Welcome to
Overnight News Digest, where the usual crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, Interceptor7, jlms qkw, and ScottyUrb, guest editors annetteboardman and Doctor RJ, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with tonight's news.
OND is a regular community feature on Daily Kos, consisting of news stories from around the world, sometimes coupled with a daily theme, original research or commentary. Editors of OND impart their own presentation styles and content choices, typically publishing each day near 12:00AM Eastern Time.
Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
From the A.V. Club: 20 live versions of songs that slay their studio counterparts
Going to live shows can be amazing, but it’s rare that a live version of a song is better than whatever a particular artist has already laid down on tape. (Production takes weeks, costs fortunes, and requires producers for a reason.) It happens, though, and when it does—when a live song surpasses its original version—it can be a magical thing. Below are some of our favorites, from widely agreed-upon classics to some more niche-friendly fare.
From the
New York Times:
Pilot Was Locked Out of Cockpit Before France Crash
A French rescue worker on Wednesday near the crash site of a Germanwings jet.
As officials struggled Wednesday to explain why a jet with 150 people on board crashed in relatively clear skies, an investigator said evidence from a cockpit voice recorder indicated one pilot left the cockpit before the plane’s descent and was unable to get back in.
A senior military official involved in the investigation described “very smooth, very cool” conversation between the pilots during the early part of the flight from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. Then the audio indicated that one of the pilots left the cockpit and could not re-enter.
“The guy outside is knocking lightly on the door and there is no answer,” the investigator said. “And then he hits the door stronger and no answer. There is never an answer.”
He said, “You can hear he is trying to smash the door down.”
From the
Washington Post:
Saudi Arabia launches military operation in Yemen
Forces loyal to President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi of Yemen at Al Anad air base on Tuesday.
Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies launched air attacks early Thursday in neighboring Yemen, after Shiite rebels believed backed by Iran swept toward that country’s second-largest city and forced the president to flee.
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, made the announcement on Wednesday evening in Washington. He said the operation began at 7 pm EDT in order “to prevent Yemen from falling into the hands of the Houthis,” the rebels.
The operation was an extraordinary development that could plunge Yemen into full-out war. The ambassador said that military forces from several countries were preparing to join the operation, apparently referring to Saudi Arabia’s Gulf allies. He said the air strikes had targeted sites around the country, including in its capital, Sanaa. The Saudi government had consulted “very closely and very intensely with our partners, in particular the United States,” he said.
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Iran-backed rebels in Yemen loot secret files about U.S. spy operations
Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, stand near a damaged car after a bomb attack in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, March 20, 2015.
Secret intelligence files held by Yemeni security forces and containing details of American intelligence operations in the country have been looted by Iran-backed militia leaders, exposing names of informants and plans for U.S.-backed counter-terrorism operations, U.S. officials say.
U.S. intelligence officials believe additional files were handed directly to Iranian advisors by Yemeni officials who have sided with the Houthi militias that seized control of the capital of Sana last September and later toppled the U.S.-backed president.
For American intelligence networks in Yemen, the damage has been severe. Until recently, U.S. forces deployed in Yemen had worked closely with President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government to track and kill Al Qaeda operatives, and President Obama hailed Yemen six months ago as a model for counter-terrorism operations. But the identities of local agents were considered compromised after Houthi leaders in Sana took over the offices of Yemen’s National Security Bureau, which had worked closely with the CIA and other intelligence agencies, according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive operations.
From
NBC News:
U.S. Begins Airstrikes in Fight Against ISIS in Tikrit, Iraq
U.S. warplanes are now conducting airstrikes in support of Iraqi efforts to take the city of Tikrit from the terror group ISIS, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
The airstrikes are "ongoing," according to a Defense Department official. The U.S. military got involved in the offensive to take control of Saddam Hussein's hometown at the request of Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, the military said in a statement.
