For children, birthday parties are supposed to be fun, innocent and filled with cake and balloons. But one lawsuit alleges that the Chicago Police ruined that moment for one African-American 4-year-old boy when they raided the wrong apartment and pointed guns at the stunned partygoers. According to the Chicago Tribune , the incident took place on Feb. 10 when more than a dozen CPD officers stormed into Stephanie Bures’ South Side home using excessive force and repeatedly shouting the f-word at the party, a federal lawsuit alleges. Apparently, the police were targeting a suspect they believed was in possession of the drug ecstasy, but they obtained an old address for him. Instead of finding their suspect, they found a crowd of 15 surrounding a birthday cake. Bures claims that her son was traumatized as were the other children and adults when the police barged into her home, without knocking and without providing proof of a warrant. She told CBS Chicago that she was handcuffed for repeatedly asking what was going on. “They manhandled me it took two officers to get the cuffs on me,” she said. Adding, “I wanted to know why were they there. Who are you? Show us a search warrant. “I asked for a search warrant, I guess, one too many times. And [the officer] was like, ‘Arrest her.’” Bures’ 7-year-old daughter, who once trusted the police, in that moment feared that the police were going to shoot her and her little brother. “To hear her say that, to worry about her or her brother getting shot by someone that is supposed to protect and serve them, it’s terrifying,” her mother said in a press conference on Monday. “It’s horrible.” Bures’ attorney, Al Hofeld Jr., told CBS Chicago that the suspect hadn’t lived at the address in five years and that this type of behavior only worsens the community’s mistrust of the police even more. “As long as they continue to do that, there will never be trust between citizens and the Chicago Police Department,” Hofeld stressed. Adding, that had the CPD took the time to do their research homework, this incident never would have happened. “My law firm took 30 seconds to do a person search and came up with [the suspect’s] most current address, which is on 83rd street nowhere near the property.” The Tribune reported that in addition to raiding the wrong home, the lawsuit also accuses CPD officers of “handcuffing several adults in front of the children even though no one disobeyed orders, ransacking the family’s home, taking hinges off the doors, prying open wall panels, flipping mattresses, throwing a TV to the floor, dousing the presents with hydrogen peroxide and pouring vodka over clothes.” CPD officials have yet to release a public statement about the lawsuit. Now, this isn’t the first time CPD has faced a lawsuit brought for raiding the wrong home. As the Tribune pointed out, just last June, the city settled for $2.5 million with the family of a 3-year-old girl who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after an officer pointed a gun at her chest when raiding the wrong address. RELATED NEWS: California Police Arrest Mother’s Boyfriend For Death Of 9-Year-Old Girl Found In Duffle Bag All Charges Dropped Against Jussie Smollett Baltimore Police Claim Husband Who Said Panhandler Stabbed And Killed His Wife Staged The Attack With His Daughter [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”2805741″ overlay=”true”]
Well, folks, whether it’s Mueller, or Jussie, or the fact that soon we’re all gonna be strangled to a slow death by our own noxious atmosphere, there’s a lot that might be bumming you out this week … and it’s only Tuesday. But fear not, dear reader, for we bring you tidings of great joy and reason to be hopeful about the future. The long national nightmare known as Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club has finally come to an end. Better yet, because the show’s ratings steadily declined throughout the season, and a lot of people were grossed out by the fact that it was basically a documentary set at a skeezy Mediterranean brothel, there’s reason to believe it’ll never be back. Obviously, this is fantastic news for defenders not only of common decency but of quality television. You see, the problem with LLBC is that it was bad, but not in a fun guilty pleasure way. As we noted in our recap of the pilot episode the show is (was?) the sort of trainwreck that it’s easy to look away from . From the start, the show failed to deliver what it promised — Lindsay in all her hot mess glory. Don’t get us wrong, Lindsay seems to be doing much better these days, but no one wanted or needed a 10-hour infomercial about how she’s reinvented herself as Lisa Vanderpump. (It’s an especially weird act considering that Lindsay is younger than most of Lisa’s employees on Vanderpump Rules, which just contributes to the feeling that LiLo’s attempting an unsuccessful Vincent Adultman.) Anyway, it wasn’t just the fact that Lindsay was obviously cosplaying from the start, or even the fact that her business partner Panos basically admitted that the staff is there to perform sexual favors for guests. No, the most off-putting part of the whole thing was how slapdash and confusing it all was. Was it a competition to see who can go the longest without getting fired or contracting chlamydia? Or was it more of a “hang-out” reality show where the cast bonds over their shared experiences and struggles with chlamydia? We’re not really sure — and in the season freakin’ finale, it seems that the cast wasn’t really sure, either. All season, Lindsay and Panos have been threatening to fire people, and it often seemed that that was the point of the series — that Lohan would winnow down her staff to a few who would remain on with her full-time. But despite all the threats, very few “ambassadors” got fired — until last night, when two were let go on their last day in Greece. Hilariously, one cast member was canned for behaving inappropriately with guests, despite the fact that the entire cast was encouraged to bone for money all season. Another was let go for striking a co-worker, which would be a good reason — were it not for the fact that Jonitta hit Gabi earlier this season and was not fired for it. “At the end of the day, no matter what you guys do here, it’s my name,” Lindsay said, repeating her mantra about the importance of her brand for then billionth time this season. In the end, Lindsay invited 5 staff members to stay on with her, which might have meant something if the show had established what’s at stake from the beginning. In the end, we were just left with something that started out with promise but ended in confusing disappointment. Not unlike Lindsay’s acting career. View Slideshow: Lindsay Lohan Is “Canceled Forever” After Bashing #MeToo Movement
