Jewish people were massacred than be in New York City.
“I’d rather be in Auschwitz than New York City,” C.K. said during a Thanksgiving night performance in Holon, a city south of Tel Aviv, according to multiple reports.
“I mean now, not when it was open,” he added.
Also Read: Louis CK Jokes About His Sexual Misconduct: 'I Like to Jerk Off, and I Don't Like Being Alone'
Auschwitz was a concentration camp built and operated by Nazi Germany where 1.1 million men, women and children were exterminated during World War II, including 865,000 Jews who were gassed on arrival. Many who were not gassed died of starvation, beatings and disease.
Although many on social media got a belly laugh out of the joke – one Twitter user said they bought tickets to his show because of it – and the Daily News reported that “the audience burst into applause” for the comedian, others on Twitter went berserk:
I’m going to try to find a delicate way to respond to Louis CK…
What the fucking fuck is wrong with you? https://t.co/7kBwO7oePk
— Miranda Yaver (@mirandayaver) November 29, 2019
I wouldn't wish Auschwitz on anyone, even an ignorant, Fascist, stupid fk like Louis CK
— Jim (@J73Jim) November 30, 2019
Also Read: Louis CK Enforces Cellphone Ban at His Stand-Up Shows
C.K., who is of Jewish descent, is in the middle of an international comedy tour that includes sold-out shows in Slovakia, along with performances in Hungary and a series of U.S. shows in Detroit, Akron, Reading, Mobile, New Orleans and Houston.
During his Holon set, C.K. also addressed his behavior as being wrong, according to the New York Daily News.
“If they say ‘yes,’ then still don’t do it, because it’s not popular,” he said in apparent reference to the growing #MeToo movement.
But this isn’t the first time C.K. has referenced masturbating in front of women during a comedy set. Earlier this year in a San Jose comedy club, C.K. told the audience, “I like to jerk off, and I don’t like being alone.”
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Leonardo DiCaprio Denies Brazilian President’s Accusation That He Financed Amazon Fires
Leonardo DiCaprio has denied an unfounded accusation from Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, that he had funded the fires consuming the Amazon rainforest.
In a statement posted on his Instagram account on Saturday morning, DiCaprio wrote, “The future of these irreplaceable ecosystems is at stake and I am proud to stand with the groups protecting them. While worthy of support, we did not fund the organizations targeted.”
DiCaprio’s statement can be seen in full at the bottom.
Also Read: Nat Geo Acquires Leonardo DiCaprio-Produced Documentary 'Sea of Shadows'
On Friday, Bolsonaro appeared to be commenting on social media posts saying that the World Wildlife Fund had been paying volunteer firefighters for images that the organization would then use to solicit donations, Reuters reported. According to some of these postings, DiCaprio was one such donor who made a $500,000 contribution.
The Brazilian president had also criticized the actor and other non-profit organizations who were fighting to save the rainforest during a live webcast on Thursday, a few days after four members of a nongovernmental fire brigade were arrested and accused of purposefully setting fires in order to solicit donations. (The members were released on a judge’s order on Thursday, Reuters reported.)
“[WWF] makes a campaign against Brazil, it contacts Leonardo DiCaprio, he donates $500,000,” he said. “A part of that went to the people that were setting fires. Leonardo DiCaprio, you are contributing to the fire in the Amazon; that won’t do.”
Also Read: Mamie Gummer Joins Leonardo DiCaprio's Nat Geo Series 'The Right Stuff' (Exclusive)
Bolsonaro brought up DiCaprio’s name yet again briefly on Friday, saying, according to Reuters, “This Leonardo DiCaprio is a cool guy, right? Giving money to torch the Amazon.”
The WWF has denied paying for photos from the firefighters or receiving a donation from DiCaprio. “WWF Brazil rejects the attacks on its partners and the lies involving its name, including a series of lie-based social media attacks such as the purchase of photographs linked to a donation from the actor Leonardo DiCaprio,” WWF said in a statement, via English translation.
Other environmental conservation group leaders also issued statements on Saturday in support of DiCaprio and the NGOs working to conserve the rainforest.
Also Read: Guardian Issues New Style Guide: 'Climate Change' Is Now 'Climate Emergency'
“In the past few days, false accusations have been made to undermine environmental defenders and distract the general public from policies that directly lead to environmental like those across the Amazon earlier this year,” Wes Sechrest, the CEO and chief scientist for Global Wildlife Conservation, said in a statement. “We stand by those falsely accused of starting forest fires in the Amazon, and reaffirm our support to those who are dedicated to protecting one of our planet’s most vital and imperiled ecosystems.”