"These strikes are intended to destroy ISIL (ISIS) strongholds with precision, thereby saving innocent Iraqi lives while minimizing collateral damage to infrastructure," said Lt. Gen. James L. Terry, commanding general of a U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.
"This will further enable Iraqi forces under Iraqi command to maneuver and defeat (ISIS) in the vicinity of Tikrit," Terry said in a written statement.
Defense Department officials conceded that the majority of forces trying to drive ISIS from Tikrit are Iranian-backed militia members.
From
Entertainment Weekly:
FIRST LOOK: Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
Details on Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (due March 25, 2016) have been scarcer than kryptonite. We know that a cameo by Aquaman sets up 2017’s Justice League and that Wonder Woman has a sizable role. And now we have our first glimpse of Jesse Eisenberg as one of comics’ greatest bad guys: Lex Luthor.
“He’s not any of the Lexes that you’ve seen, that’s for sure,” says Snyder, “other than him being a captain of industry and one person to the world and another person to himself. And bald, of course.”
Eisenberg might not be the first person you’d think of to play the supervillain, but he did have experience portraying a morally challenged billionaire in The Social Network. And this edition of the follicularly challenged megalomaniac taps into a similar hyperintelligence mixed with malignant straight shooting. “Our Lex is disarming and he’s not fake,” says Snyder. “He says what he believes and he says what’s on his mind. If you can unravel the string and decipher what he means, it’s all there.”
From
BBC News:
Jeremy Clarkson dropped from 'Top Gear,' BBC confirms
Jeremy Clarkson's contract will not be renewed after an "unprovoked physical attack" on a Top Gear producer, the BBC's director general has confirmed.
Tony Hall said he had "not taken this decision lightly" and recognised it would "divide opinion". However, he added "a line has been crossed" and he "cannot condone what has happened on this occasion". Clarkson was suspended on 10 March, following what was called a "fracas" with Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon.
The row, which took place in a Yorkshire hotel, was said to have occurred because no hot food was provided following a day's filming.
An internal investigation began last week, led by Ken MacQuarrie, the director of BBC Scotland. It found that Mr Tymon took himself to hospital after he was subject to an "unprovoked physical and verbal attack".
"During the physical attack Oisin Tymon was struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip." It lasted "around 30 seconds and was halted by the intervention of a witness," Mr MacQuarrie noted in his report. "The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period" and "contained the strongest expletives and threats to sack" Mr Tymon, who believed he had lost his job.
From
CNN:
Bowe Bergdahl, once-missing US soldier, charged with desertion
House Speaker John Boehner said Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is "innocent until proven guilty" after the U.S. military charged him with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, but emphasized in an exclusive interview with CNN's Dana Bash that he was more concerned about the circumstances of his release.
Bergdahl's attorney also released a statement on Wednesday, outlining his defense of the soldier and containing a two-page letter from Bergdahl describing the torture he endured, which included months spent chained to a bed and further years spent chained on all fours or locked in a cage.
"Well, like any American, you're innocent until proven guilty. And these charges are coming. There will be a trial," he told Bash in an interview taped Wednesday to air Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
Boehner said the "more troubling part of this" is the fact that the U.S. government traded five Taliban fighters for Bergdahl's release, and that recent reports indicate one has returned to the battlefield. He expressed concerns about other detainees held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, which President Barack Obama is working to close, "ending up back on the battlefield and threatening Americans here and abroad."
From
USA Today:
Heinz, Kraft to create world's No. 5 food company
The deal marrying these two well-known companies is not only a big one, as it creates the fifth-biggest food and beverage company on earth; it also involves iconic investor Warren Buffett.
In a jolt touching pantries across the globe, H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods Group will merge into the world's fifth-largest food and beverage company — bent on cutting costs, growing internationally and evolving into a more consumer-focused company.
The massive merger, valued at about $36 billion, will allow Kraft "to move and grow faster than we could on our own," Kraft CEO John Cahill said. He would become vice-chairman of the newly-formed Kraft Heinz.