Just because a prosecutor chooses not to file charges against someone does not mean that person has been exonerated of all crimes. This seems like an important piece of information to keep in mind these days. It applies to both a certain President of the United States and also a certain actor on the FOX drama Empire. In the latter instance, of course, we’re talking about Jussie Smollett, the polarizing star who was indicted on 16 felony counts a few weeks ago, all of which related to an alleged attack on the streets of Chicago around 2 a.m. on January 29. You must know all the relevant details by now, right? Smollett claimed he was attacked by two white men who screamed about “MAGA Country,” while also hurling racial and anti-gay epithets at him, prior to placing a noose around his neck and pouring bleach all over him. The reported hate crime made national news. But then police started to question various details of Smollett’s story, eventually arresting him for falsifying a police report . Cops in The Windy City believed Smollett staged his own attack for publicity purposes and demand he apologize for wasting their time, money and resources — while also making a mockery of similar, very real hate crimes. Fast forward a couple weeks to yesterday, however, and all the charges against Smollett were dropped . It was a stunning development. “Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his record has been wiped clean of the filing of this tragic complaint against him,” read a statement issued by Smollett’s lawyers shortly after the news broke. “He was a victim who was vilified and made to appear as a perpetrator as a result of false and inappropriate remarks made to the public, causing an inappropriate rush to judgment,” continued this message. HOWEVER, the Chicago Police Department and Rahm Emanuel, the Mayor of Chicago, later went public with their own remarks… … making it clear they were happy to still judge Smollett for what they believe to be his illegal actions. “This is a whitewash of justice,” a visibly angry Emanuel told reporters, adding: “I’d like to remind everybody a grand jury indicted this individual based on only a piece of the evidence that the police had collected in that period of time. So a grand jury actually brought the charges.” Emanuel went on to plainly say that Smollett “did this in the name of self-promotion.” Elsewhere, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson – who was previously so vocal in denouncing Smollett for the phony assault – said he stood by his department’s work and thought the charges against the Empire actor were justified. “I’m sure we all know what occurred this morning,” he said. “My personal opinion is that you all know where I stand in this. Do I think justice was served? No. I think this city is still owed an apology.” View Slideshow: Jussie Smollett: This is How He Staged His Alleged Assault Johnson added: “If someone accused me of doing anything that would circumvent [my integrity], then I would want my day in court. Period. I’ve heard that they [Smollett legal team] wanted their day in court with TV cameras so America could know the truth. “But no, they chose to hide behind secrecy and broker a deal to circumvent the judicial system. My job as a police officer is to investigate an incident, gather evidence, gather the facts and present them to the State’s Attorney. “That’s what we did. I stand behind the detective’s investigation.” As detailed below, meanwhile, even the attorney who decided to drop the charges against Smollett doesn’t think the actor is innocent. First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats said on Tuesday that he stands “behind the investigation” and: “The mere fact that it was disposed of in an alternative manner does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities in the case or the evidence.” Ummm, so why let Smollett walk free and declare victory? “Here’s the thing — we work to prioritize violent crime and the drivers of violent crime,” Magats said. “Public safety is our number one priority. I don’t see Jussie Smollett as a threat to public safety.” The fact that Smollett committed to two days of community service also seems to have somehow played a role in this baffling decision. For his part, Smollett thanked God and his supporters and emphasized his innocence in a statement outside the courthouse yesterday morning, saying: “I’ve been truthful and consistent on every single level since day one. I would not be my mother’s son if I was capable of doing one drop of what I was accused of.” And this REALLY pissed Emanuel off. “Mr. Smollett is still saying that he is innocent, still running down the Chicago police department. How dare him. How dare him.” the Mayor said. “Even after this whitewash, still, no sense of ownership over what he has done. … This is a person now who has been let off scot-free with no sense of accountability of the moral and ethical wrong of his actions. Emanuel concluded: You have a person using hate crime laws that are on the books to protect people who are minorities from violence to then turn around and use those laws to advance your career and your financial reward. Is there no decency in this man?
