Pop Culture Week in Review | May 17-23
Now that the new X-Men movie is in theaters, we can officially call it summer, right?
With Memorial Day weekend comes the launch of a whole bunch of summer fun, and the pop culture world hasn’t taken a break, even as television shows wind down their season (or series) runs. So let’s celebrate with a look back at the last seven days in the latest pop culture week in review!
Kanye West is about to marry his girlfriend.
You all know Kanye West, of course. He’s the talented hip-hop artist who caused controversy for his statements about George Bush, who toured with Jay-Z, and who stole the microphone from poor Taylor Swift‘s hands at the VMAs back in the day.
Well, this week Kanye set off for Europe, where he’s set to marry his girlfriend. This will be the first marriage for the talented rap icon, and the third for his bride-to-be.
Reports say that the bride’s family will also be in attendance. Some reports put the cost of the wedding somewhere in the vicinity of $8 million. The opulence of the wedding may in part be owed to Kanye’s celebrity status; some celebrities are likely to attend the wedding, as Kanye is a famous and successful performer.
So congratulations, Kanye. And congratulations to your girlfriend, too, whoever the hell she is!
Macklemore is an ass.
Well, that’s settled. Moving on.
Okay, first, some details. This week Macklemore was performing in Seattle – his home turf. He was singing “Thrift Shop” – his big hit. All’s well, right? One tiny glaring problem: the explicit display of ethnic stereotypes.
See that beard? That nose? It’s almost like Macklemore is in costume as… ahem… a traditional Jewish person while… ahem ahem… singing a song about the celebration of frugality. Are those two things perhaps related? Macklemore sure didn’t think so:
But Seth Rogen (and anyone else in America) kind of saw how that costume could be taken as offensive:
Heads up Mackelmore: next time, leave the wig and prosthetics at home. Your ridiculous haircut and faux swagger are enough of a costume for us to laugh at.
That Batman and Superman movie has a full(er) title now
Remember when people lost their s*** a few months back when Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in the follow-up to Zack Snyder’s Superman movie? Well, now that movie has an official title, complete with colon and subtitle and everything.
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is less than two years from theaters, and already it has gotten its fair share of criticism from fans. Clearly the “Dawn of Justice” moniker is setting up the Justice League movie universe, but why just the “v” instead of “vs.” – is this a Supreme Court case? Because if so, I’ll have to consider going – at least Supreme Court decisions are better written than Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” movie. BURN!
Speaking of nerd movies that are still a long way off…
Want to be in the new Star Wars movie? You can; provided that you enter an online raffle (for a great cause) and then win, you can get a walk-on role for “Star Wars Episode VII.” Pretty cool, right? I’ll let JJ Abrams explain:
I want to win a raffle for the naming rights to the new Star Wars. I’m thinking “Star Wars Episode VII: Fans v Lucas: Dawn of Bearable Dialogue.”
Some casting news to whet your appetite for coming projects!
CASTING NEWS 1:
Remember when the internet was having a lot of fun with that #truedetectiveseason2 hashtag? (If not, look up that hashtag; some funny responses, along with, as usual, several hundred thousand terrible responses)
This week it looked for a second like we might actually get a real announcement of who the true detectives actually will be for the next season of “True Detective” when rumors swirled that Jessica Chastain (“Zero Dark Thirty” lady) had been offered a role.
She shot that down on the red carpet at Cannes later in the week. Damn it. At least rumors continue to swirl that Brad PItt is being considered for a role. (*More on him in CASTING NEWS ASIDE later)
CASTING NEWS 2:
Rest in peace, “Community.” I speak for most/all of PorchDrinking’s pop culture staff when I say that we loved that show. Cancelation news stings. Here’s something that might help, at least for those of us who can stomach an episode of “Girls”: Gillian Jacobs (Britta) will be joining the show for its upcoming fourth season.
I’m torn here; I love Gillian Jacobs, and I think she could be great on the show. But the last thing “Girls” needs is someone whose last TV role was known for being the insufferable member of a group; “Girls” has PLENTY of insufferable characters already.
CASTING NEWS 3:
Chloe Sevigny (“Big Love,” among other things) will be joining Kyle Chandler (Coach from “Friday Night Lights”) in an upcoming Netflix drama which still has no title. Honestly, selfishly, I don’t even care so much about Chloe Sevigny. I just hadn’t seen until now that Kyle Chandler was going to be on a Netflix drama, and I wanted to share the good news with you.
*CASTING NEWS ASIDE
These are pictures of Brad Pitt throwing Matthew McConaughey a beer from a balcony across the street from one another in New Orleans. Drew Brees was also there. Enjoy.
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