The news propelled Kraft shares nearly 36% — or $21 .83 per share — Wednesday to close at $83.15.
It's a bid "to create a Nestle of the USA," Nomura equity analyst David Hayes said. Others called it a New Era mega-deal that mixes sugar and spice — the sugar being the recent M&A popularity of food and beverage makers; and the spice being that Warren Buffett, through his Berkshire Hathaway, linked with Heinz operator 3G Capital to seal the deal with a combined injection of $10 billion in capital.
From
The Guardian:
California attorney general to ask judge to halt 'shoot the gays' initiative
California attorney general Kamala Harris told the Guardian: ‘This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently unconstitutional.’
California’s attorney general will go to court to stop a controversial proposed ballot initiative that calls for the legalized execution of gay people, the Guardian has learned.
Kamala Harris, who recently announced her bid to succeed Barbara Boxer as US senator, had earlier appeared powerless to stop the Sodomite Suppression Act, a ballot initiative filed last week by Huntington Beach lawyer Matt McLaughlin. As attorney general, she was faced with the task of writing the title and summary for the act, but did not have the authority to block it.
But on Wednesday, she said she would be asking a judge to step in.
“It is my sworn duty to uphold the California and United States constitutions and to protect the rights of all Californians. This proposal not only threatens public safety, it is patently unconstitutional, utterly reprehensible, and has no place in a civil society,” she said in a written statement given exclusively to the Guardian.
From
Variety:
Idris Elba Eyed for Villain Role in ‘Star Trek 3′
Idris Elba is in early talks to play the villain in “Star Trek 3,” sources tell Variety.
Justin Lin is directing the pic, with Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchin all on board to return.
J.J. Abrams will produce along with his producing partner Bryan Burke and Skydance’s David Ellison. Production is set to start in June.
Details of Elba’s role are being kept under wraps. Early rumors suggest that Klingons would be the main villains in this movie, as they have not had a full presence in previous installments, but sources would not confirm if that was the case. Paramount and Skydance had no comment.
From
ESPN:
Jets vs. Patriots has become the NFL's never-ending soap opera
There's no love lost between the New York Jets and New England Patriots, whose decade-plus-long rivalry has morphed from on-field feud to a full-fledged daytime soap opera, replete with name-calling, cheating accusations, betrayals, barbs fired through the media and, of course, fake handshakes and hugs.
The latest chapter was written Tuesday, as New York filed tampering charges against the Patriots apparently in retaliation for New England filing its own charges against the Jets a few weeks ago.
In light of this latest twist, we take a look back at five drama-filled moments in the New York-New England feud.
From
Roll Call:
D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton Is Disturbingly Bad at Parking
Our spy estimates the entire head-scratching episode lasted about half an hour, including the painful insertion process and her 20-minute jaunt into Cannon.
Once done with her business, the tipster said Norton backed out of the space and rolled out onto the unsuspecting District streets. “She hit the car next to her and did not leave a note, though I couldn’t see any damage,” was our spy’s takeaway from the mid-day drama.
Norton’s office disputes that anything untoward transpired. “After the Congresswoman parked her car, we assessed the cars on either side to see if there was any damage. We could not find any,” a Norton aide assured HOH. “But we left a note with a business card so the congresswoman could be contacted in case we missed any.”
According to Team Norton, the congressional staffer who owns the truck that was boxed in by the septuagenarian pol reached out to her office about the videotaped scrape. “The Congresswoman heard from the owner of the only car she was close enough to damage. The owner reported no damage,” a Norton spokesman said via email.
From
CNN Money:
7 big changes coming to Facebook
The social media company announced several new products and features that will launch on its platform soon -- all are designed to make it easier for you to communicate with people and businesses. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives debuted the slew of platform enhancements during F8, the company's developer conference, on Wednesday.