Jon Paul Rodriguez, the chair of IUCN Species Survival Commission, said the group was “concerned that there are increasing and targeted attacks on people and groups working to protect nature in the Amazon.”
“Environmental defenders, whether in local communities, NGOs, or government agencies, should be afforded with the highest protection of the law in Brazil,” Rodriguez said in a statement.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Leonardo DiCaprio (@leonardodicaprio) on Nov 30, 2019 at 7:48am PST
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Is There a New ‘SNL’ Episode Airing This Week?
Season 45 of “SNL” is well underway, returning at the end of September after that four-month summer hiatus. The most recent new episode, hosted by “SNL” alum Will Ferrell, who joined the Five-Timers Club with this appearance, featured the rare appearance by a host in the cold open, with Farrell playing Gordon Sondland opposite Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump.
In season 45, Alec Baldwin has made three appearances as Donald Trump thus far — in this episode, in the premiere episode, and in the cold open on October 26, when he shared the stage with Darrell Hammond, the former “SNL” cast member who played Trump on the show for years. Baldwin popped up less often in season 44 than he did in the previous two seasons, when he would appear as Donald Trump in the cold open most weeks. Thus far he’s made one appearance per month in season 45.
This week, on Saturday, November 30, there WILL NOT be a new episode of “SNL.” The show is on hiatus for just this week, and will return on Dec. 7 when Jennifer Lopez hosts. Since there’s no new episode this week, the “SNL” rerun will not air at the same time on each coast — you’ll be able to catch this re-air at the normal 11:30 p.m. time on the West Coast.
Also Read: 'SNL': Will Ferrell's Gordon Sondland Shows Up to Ruin Things for Alec Baldwin's Trump (Video)
While season 44 saw “SNL” seemingly tire of doing political commentary late in the season, season 45 has seen it return its politics-heavy form. Every cold open this season has been political, and each has featured some surprise celebrity cameos. Including, perhaps most shockingly, Darrell Hammond’s brief appearance — Hammond was devastated three years ago when it picked Baldwin to play Trump over him. We’ve also seen Lin-Manuel Miranda and Billy Porter feature in one cold open, and Matthew Broderick in another.
The start of the 45th season of “SNL” is not that different from how season 44 began — though later in the season it shied away from the political stuff in favor of general pop culture jokes.
Last year, the Season 44 premiere was eventful for a number of reasons. Matt Damon appeared as Brett Kavanaugh in the cold open. Musical guest Kanye West wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat on stage and giving a pro-Donald Trump speech that didn’t air. Cast member Pete Davidson addressed West’s pro-Trump speech during the “Weekend Update” portion of the Oct. 6 episode the following week.
The political bent did, of course, continue throughout the season. Ahead of the midterm elections, we got a cold open sketch that parodied Fox News’ hysterical coverage of the immigrant caravan ahead of this week’s midterm elections. The sketch saw cast member Kate McKinnon playing “Ingraham Angle” host Laura Ingraham, with guest appearances by Kenan Thompson as right-wing former sheriff David Clarke and Cecily Strong popping up as “Judge” Jeanine Pirro. The three took turns spouting false narratives about the caravan and presenting videos of things like a mob of Black Friday shoppers and crabs scrambling around on a beach as being footage of the caravan.
We’ve been surprised to see Robert De Niro pop up fairly regularly as special counsel Robert Mueller — he showed up in two episodes late last season and has returned for several more episodes as Mueller in the past couple months, such as when he bid farewell to Kate McKinnon’s still tremendously impression Jeff Sessions impersonation after Sessions was fired as Attorney General.
Alec Baldwin’s most recent appearance, his sixth time this season portraying Donald Trump, came in a sketch mocking the way the Mueller Report was initially filtered by Attorney General William Barr and Trump himself.
In the previous two seasons of “SNL” you’d have been hard pressed to find many cold open sketches that dodged the political happenings of the week, but lately the show has been delving more into general pop culture stuff and — aside from eternally mocking Trump — even taking more of a neutral stance in its political sketches. Recent examples of such apolitical sketches include a parody of that infamous R. Kelly interview on CBS News, and the previously mentioned Julian Assange prison sketch — while Assange is certainly a political figure, the sketch was just for lulz, not for making political statements.
