WDNY Radio – Page 7195

NBA, BET and the African American Film Critics Association celebrate MLK Day

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The NBA is celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a special PSA titled, Imagine.

The clip begins with three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade saying, “Imagine changing the world by appealing to the hearts and minds of your neighbors, and answering hate with love. Imagine all that power. Now, imagine all that power in you.”

The video shows a classroom of young students watching a video of Dr. King speaking and also includes photos of the Nobel Peace Prize winner leading civil rights marches in the South in the 1960s. The PSA ends with the caption, “Honor the legacy by living it. Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”

BET is honoring King’s legacy by premiering BET Her Presents… Becoming: Michelle Obama In Conversation, Monday at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Moderated by grown-ish star Yara Shahidi, Mrs. Obama discusses themes from her acclaimed memoir, Becoming. They are joined on stage by students from 22 colleges across the country for conversation about mental wellness and diversity.

Finally, the African American Film Critics Association announced the winners of the 13th annual AAFCA Awards on MLK Day Monday.

King Richard and The Harder They Fall each won four awards. For King Richard, Will Smith won Best Actor, Aunjanue Ellis won Best Supporting Actress, Saniyya Sidney won Breakout Actor, and Reinaldo Marcus Green took home Emerging Director. The Harder They Fall won Best Picture, Best Ensemble, Best Music, and Jeymes Samuel was recognized as Best Director.

Jennifer Hudson was also honored as Best Actress for Respect. The winners will be celebrated at the 13th Annual AAFCA Awards on March 2 at the SLS Hotel in Los Angeles.

Here’s the full list of 13th annual AAFCA Awards winners:

Best Picture: The Harder They Fall
Best Director: Jeymes Samuel, The Harder They Fall
Best Screenplay: Adam McKay, Don’t Look Up
Best Actor: Will Smith, King Richard
Best Actress: Jennifer Hudson, Respect
Best Supporting Actor: Corey Hawkins, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
Breakout Actor: Saniyya Sidney, King Richard
Best Ensemble: The Harder They Fall
Emerging Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard
Best Music: The Harder They Fall, Jeymes Samuel, Kid Cudi, and Jay-Z
Best Independent Feature: Who We Are
Best Documentary: Summer of Soul

“Nobody is safe”: ‘1883’ star Eric Nelsen talks THAT episode

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(SPOILERS AHEAD) 1883 viewers didn’t see this one coming, as the road west came to an end for a fan-favorite on the latest episode of the popular Yellowstone prequel on Paramount+.

Cowboy-for-hire Ennis, played by Eric Nelsen, met an untimely death while protecting Isabel May’s Elsa Dutton and their band of pioneers from a gang of marauding prairie bandits. Oh, and the couple had just gotten engaged too.

“It still hurts for me to even think about it,” Nelsen tells ABC Audio. “I remember reading the script for the first time and just crying…I had no idea it was coming.”

The Ennis/Elsa coupling had become a lighter spot in a story set against the backdrop of the dangers of westward migration across the American Frontier. In a lot ways, Nelsen said something like that had to happen.

“It’s safe to say, nobody is safe,” he says. “Tragedy is throughout this entire series…these people went through this, and it gives you so much more respect and appreciation for what we have, from what these early settlers went through.”

And even though it looks like his time on 1883 has wrapped up, he called it “life changing” being able to work with show creator Taylor Sheridan and co-stars like Tim McGraw, Faith Hill and Hollywood heavyweight Sam Elliott.

“The main thing I learned from Sam was overall kindness,” Nelsen says. “He’s got such a way with people. He’d be filming all day long and he’d finish his scenes, and there would be two more and after his. He’d sit and watch and support everybody else who was filming that day.”

New episodes of 1883 are available Sundays on Paramount+.

Jordan Davis performs “Buy Dirt” at fans’ wedding

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Jordan Davis made one happy couple even happier by performing at their wedding.

After making his debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Friday, Jordan headed over to New Jersey to perform “Buy Dirt,” his hit collaboration with Luke Bryan, at the wedding of fans Claudia and JD.

“So we just wrapped up at Jimmy Fallon. There’s a wedding in New Jersey and the first dance song is ‘Buy Dirt.’ They had a DJ playing it, but we’re only 35 minutes away so we are going over to play the first dance song live,” Jordan explains in a video as they drive to the venue.