Here's what's coming:
1. Spherical videos on your News Feed and Oculus VR headset (if you have one).
2. Track your online purchases and communicate with businesses within Messenger.
3. Reply to messages using other apps.
4. Videos you post on Facebook can be embedded elsewhere online.
5. If you comment on a story somewhere else online, it will show up on Facebook too.
6. Get ready to control more devices with your Facebook account.
7. Developers will get analytics for their apps.
From
CNBC:
Biotechs could be the early warning for stocks
Traders are watching small caps and the biotech sector Thursday to see whether they continue to melt down, as the harbinger of a deeper selloff in the broader market.
Stocks tanked Wednesday with a variety of catalysts blamed, but one common concern among traders was the steep drop in the biotech sector, which had been soaring just last week.
Other factors include worry about sluggish economic growth after weak durable goods data. Traders also said headlines on Yemen were a factor, as investors worried the reported exit of the president and buildup of Saudi Arabian military equipment on the border could be a prelude to a broader conflict.
From
The Atlantic:
The Neurological Pleasures of Fast Fashion
Research shows that the brain finds pleasure in the pursuit of inexpensive things, and high-street chains and online retailers sites alike are cashing in.
In wealthy countries around the world, clothes shopping has become a widespread pastime, a powerfully pleasurable and sometimes addictive activity that exists as a constant presence, much like social media. The Internet and the proliferation of inexpensive clothing have made shopping a form of cheap, endlessly available entertainment—one where the point isn’t what you buy so much as it's the act of shopping itself.
This dynamic has significant consequences. Secondhand stores receive more clothes than they can manage and landfills are overstuffed with clothing and shoes that don’t break down easily. Consumers run the risk of ending up on a hedonic treadmill in which the continuous pursuit of new stuff leaves them unhappy and unfulfilled. For most, breaking the cycle isn’t as easy as just vowing to buy nothing. It’s no accident that shopping has become such an absorbing and compulsive activity: The reasons are in our neurology, economics, culture, and technology.
Shopping is a complex process, neurologically speaking. In 2007 a team of researchers from Stanford, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon looked at the brains of test subjects using fMRI technology as they made decisions while out buying clothes. The researchers found that when they showed one of the study’s subjects a desirable object for sale, the pleasure center, or nucleus ambens, in the subject’s brain lit up. The more the person wanted the item, the more activity the fMRI detected.
From the
New York Times:
Apple and Beats Developing Streaming Music Service to Rival Spotify
Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails is said to be playing a major role in redesigning Apple’s music app.
In what would be the biggest change to its music strategy in years, Apple is pressing ahead with a sweeping overhaul of its digital music services that would allow the company to compete directly with streaming upstarts like Spotify.
Almost a year after agreeing to pay $3 billion for Beats, the maker of hip headphones and a streaming music service, Apple is working with Beats engineers and executives to introduce its own subscription streaming service. The company is also planning an enhanced iTunes Radio that may be tailored to listeners in regional markets, and, if Apple gets what it wants, more splashy new albums that will be on iTunes before they are available anywhere else, according to people briefed on the company’s plans.
In a sign of how important Beats is in reshaping Apple’s digital music, the company has made a musician a point man for overhauling the iPhone’s music app to include the streaming music service, as opposed to an engineer. Trent Reznor, the Nine Inch Nails frontman who was the chief creative officer for Beats, is playing a major role in redesigning the music app, according to two Apple employees familiar with the product, who spoke on the condition they not be named because the plans are private.
Perhaps most telling for Apple is what its new streaming service will not have: a lower price than rival services.
From
ABC News:
Deadly Tornadoes, Storms Sweep Through Oklahoma
@haleyjo_14 posted this photo to Instagram on March 25, 2015 with the caption, "This is awesome #tornado."
At least one person was killed as tornadoes and severe storms swept through northeast Oklahoma this evening.
