ENTERTAINMENT

Despite opening with rave reviews, James Gunn and Warner Bros.’ The Suicide Squad debuted with only $26.5 million USD in the box office from a total of 4,002 North American theaters. Although it topped the domestic box office, reports state that the underwhelming number could be due to a mix of the public’s growing concern over the Delta COVID-19 variant, the film’s premiere on HBO Max at no additional cost to the subscribers and its R rating. Analysts initially expected The Suicide Squad to do better due to its stellar reviews and target audience of younger men, who “have been among the most loyal moviegoers during the pandemic.” Variety adds that the lack of big names in the cast (with Margot Robbie and Viola Davis named as the only A-listers) could also be a determining factor. “Current...

NBC has officially scrapped its reality competition series, Ultimate Slip N’ Slide after production was put on pause earlier this summer after a crew member tested positive for giardia. Prior to the shutdown, Deadline reported that filming for the reality TV show as almost completed. However, due to the sudden pause in June, costs and logistics of restarting production proved to make this impossible. The competition show as originally meant to be a lead-out program of the Tokyo Olympics, but its premiere slot is now replaced with Family Game Fight. The show was set to be hosted by funnymen duo Bobby Moynihan and Ron Funches. Competitors on the show were meant to take on various challenges including Human Pong, Body Bowling, Cornhole and Bocce Fall for a hefty cash prize at the end. In othe...

Though Marvel fans are constantly eager to know more about other upcoming MCU films, the one that has kept fans on their toes is the release of Ryan Reynolds‘ R-rated Deadpool franchise. When Disney was officially acquired by 20th Century Fox, Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios was quick to see the franchise as a keeper for the MCU. In a recent press event, Ryan Reynolds revealed key details of the progress of Deadpool 3. When asked about the chances of beginning filming in 2022, he said, “The percentage chance? I don’t know. I couldn’t assign a percentage to that. I’d say it’s 50/50 maybe? We’re really actively developing it and getting it into pretty good shape. What the hell month is it? August? Oh next year? Probably pretty damn good. I’d say 70%.” Though he noted that he has not kept track...

Hulu has launched the official trailer for the second season of Wu-Tang: An American Saga. The dramatic trailer gives fans an insight of the beginnings of the iconic hip-hop group. The biography of the group was recently announced to come back for a second season by RZA. While season one focused on how the group was initially formed, the second season is set to emphasize the creation of the group’s classic debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Ashton Sanders, who plays RZA, appears in the first scene of the trailer listening to some of Wu-Tang’s most famous samples, including the spoken word portion from Shaolin and Wu Tang. The trailer continues to show how the group chose its name, while engaging in conversations that pin-pointed the group’s doubts and fears as they focus on thei...

Marvel has officially joined the NFT sphere with five different Spider-Man “collectibles.” The entertainment juggernaut announced its move into NFTs back in June, promising digital comic books, “statues” like the ones pictured above and more, all available via the VeVe digital marketplace. Spidey’s NFTs range from “common,” which will be made available to 32,000 buyers to an animated “secret-rare” that’s only been produced in an edition of 1,000. Three of Spider-Man’s five NFTs are pictured above: “Hangin’ Out,” which shows him dangling from a strand of his web while flashing a peace sign, “Jump Into Action,” which shows him mid-web swing and “The Amazing Spider-Man,” a classic action stance. Though Spidey is leading things off, there will be plenty of further Marvel NFT content over the c...

Bob Ross — the late, curly-haired painter and host of 1983’s genre-transforming instructional art program The Joy of Painting — captivated global audiences for his peaceful approach to painting and his legacy of feel-good phrases, including “there’s no mistakes, only happy accidents” and “the joy of painting is the friends you make along the way.” Now, highlighting Ross’ immeasurable influence on today’s culture, Netflix is releasing a documentary that will delve into the “shockingly untold story” of the renowned painter’s life, titled Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed. Directed by Joshua Rofé, the documentary will unfold “a sinister tale surrounding his name and the empire that was built on it being hijacked by once trusted partners, whose slow betrayal of him continued beyo...

