Every four years, the United States is swept with soccer fever to coincide with the World Cup. While the rest of the planet watches the sport year round, it hasn’t quite taken over the U.S. like baseball, basketball, hockey and football have. It’s made some definite in roads over the last decade or so, but for most Americans the only time that they watch any soccer is during the tournament. I am a more frequent soccer watcher, having grown up playing the sport, but I am in no means an avid fan. The World Cup is one of my favorite sporting events, however, because the people who go out to watch the matches are typically very friendly and it is fun to chant and be in a packed bar drinking good beer. Right now, it helps fill the void that has been left by the end of Game of Thrones and Orange is the New Black. God forbid I pick up a book or clean my apartment. And it’s easy to get excited about a sporting event that only comes around as often as a presidential election. Team USA is off to a surprisingly good start, which adds to the festivities; I didn’t go out for the first match, but I am hoping to do so for the next two. It loses a little something in translation when you are watching the game home alone on your computer.
But while the world is focused on the World Cup, I haven’t forgotten about the world of pop. If you’ve been distracted by the matches, here’s your chance to catch up on what you may have missed. Even the World Cup is no excuse for slacking on your pop culture duties.
- Brian Williams “rapping” never seems to get old:
- Jack Coleman will return for the Heroes reboot.
- X-Men: Apocalypse will be set in the 1980s.
- Mary Steenburgen will be on the third season of Orange is the New Black.
- Foo Fighters agreed to play a gig in Richmond, Virginia that was organized without their knowledge. That works?
- Harrison Ford was injured on the set of the new Star Wars movie; he’ll be out for eight weeks.
- Tom Hiddleston will play Hank Williams in a biopic.
- Steve Martin has shot down rumors that he’ll star in a same-sex marriage themed Father of the Bride sequel.
- One of my favorite parts of 22 Jump Street was the fake sequels. Here’s the complete list.
- Ben and Jerry’s are launching more SNL themed flavors.
- Lars Ulrich has reportedly accepted the drum-off challenge from Will Ferrell and Chad Smith.
- Jimmy Fallon makes Kevin Hart face his fear of roller coasters:
- Colin Firth has exited the upcoming Paddington movie; he was to voice the titular bear.
- Kevin Costner dropped by the” Field of Dreams” in Iowa to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary and have a catch with his son.
- Samuel L. Jackson still knows his famous speech from Pulp Fiction:
- George R.R. Martin threw out the first pitch at a minor league baseball game. Amazingly, no one died in the process.
- NBC is planning an eight-part series about The Beatles.
- Bryan Cranston’s memoir will appropriately be titled “Say My Name.”
- Here is the possible proposed long-term plan for DC comics movies. Amazing Spider-Man 3 has allegedly been delayed until 2017.
- Someone made a replica of the Grand Budapest Hotel out of LEGOS.
- Aaron Paul’s Xbox One commercial is messing with people’s consoles.
- For a brief shining moment, it appeared that a couple named their newborn twins Raekwon and Ghostface. Wu-Tang forever!
- The Daily Dot figures out the true cost of every wedding on Game of Thrones.
- The networks passed on the pilot of the adaptation of the YA series Delirium, but it will show on Hulu.
- Diagon Alley will open at Universal Orlando on July 8th.
- Jason Momoa may play Aquaman in Batman v. Superman.
- The release dates of Steven Spielberg’s next two movies were announced.
- Sounds like some changes are coming to Saturday Night Live before the next season.
- Part of The LEGO Movie Blu-ray release is a spoof trailer for Michelangelo and Lincoln: History Cops:
- Cameron Crowe is developing a show about roadies for Showtime.
- The Washington Post used math to predict when George R.R. Martin will finish A Song of Ice and Fire.
- Former Seinfeld writer Carol Leifer shares a discarded episode idea.
- Could there be True Blood: The Musical?
- Angry Birds Transformers? Sure, why not.
- Amazon has unveiled a streaming music service for its Prime members.
- Warner Bros may reboot Scooby Doo. Casey Kasem’s body isn’t even cold yet.
- The Philadelphia Zoo gave their new litter of African Black-Footed Cat kittens Game of Thrones inspired names. So cute!
- Could Marvel be considering a solo Hulk movie? Maybe third time will be the charm.
- Lifetime is doing an Aaliyah biopic.
- The Teletubbies are making a comeback.
- The Powerpuff Girls will be back too.
- In some cities can get a ride from Optimus Prime from Uber.
- Andrew Rannells (The Book of Mormon, Girls) will replace Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway. I really want to see this show.
- A Game of Thrones writer has joined the Magic: The Gathering film.
- John Cusack and Adrien Brody to star in Jackie Chan’s Dragon Blade.
- Buy this hand-crafted Jumanji board…if you dare.
- Tracy Morgan has been upgraded to fair condition after his involvement in a fatal accident last week.
- People are naming their babies after Frozen characters.
- Baseball legend Tony Gwynn passed away this week; here’s a great essay about him from a former bat boy.
- The N.W.A. film has found its Dr. Dre and Eazy-E.
- There is now an “I’m Not a Hipster” update for Grand Theft Auto online.
- You can know buy the house from The Money Pit.