One person was killed and several others injured at a mobile home park in Sand Springs, about seven miles west of Tulsa, said the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office. A tornado had formed near Westport, Oklahoma, before moving east toward Tulsa, reported the National Weather Service.
The tornado went by Tulsa and was headed for Inola at about 7 p.m. local time, ABC affiliate KOCO reported.
From
Salon:
I’m boycotting “Game of Thrones” next year — but not because of spoilers
When the two show-runners of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” confirmed over the weekend that they expect the forthcoming fifth season to catch up to the book series on which it is based, fans of George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” were confronted with a dilemma. If they preferred to experience the author’s version of the story first, should they abstain from watching the TV series entirely? Would that even work? After all, you probably know how “The Sopranos” ended even if you never watched an episode. Between the Internet, print media and old-fashioned water-cooler conversation, it’s awfully difficult to avoid being spoiled today.
Fans have long been aware that show-runners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff know how Martin plans to end his epic fantasy series, even though the publication date of the penultimate volume, “The Winds of Winter,” has yet to be announced. Given the amount of time it takes Martin to produce each of the series’ hefty, complex installments, the release date of the seventh and final book, “A Dream of Spring,” is even more uncertain. Martin has a stormy history with fans who feel he takes too long to write each book and who loudly protest every moment he spends on any other activity, from unrelated writing and editing projects to socializing.
So Weiss and Benioff’s admission — made during a promotional event in Oxford, England — provoked the predictable chorus of howls and curses, along with some more philosophical responses. Over 700 comments blossomed in the ASOIAF subreddit over the course of a few hours. Especially peeved were those who don’t like or simply don’t watch “Game of Thrones.” “I’m going to have to start watching the show just because I really don’t want to find out how this whole thing ends from a fucking Facebook status,” wrote one irate fan. “I, for one, am outraged,” wrote another. “The spoilers will clearly ruin the books and there is no one to blame but the author who couldn’t stay in front of the show. … Regardless of what happens the narrative will be cheapened.”
From
Slate:
Deadline Says There Are Not Enough Roles on TV for White People. Poor White People.
I’ve read Nellie Andreeva’s Deadline article on the uptick in “ethnic casting” in television, and my main reaction is a sense of déjà vu. The headline—“Pilots 2015: The Year of Ethnic Castings—About Time or Too Much of Good Thing?”—is enough to make your eyes roll very far into the back of your head. (Mine did.) Too much of [a] good thing? Really? By posing such a question, one suggests that the scale is suddenly tipping in favor of non-white actors on TV; that the television landscape is suddenly overrun with minorities (it’s not), and that it’s becoming much harder to find white leads on the small screen on a daily basis. (It’s not—GLAAD reported that while stats are improving, only 13 percent of characters announced on primetime for the 2014-15 season were black, 8 percent were Latino, and 4 percent were Asian-Pacific Islander, hardly a threat to television’s overall whiteness.)
At first I thought: The headline could be misleading and inflammatory while not truly representative of the contents—this happens all the time. Andreeva, a rigorous and smart reporter, could have just been saddled with a terrible title for her investigation into the industry's hot topic du jour: diversity in Hollywood. But, unfortunately, the piece bears out all of the fears that its headline promises, and then some.
The subject at the core of the article is intriguing: Andreeva speaks to several sources about what the “explosion” of “ethnic casting” has looked like for some actors and talent agents within the industry, most notably, those who are white. It seems that more and more pilots this year are open to “all ethnicities,” but with a greater emphasis on casting non-whites: “Basically 50 percent of the roles in a pilot have to be ethnic, and the mandate goes all the way down to guest parts,” one talent representative tells Andreeva. She also breaks down the many TV roles that have been specifically designated for non-white actors in recent years, like Morris Chestnut in Rosewood and the black-cast TV series adaptation of Uncle Buck ... Arguments like these are dangerous because they ignore history—a Hollywood legacy of quite literally white-washing historical figures, systematically denying people of color the chance to tell their own stories, and assuming that there is only ever enough room for one or two non-white faces or entities (Sidney Poitier in the ‘60s, The Cosby Show in the ‘80s, and so on) to capture the world’s attention. Referring to the casting uptick as a “pendulum” that may have “swung too far” to the other side, even while admitting that diversifying Hollywood is “long overdue,” as Andreeva does, reinforces the idea that diversifying TV—or rather “normalizing” it, as Shonda Rhimes has astutely said—is equal to white actors getting the raw end of the deal. (This is not much different from those who suggest that leveling the playing field for all means the “downfall” of the white heterosexual male.)