The video includes footage of Jordan rehearsing the song as he walks around the gorgeous ballroom before serenading the bride and groom with an acoustic rendition of “Buy Dirt,” the couple singing the lyrics to each other as they share their first dance. Jordan finishes the performance by congratulating the new husband and wife as the crowd cheers.

“Buy Dirt” is currently at #3 on country radio. Jordan is currently on the road opening for Dierks Bentley on his Beers on Me Tour.

Stressed Out: Watch Muse’s Matt Bellamy “embarrass” himself while dancing at Twenty One Pilots show

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Matt Bellamy hit the town with Twenty One Pilots last Saturday, though probably not in the way he planned.

The Muse frontman was attending the “Stressed Out” duo’s concert in Los Angeles alongside his family over the weekend when frontman Tyler Joseph started walking through the crowd during a performance of the hit “Ride.” Joseph then stopped right next to Bellamy, who started enthusiastically dancing with what Limp Bizkit‘s Fred Durst might describe as “Dad Vibes.”

If you weren’t at the show, Bellamy posted a video of the interaction on his Instagram so the whole internet can enjoy his dance moves.

“When you’ve taken the kids to see @twentyonepilots and @tylerrjoseph decides to come in the crowd, sings right next to you, and you embarrass yourself, your family and everyone in the building,” Bellamy wrote in the caption. “Amazing show otherwise!”

In the post’s comments, Muse drummer Dom Howard asked, “Why can’t dads be cool in front of their kids?”, to which Bellamy replied, “It’s a whole different level [of] cool, one day you’ll realize.”

If Joseph wishes to embarrass his family at a Muse concert, he’ll have to go to Europe, where Bellamy and company will be touring this summer.

Jessie J proclaims she is having the “best January ever”

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Jessie J is letting her fans know that 2022 is shaping up to be an incredible year. The “Domino” singer has candidly shared her mental health and healing journey after suffering a miscarriage late last year.

Taking to Instagram, Jessie shared a selfie of her naturally curly hair and captioned it, “So far, high key this might be the best January I’ve ever had…” She then listed off 10 things that have made a recent and positive impact on her life and shared an accompanying photo or video to help illustrate, starting with her “Natural ‘messy’ hair.”

Other positives in her life include coming home, which she illustrated by sharing a video of her touching down after a long plane ride, and realizing “Balance doesn’t run in the family,” as seen in another clip of her crawling on all fours after failing to master rollerblades.

Other items that Jessie says she is not taking for granted include sneaking her dog on the couch while a younger family member complains and enjoying a thrilling amusement park ride with friends.

The British singer first revealed her miscarriage in late November and detailed how it affected her mental health. Ahead of the new year, Jessie shared she was ready to start healing and vowed that she is “Not quitting on my happiness or myself” and that she will “keep climbing out of the sadness.”

BTS tease upcoming single to accompany their ‘7Fates: CHAKHO’ webcomic

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

BTS is currently enjoying a respite from the music scene, but a few members are still flexing their creativity when it comes to their new webcomic, 7Fates: CHAKHO.

The septet previously hinted they would make a few original tunes to accompany their online comic and, over the weekend, confirmed an accompanying soundtrack that will feature a song performed by Jungkook and produced by Suga.

Naver Webtoon, a branch of the publishing website, Webtoon, which hosts 7Fates: CHAKHO, announced a contest on Twitter inviting fans to subscribe to the BTS webcomic, which will then enter them into a contest to win one of the 300 available CDs. The last day to enter is February 5.

It is unknown if the soundtrack will offer other songs performed by the Grammy-nominated group or if fans will be able to purchase it once the contest runs its course.

In the meantime, BTS fans can enjoy the first episode of the 7Fates: CHAKHO series, which was posted on the Webtoon app Saturday. The story is set in Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, which lasted from the late 1300s to late 1800s, and follows seven tiger hunters based on the BTS members, who are bound by fate to track down an elusive tiger.

Elvis Costello to perform and be interviewed Friday on ‘The Late Show’ following release of new album

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

On the heels of the release of their latest studio album, The Boy Named If, Elvis Costello and his longtime backing group The Imposters will be the musical guests this Friday, January 21, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, airing 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.

Costello also will take part in an interview on the show.

The Boy Named If, which was released this past Friday, is a 13-track collection that’s described in a press statement as an album “of urgent, immediate songs with bright melodies, guitar solos that sting and a quick step to the rhythm.”

Costello explained about the project, “The full title of this record is The Boy Named If (And Other Children’s Stories). ‘IF,’ is a nickname for your imaginary friend; your secret self, the one who knows everything you deny, the one you blame for the shattered crockery and the hearts you break, even your own.”