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‘Frozen II’ on Pace to Set Thanksgiving Weekend Record With $128 Million Opening
Box office weekend estimates have been tempered somewhat after Black Friday, but Disney’s “Frozen II” is still on pace to set a new 5-day Thanksgiving weekend record with an estimated $128 million total after grossing $34 million on Friday from 4,440 screens. That tops the current holiday record held by “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” with $109.9 million in its second weekend in 2013.
As the sequel approaches $292 million by the end of Sunday, it will bring in approximately 37% more than the 5-day Thanksgiving opening of the original “Frozen.” At its current pace, “Frozen II” should pass its predecessor’s $400 million domestic total well before its main December competition hits theaters, starting with “Jumanji: The Next Level” on Dec. 13.
Also Read: 'Frozen II' Revives Box Office, Pushes Disney Past $3 Billion in 2019 Domestic Grosses
In second is Lionsgate/MRC/T-Street‘s “Knives Out,” which added $10.6 million on Friday to bring its total to $27 million. Estimates for the film had reached as high as $45 million but have now simmered back down to $42 million. That’s still higher than the 5-day summer opening of “Baby Driver,” another original MRC production that was released by Sony two years ago and opened to $29 million.
A pair of true story holdovers, Fox/Chernin’s “Ford v Ferrari” and Sony/TriStar’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” are performing well this weekend with “Ford” taking the edge on the charts with a $19.2 million 5-day weekend to $18.7 million for “Neighborhood.”
Completing the top 5 is Universal/Makeready’s “Queen & Slim,” which was estimated early in the weekend to earn a $15 million 5-day opening and has not wavered from that figure.
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November 29, 2019
Kid Rock Slings Bizarre NSFW Rant Against Oprah and Joy Behar, Predicts He’ll Be Called Racist (Video)
Kid Rock had a normal one earlier this week at the bar he owns in Nashville, when he decided to go off on a sexist slur-laden tirade against several female media figures, until he was helped offstage by some stagehands.
The weird episode was captured in video taken by attendees of a concert held at Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse in Nashville, and later posted online by TMZ. In the video Rock, who wasn’t actually a performer on the bill, appears to have had quite a bit to drink and then decided to take advantage of the fact that he owns the joint to take the stage and deliver some unprepared remarks to concertgoers. Which is where things got weird.
“I’m like, Oprah Winfrey or Joy Behar, they can suck d— sideways,” Rock tells the disbelieving crowd as he mimes pushing someone’s head to his, uh, pelvic area. Later in the video, he adds another famous name to his burn list. “F— Oprah Winfrey and f— Kathie Lee Gifford,” Rock says, prompting someone in the crowd to remark, “He’s racist. Look at him he’s blacked out drunk as f—.”
Also Read: Trump Clowns Newsweek for Suggesting He Would Spend All Thanksgiving Tweeting
Rock seemed particularly stuck on the “sideways” imagery; he not only said it a second time while talking about Oprah, he also used it in context with his potential critics. “And if you say that, people say, ‘Hey, I’m pretty sure Kid Rock’s a racist,'” Rock continued. “I’m, like, ‘OK, fine’. F— off.'”
Near the end of the video, which was clearly edited down, Rock told the bewildered audience that he’s “not the bad guy in this equation, I’m the f-in’ guy you want, like, hey, he’s pretty cool.” Which, OK. Watch the whole clip above.
Rock has made headlines in recent years for similar tirades. For instance, he lost his role as a Nashville parade marshal a year ago for calling Behar “that… bitch” during a Fox News appearance. Other targets have included Taylor Swift.
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‘Game of Thrones': Deleted Scene Explains How Sansa and Tyrion Survived the Battle of Winterfell
If you’re among “Game of Thrones” fans who weren’t put off by the finale, you might still have some lingering questions about some of the final season’s more ambiguous moments. For instance, how precisely did Sansa, Tyrion and all the other people hiding in the crypts survive the battle of Winterfell?
That question actually has an answer (Shocker: Dragonglass is involved), and it comes from a deleted scene included as part of the special features for the upcoming Season 8 home video release and released online exclusively by Entertainment Weekly earlier this week.
Taken from Season 8 episode 2, “The Long Night” (which depicts the defeat of the Night King), the scene follows Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Gilly (Hannah Murray) as they hide from wights among the Stark family tombs.