From
The Hollywood Reporter:
'Furious 7' and How Peter Jackson's Weta Created Digital Paul Walker
Re-creating the franchise's late star joins a new front in Hollywood's decades-long effort to create a fully realistic CG actor.
No actor is indispensable. That is the blunt lesson from the fact that Universal Pictures was able to complete its April 3 tentpole, Furious 7, following star Paul Walker's death in a November 2013 car accident about halfway through the shoot. Beyond saying that brothers Cody and Caleb stood in for Walker and that director James Wan culled footage of Walker from the earlier films, Universal declines to discuss which tricks were employed to breathe life into Walker's character. But sources say Peter Jackson's Weta Digital was asked to complete the sensitive and arduous task of reanimating Walker for Furious 7, and its cutting-edge work points toward a future where most actors can be re-created seamlessly if needed. (The company declined to comment on its specific contributions.)
For years, filmmakers have developed increasingly sophisticated techniques for replacing missing actors. Robin Shenfield, CEO of London-headquartered The Mill, which led the Oscar-winning visual effects on 2000's Gladiator, explains how that film coped when Oliver Reed suffered a fatal heart attack during filming. Footage from outtakes was used to create a digital mask that was added to shots of a body double. "He also had dialogue, so we changed his mouth movement," says Shenfield. Producers of HBO's The Sopranos faced a similar issue in 2000 with the passing of Nancy Marchand, who played Tony Soprano's mother. "Basically it was 2D compositing," recalls Rick Wagonheim, who executive produced those effects. "The problem was some of the angles didn't really match as well as they could have."
From
TV Line:
‘Fargo’ Season 2: Bruce Campbell to Play Ronald Reagan
Bruce Campbell as Ronald Reagan?! Oh, you betcha.
The Burn Notice vet has been cast as a pre-POTUS Reagan in Fargo‘s forthcoming second season, TVLine has learned exclusively.
Taking place in the late 1970s, Season 2 — a prequel to Season 1 that stars Patrick Wilson as a younger version of Keith Carradine’s Lou Solverson — is set against “the cultural transformation that was going on at that time,” as well as Reagan’s first campaign for President of the United States, previewed FX Networks CEO John Landgraf back in January. “He’s on his first campaign [and he] makes a swing through Fargo. Some of the characters have some interactions with him. And some of his movies are also a part of the show.”
From
The Independent:
JK Rowling responds to fan tweeting she 'can't see' Dumbledore being gay
JK Rowling has been hailed an “inspiration” after she was asked by a young Harry Potter fan why Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore was gay.
Rowling, 49, revealed Dumbledore's sexuality almost a decade ago in 2007, after the final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was published.
In a tweet that has since been deleted, fan Ana Kocovic asked: “Thank you so much for writing Harry Potter. I wonder why you said that Dumbledore is a gay because I can’t see him in that way.”
The author’s powerful response was simply: “Maybe because gay people just look like…people?”
From
E! Online:
Sam Taylor-Johnson Will Not Be Directing Sequel Fifty Shades Darker After ''Intense'' Fifty Shades of Grey Journey
Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in 'Fifty Shades of Grey'
Sam Taylor-Johnson has cut ties with the Fifty Shades franchise.