The Boy Named If is available on vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats. There’s also “an 88-page hardback storybook edition,” each copy of which is signed and numbered by Elvis, although that version appears to be currently sold out.

The storybook edition features 13 illustrated short stories that have the same titles as the album’s songs and relate to the corresponding tunes in some way. The stories feature the lyrics of the songs, and the illustrations were created by artist Eamon Singer.

Meanwhile, coinciding with The Boy Named If‘s release, Costello debuted a lyric video for the title track on YouTube. The clip appears to offer an animated version of the illustrated story that accompanies the song.

Costello and The Imposters’ current plans to promote the album include a U.K. tour that kicks off June 5 in Brighton, England.

‘The Book of Boba Fett’ stars weigh in on show’s “Mos Vespa” controversy

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

The third episode of Disney+’s The Book of Boba Fett proved pretty divisive with the Star Wars fanbase, all thanks to some space scooters.

The Robert Rodriguez-directed episode sees Temuera Morrison‘s bounty hunter-turned crime boss hiring a group of young cyborg thugs, but their appearance — and their candy-colored, arguably Earth-bound hovering scooters — drew flak from some fans. Many made references to Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, or to Griff Tannen’s hoverboard gang in Back to the Future 2, or Rodriguez’s Spy Kids series.

The term “Mos Vespa” was coined, a play on the Tatooine city Mos Espa, and of course, the iconic Italian scooter brand.

There were its defenders, too, seeing the scooters as a tribute to 1979’s Quadrophenia, and British mod culture.

But the controversy wasn’t limited to the nerdisphere: Morrison was asked about it on Friday, at Disney+’s portion of the Winter Television Critics Association confab.

“Some of these things are out of our control,” he noted, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “We can’t say as performers, ‘We don’t want to work with these people, that’s not good enough.'”

He allowed of the gang, including Yellowjackets star Sophie Thatcher, “They brought a lot of color to it, I thought … they were great, were working hard.”

Co-star Ming-Na Wen added, “This is a real homage to the things George Lucas always loved — whether it was the Mods in the ’60s, or American Graffiti.”

Wen added, “Sophie was a lovely human being, and I definitely enjoyed getting to know her.”

A new episode of The Book of Boba Fett drops Wednesday on Disney+.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.

“Iron Man Is Back!”: Taika Waititi trolls Marvel fans with fake script sneak peek

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Taika Waititi has a pretty wicked sense of humor, and the Jojo Rabbit Oscar winner proved it again with an Instagram Live video on Sunday, in which he “accidentally” revealed the return of Robert Downey Jr.‘s Iron Man into the MCU.

Of course, it was just a fairly elaborate gag.

Downey’s Tony Stark sacrificed himself to save the world at the close of Avengers: Endgame, but a fake script posted by Waititi, supposedly from his forthcoming Thor: Love and Thunder, gave fans a false sense of hope that he might return. A close look at the script page, however, proved Waititi was just pulling their legs.

Fans, including Phase Zero – MCU on Twitter, snapped a screenshot of the screenplay, and it’s pretty obvious the whole thing was a prank. After all, it’s doubtful Marvel Studios would have Downey return to big screen at all, let alone with a hearty, “Wazzzaaaap!” a la those Budweiser commercials from 1999.

The same goes for some of the other dialog. After a hug, Thor asks the resurrected Stark, “But how? I saw you die.”

“Science,” Stark explains, adding, “Also, Thanos is back.”

A few lines later, after displaying an Iron Man suit decorated with, “all the flags of every nation,” Stark explains to the God of Thunder, “Everyone who died is coming back, and this time we’re avenging more than ever….From now on, we’ll be known as ….The Avengererers.”

The actual Thor: Love and Thunder, in which we guarantee this scene won’t appear, hits theaters July 8.

Måneskin performing on ‘Saturday Night Live’ this weekend

January 17, 2022 by WDNY Radio

Måneskin is continuing to make firsts in 2022.

The breakout Italian rockers are set to play Saturday Night Live this weekend on January 22, marking their debut performance on the long-running NBC sketch show. MacGruber star and SNL alum Will Forte will host.

Måneskin, of course, had a huge 2021, thanks to their win at the Eurovision Song Contest and their viral hit cover of the Four Seasons song “Beggin’.”

In addition to their first SNL performance, 2022 will include Måneskin’s debut set at Coachella. The iconic California festival takes place this year April 15-17 and April 22-24.

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