- Y’all can relax – Robert Pattinson isn’t going to be Indiana Jones.
- Here’s some of the stuff that’s in the new tell-all book from a former producer of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
- When Boardwalk Empire returns for its final episode, the story will have skipped ahead several years.
- Katy Perry has created her own record label.
- Some Duck Dynasty kin is running for Congress.
- A teenaged George R.R. Martin sent Marvel a Fantastic Four fan letter.
- OK Go debuted another cool music video:
- Anna Kendrick will lend her voice to the animated film Trolls (inspired by the dolls).
- Rupert Grint is headed to Broadway.
- The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre is coming back to theaters.
- DreamWorks Animation acquires Felix the Cat.
- See how you do on this quiz of fictional maps.
- Tim Burton’s 1982 short film adaptation of Hansel and Gretel has resurfaced.
- If you like Drake, there are plenty of items for sale on Etsy that might be of interest to you.
- FOX has acquired the rights to James Wan’s graphic novel Malignant Man.
- James Franco is directing a play.
- Can you guess the Disney film from an emoji summary?
- Jared Leto is in talks to replace Will Smith in Brilliance.
- Guillermo del Toro is out as director of the Beauty and the Beast remake.
- There was a mini-Blossom reunion:
- Google sent out Pokémon Master certificates to people who played their April Fool’s Day game.
- Castle has a new showrunner.
- Listen to Lana Del Rey’s new album.
- A roundup of the Coen Brothers Easter eggs in Fargo.
- Check out the blonde locks on a teenaged Dean Norris (Hank, Breaking Bad):
- Keanu Reeves will replace Daniel Craig in The Whole Truth. There’s a sentence I never thought I’d type.
- The creators of Smallville are making a movie about Jules Verne’s Captain Nemo.
- Chris Rock is going out on tour this autumn. Hooray!
- Check out the first clip of the second season of Drunk History:
- Watch a rap battle between Sir Isaac Newton (Weird Al) and Bill Nye.
- Weird Al will have a new album this summer.
- There are two films in the works about the release of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl.
- Here are some early reviews of FOX’s Gotham.
- The new HBO drama God Save Texas will focus on the political scene in the Lone Star state.
- Queen Elizabeth honored Angelina Jolie and Daniel Day-Lewis.
- The New Yorker has some details on what FX’s version of Broad City would have looked like.
- Emilia Clark will star in the psychological thriller Voice From the Stone.
- Rumor Willis tweeted an interesting photo of her famous dad on Father’s Day.
- Jenny Slate talks about her disastrous first appearance on Saturday Night Live.
- My failure to know song titles killed me on this rap test.
- Toby Keith’s bar in Syracuse (who knew) owes $250,000 in taxes.
Time for some trailers
- Clive Owen in the new Cinemax series The Knick:
- Idris Elba in No Good Deeds:
- Disney’s Planes: Fire & Rescue:
- Dolphin Tale 2 with Harry Connick Jr.
- A new trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy:
- Christoph Waltz in The Zero Theorem:
- Michael Keaton in Birdman:
- Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee – season 4:
- The first full trailer for The Expendables 3:
- The Inbetweeners 2:
- There’s a new behind-the-scenes series from Wired about Star Trek fan episodes
- Christopher Titus will host History Channel’s Pawnography.
- Actors Zachary Levi and Missy Peregrym got married.
- Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban stopped by a hospital to sing for sick children.
- Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino was arrested after a fight in a tanning salon. The Jersey is strong in this one.
- Jenna Fischer gave birth to a baby girl.
- It’s also a girl for Kelly Clarkson.
- PBS is adding a shorter version of Sesame Street to their lineup, presumable for babies on the go.
- Paul Simon and Edi Brickell’s disorderly conduct charges have been dropped.
- NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio made good on his Stanley Cup on Jimmy Kimmel Live!:
- According to Rolling Stone, “I Walk the Line” is the greatest country song ever.
- The winners of season 3 of The Sing-Off will appear in Pitch Perfect 2.
- Jude Law’s son is a model.
- Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were cleared by child protective services.
- Kathy Griffin will host the 41st annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
- The author of Flowers for Algernon has died.
- Billy Idol is planning to release his first new music in ten years.
- Prepare yourselves….whether we want one or not, we’re getting a Kim Kardashian game.
- George Clooney shot some hoops with the son of his prom date.
- Emma Thompson is returning to the London stage in Sweeney Todd.
- Lauryn Hill joined Skrillex on stage at Bonnaroo.
- Mindy Kaling is writing a second book.
As always, we end with the mashups and supercuts
- Animals dancing to Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It”
- This dude inserted himself into Britney Spears’ “Work Bitch”
- A supercut of ridiculous on-screen deaths in movies:
- Game of Thrones meets SPCA commercials (spoilers):
- A fan mashed up footage from a ton of movies to create a trailer for the Marvel universe:
I would watch the HELL out of that show.
- Speaking of Arya and the Hound, watch a supercut of their bickering.
- It probably does not speak well of me that I find this Maury “You are NOT the father” dance compilation so entertaining:
- Hodor does not do well on The Family Feud:
- And finally….The Book of Mormon comes to South Park:
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