The Fifty Shades of Grey director will not be returning to helm the sequel, her team confirming her decision to E! News on Wednesday.
"Directing Fifty Shades of Grey has been an intense and incredible journey for which I am hugely grateful," Taylor-Johnson said in a statement. "I have Universal to thank for that. I forged close and lasting relationships with the cast, producers and crew and most especially, with [Dakota Johnson] and [Jamie Dornan]. While I will not be returning to direct the sequels, I wish nothing but success to whosoever takes on the exciting challenges of films two and three."
So what does this mean for the series? ... Taylor-Johnson's exit also doesn't come entirely as a surprise, considering she admitted to clashing with Fifty Shades author E.L. James over a number of creative decisions during the making of the film.
From
io9:
Schwarzenegger Must Protect His Zombie Daughter In First Maggie Trailer
There's so much weirdness about Maggie. The fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a low-budget, indie zombie drama. That the movie, which is about a father protecting his infected daughter, basically makes him the Governor from The Walking Dead. But most of all, that his performance is apparently "superb."
But watch this trailer and see if Schwarzenegger doesn't look like he's giving a retrained, anguished performance as a man torn between protecting his child and preventing her from eating the brains of his neighbors. He looks worn down in a way that I've never seen Schwarzenegger before. I don't know if Maggie can possibly live up to these expectations — pun not intended* — but I'm eagerly looking forward to finding out.
From the
New York Daily News:
Zayn Malik quits One Direction: ‘It is now the right time for me to leave’
He's going in a different direction.
An “emotionally tortured” Zayn Malik announced his departure from the super-popular British boy band One Direction on the group’s Facebook page Wednesday.
“My life with One Direction has been more than I could ever have imagined,” Malik said in a statement.
Devastated fans around the globe shook the Web with a frenzied social media storm, lamenting the move with videos of themselves crying, screaming and lighting candles for the teen heartthrob.
From
Rolling Stone:
Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Jam Bands
This summer is going to be a bittersweet time for fans of jam bands. If the pain over the end of the Allman Brothers wasn't fresh enough, the Grateful Dead are now about to bow out with a series of farewell shows. Thankfully, Phish hit the road in late July, so all is not lost. With all this in mind, we asked our readers to select their favorite noodlers.
Tabulating the results forced us to make some judgement calls. Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers received many votes, but they simply don't improvise enough at their shows to qualify. Led Zeppelin was a tougher call. They did have some songs that would stretch beyond 30 minutes and they did improvise in these moments, but the vast majority of their show was rehearsed and unchanging. In the end, they did not make the list, though other groups that were on the fence did. Feel free to voice your disagreements in the comments.
10. Moe.
9. Pink Floyd
8. Umphrey's McGee
7. Gov't Mule
6. Widespread Panic
5. Dave Matthews Band
4. Cream
3. Phish
2. The Allman Brothers
1. The Grateful Dead
From
Billboard:
Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars Top Hot 100 for 12th Week
Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk!," featuring Bruno Mars, leads the Billboard Hot 100 for a 12th week, while Flo Rida's "G.D.F.R." enters the top 10, marking the Sunshine State rapper's first top 10 in more than two years
As we do each Wednesday, let's run down all the songs riding up and down the top 10 of the sales/airplay/streaming-based Hot 100.
"Funk!," released on RCA Records, becomes just the 15th No. 1 in the Hot 100's five-and-a-half-decade history to rule for at least 12 weeks. It also ties for the longest reign of the 2010s: Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines," featuring T.I. and Pharrell, also logged a 12-week command beginning in June 2013.
"Funk" inks a 12th week atop the Digital Songs chart with 187,000 downloads sold (down 1 percent) in the week ending March 22, according to Nielsen Music. It's now within one week of tying the record for the most time spent atop Digital Songs: the T-Pain-assisted "Low" by Flo Rida (more on his new top 10 coming up …) led for a record 13 weeks in 2007-08.