Also Read: HBO Max: Everything We Learned From WarnerMedia's Streaming Event
In the episode that aired, we didn’t actually see how these characters made it to the end — we only saw Sansa and Tyrion exchange a look as she pulls out her dragonglass dagger, then turn up alive later. In the deleted scene which continues from that moment, we see how Gilly’s son’s crying attracted the wights, which allowed Sansa and Tyrion to sneak up on them and do the old stabby-stabby from behind. Ice zombie death ensues. Watch the clip over at EW.
A warning though, the footage is extremely not finished. There are no SFX and it boasts the same so-dark-it’s-impossible-to-see lighting that drove fans crazy when the episode first aired in April. Seriously, it’s almost impossible to see what the hell is happening.
The final season will be released on home video Dec. 3, the same day as the “Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection” box set.
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‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial': What Has the Cast Been Up to Since E.T. First Phoned Home? (Photos)
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” came back into our lives over Thanksgiving courtesy of a new holiday ad from Comcast’s cable and internet provider Xfinity.
In the spot, E.T. travels to Earth to reunite with a grown-up Elliott and his new family. Henry Thomas, the actor who originally played Elliott in the 1982 film, is now a married 40-something father of two.
It’s been more than 35 years since E.T. first came to Earth and change Elliot’s and his family’s life. Since E.T.’s back to check in on his old friend, but what have the actors been up to since E.T. phoned home?
Also Read: E.T. Comes Back to Earth to Meet Grown-Up Elliott in Holiday Commercial (Video)
Henry Thomas (Elliot)
Thomas has had a steady career since his breakout role as Elliot in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 hit. He worked with Martin Scorsese in “Gangs of New York,” and most recently played the young version of Hugh Crain on Netflix’s “Haunting of Hill House.”
Drew Barrymore (Gertie)
Barrymore of course rode her role as Elliot’s adorable little sister to super stardom and a storied career with iconic performances in films such as “Scream,” “Never Been Kissed” and “Whip It,” which she also directed. Barrymore has spent a lot of time recently producing, including an executive producer credit on the new “Charlie’s Angels.” Her Netflix show “The Santa Clarita Diet” wrapped up its final season in March 2019.
Robert MacNaughton (Michael)
MacNaughton continued to act throughout the 80s following “E.T.,” appearing in “I Am the Cheese” and the TV series “Vietnam War Story.” It was 27 years until he returned to the screen, with roles in “Frankenstein vs. the Mummy” and “Laugh Killer Laugh” in 2015.
Dee Wallace (Mary)
After playing the maternal figure in “E.T.,” Wallace went on to star in “Cujo” and a host of other films. She’s worked with Rob Zombie on a number of occasions. Wallace has also had guest appearances on TV shows such as “NCIS” and “You’re the Worst.” Wallace is still acting, recently appearing in Rob Zombie’s 2019 film “3 From Hell.”
Peter Coyote (Keys)
Coyote has since acted in such films as “Patch Adams,” “Erin Brockovich,” and “A Walk to Remember.” He’s had guest appearances on “Law and Order,” “NCIS,” and “Blue Bloods.” In 2020 he’s set to appear as Robert Mueller in the TV mini series “A Higher Loyalty” on CBS.
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Some Older Roku Devices Are About to Lose Netflix Support
Come Monday, some Roku users will have no choice but to upgrade if they want to continue streaming Netflix.
Several older Roku models will, starting on Dec. 2, no longer be supported by Netflix. “Technical limitations” will prevent Netflix from supporting the older devices, a Netflix rep told CNET earlier this month.
A Roku rep told BGR the following devices will be impacted: Roku SD (N1050); Roku HD-XR (N1101); Roku HD (N1100, 2000C); and Roku XD (2050X, 2050N, 2100X, 2100N).
Also Read: 'The Irishman': Here's When to Take a Break From Watching 3.5 Hour Epic
This shouldn’t come as a complete surprise to the viewers with those devices, though, as Roku has sent alerts, notifying customers their devices may soon be unable to stream Netflix.
Still, if you have one of those devices, and you were looking forward to checking out Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” you might want to crank it out this weekend.
Earlier this month, Roku reported it added 2 million active accounts during the third quarter, pushing it 32.3 million overall. Roku, in its letter to shareholders, boasted its viewers watched 10.3 billion hours of content during Q3 — or the equivalent of about 3.5 hours per account spent streaming each day.
Also Read: 'Anne With an E' to End After Season 3 on Netflix
Coupled with established players like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, Roku appears poised to benefit from the launch of both Disney+ and Apple TV+ earlier this month.
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