Dominic Fike will be appearing in the second season of HBO’s Euphoria, he revealed in an interview with Variety. Initially premiering in 2019, the second season of the popular drama series is slated to arrive in late 2021 or early 2022 due to filming delays. Created by Sam Levinson and produced in partnership with A24, Euphoria follows a group of high school students through their relationships to drugs, sex, identity and one another. Fike told Variety that his character is a “homie” and “degenerate” that ends up hanging out with two of the show’s leads, Rue and Jules, portrayed by Zendaya and Hunter Schafer respectively. The 25-year-old artist also revealed to the outlet that he was personally asked by the show’s casting director to audition, reading a scene from Mark Wahlberg’s 1997...

South Park has been renewed through season 30 in a whopping $900 million USD deal with ViacomCBS INC. In addition to the renewal, which will carry the show through 2027, the deal also includes 14 original films for Paramount+. Making its debut in 1997, South Park is one the longest-running tv shows and with this new deal, creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have big plans to continue this comedic legacy. In addition to planning the upcoming six seasons, the creators will expand into long-form South Park episodes, which were catalyzed by the pandemic. During that time, the creators did not produce a new season. However, the duo created two hour-long specials titled “The Pandemic Special” and “South ParQ Vaccination Special.” “The Pandemic Special” has been nominated for a 2021 Emmy in the O...

LeBron James is not only making big moves on the court but he appears to be taking large strides off the court as well. In his latest film venture, King James is now set to produce a Native American basketball film titled Rez Ball for Netflix. The film is described as a hybrid that sees Friday Night Lights meet Hosiers. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the project “follows the Chuska Warriors, a Native American high school basketball team from Chuska, New Mexico, that must band together after losing their star player if they want to keep their quest for a state championship alive. It’s an all-American underdog story about Navajo kids and coaches told from the inside-out.” Legendary TV director, Sydney Freeland is set to direct the film and co-write the script with Sterlin Harjo, a vete...

Netflix has shared a first look at the hotly-anticipated fourth season of Stranger Things. “see y’all in the upisde down,” the series’ official Twitter account wrote in signature inverted text, alongside a 30-second teaser trailer. “Stranger Things returns in 2022.” uʍop ǝpᴉsdn ǝɥʇ uᴉ llɐ,ʎ ǝǝsStranger Things returns in 2022. pic.twitter.com/RHwQng4QZh — Stranger Things (@Stranger_Things) August 6, 2021 The visual cuts between a blend of old and new footage from the series, highlighting a slew of action-packed moments before confirming the next installment will arrive in 2022. “Something’s coming,” Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, says in the foreground of suspenseful music. “It is almost here.” In an interview with Variety, executive producer Shawn Levy recently said the u...

A new study published highlights the adverse harm of smoking both e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes together. It is interesting to note that 83 percent of those that use an e-cigarette also regularly smoke traditional cigarettes. Published in the Journal of Korean Family Medicine, the recent South Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, led by Professor Jo Soo-hyun of the Department of Family Medicine at Chung-Ang University Hospital, collected data from 5,191 adult smokers in South Korea. Analyzing nicotine index and oxidative stress, the study revealed that compound smokers (e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes) saw greater instances of inflammation and oxidative stress. Jo Soo-hyun’s warns that continued compound smoking results in a greater prevalence of cotin...

Hulu and FX have officially debuted the trailer for the adaptation of the post-apocalyptic comic book series, Y: The Last Man, originally published back in 2002. Production for the TV series was an on and off occurrence with the development taking its first swing in 2007 but failed to complete as a featured film. In 2018 the initial pilot episode was shot with Barry Keoghan as the main character Yorick Brown but was scratched out once production for a full season was realized. Once COVID-19 hit, filming was halted before filming began and kept on hold. As soon as the pandemic slow downed, the crew began filming by October 2020 and has just wrapped up by last month. More than five years since development has started, fans are now able to get a peek at what’s in store for the Vertigo publica...