Source: Tim Roney / Getty Mel B Confesses To Hooking Up With Geri Halliwell Mel B is confessing to having Spice Girl sex back in the day and we’re HERE for it. During an appearance on Good Morning Britain , Piers Morgan asked Scary Spice if she’d ever smashed Geri Halliwell , more affectionately known as Ginger Spice . “You were coming here to be brutally honest,” Morgan said before getting right to it… “Did you or didn’t you sleep with Geri Halliwell?” Mel B tried to play it off a little in the beginning, admitting that they’d slept in bed together but “not like that,” but when Morgan asked if things ever went to that NEXT level, Mel nodded in agreement . “She’s gonna hate me for this because she’s all posh in her country house with her husband!” she yelled just after. During a follow up conversation with 2Day FM , Mel attempted to clarify her statements and… body language. “I actually didn’t really admit to anything … I just admitted we had a little bit of a thing back in the day and that’s it. It happened one night.” Oh but you DID Mel… “I was on the phone with Geri. It was all tongue-in-cheek and I didn’t go into detail,” she said of the conversation she had with Halliwell following her Good Morning Britain confession. “I don’t now why everyone is making such a big deal about it.” AhKAY, Mel…we hear you girl. EXCLUSIVE: In @piersmorgan ’s Life Stories, Mel B revealed she slept with bandmate Geri Horner in the mid-nineties. pic.twitter.com/PQoAXlt9uE — Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 25, 2019
Source: Nuccio DiNuzzo / Getty Jussie’s Innocence Makes MAGAs Mad As you’ve probably heard, the charges against Jussie Smollett have been officially dropped by the city of Chicago. The details of the case have been sealed as part of the agreement, too. This has infuriated people who feel like Jussie lied and is benefitting from some sort of celebrity privilege. Look, whether you believe Jussie actually lied or not, you have to admit that these folks’ being so upset over his charges being dropped it is quite the comedic twist. Look at how they suddenly have so much doubt over the criminal justice system. To paraphrase one Michael Scott: “look at how the turn tables.” If Jussie Smollett was white and fabricated a hate crime against fake black people in Chicago he would be in prison. This is black privilege in Chicago. — Carmine Sabia (@CarmineSabia) March 26, 2019
Source: Santiago Felipe / Getty After taking an extended two-month hiatus from her show, Wendy Williams finally revealed on Tuesday that since her leave of absence, she’s been recovering from addiction-related issues and is currently living in a sober house in Queens. “For some time now, and even today and beyond, I have been living in a sober house,” the host admitted as she shed a few tears on Tuesday’s episode of The Wendy Williams Show . “And you know, I’ve had a struggle with cocaine in my past and I never went to a place to get the treatment. I don’t know how, except God was sitting on my shoulder and I just stopped.” Wendy went on to say that she wanted to be honest with her viewers because her fans know her to be a “very truthful and open person,” so she decided to make things public regarding her current situation and her experience with addiction. According to the host, the only person in her life who was aware of the extent of her addiction was her husband, Kevin Hunter . This is especially relevant considering all of the rumors surrounding some alleged infidelity in their marriage–but it looks like Wendy is sticking by her man and he’s sticking by her throughout this trying time in both of their lives. “There are people in your family, it might be you, who have been struggling, and I want you to know more of the story,” she continued. “So, this is my autobiographical story, and I’m living it. I’m telling you this.” Wendy Williams went on to explain her new routine, which consists of her going to pilates, attending sober meetings around town in the tristate area, and then getting picked up by her 24-hour sober coach who brings her back to the sober house she’s been living in “with a bunch of smelly boys who have become my family.” And it’s lights out by 10pm. “I know, either you are calling me crazy or the bravest woman you know…I don’t care,” she divulged. Wendy also took this opportunity to talk about the launch of her her nonprofit organization, the Hunter Foundation, which is a 24-hour hotline service that she said has “already successfully placed 56 people in recovery centers around the world.” As far as reactions go, fans around the globe are sending their positive vibes to Wendy for coming clean about such a taboo and difficult topic. Check out what her day one supporters had to say about today’s shocking revelation from Wendy Williams herself. I say bravest woman I know. @WendyWilliams finally speaks her truth about recovery. #WendyWilliams #TheHunterFoundation pic.twitter.com/LNOD9ifTVN — Don Lemon (@donlemon) March 19, 2019 Poor Wendy. Well, you all wanted her to be honest. There. Feel better now? Praying for you, #WendyWilliams . — The Speaker (@SheraeSpeaks_) March 19, 2019 Wendy Williams just bravely admitted, live on her show, that she’s been living at a Sober House and attending meetings around the city with others who struggle with addiction. — GiaPeppers.com (@GiaPeppers) March 19, 2019 I salute #WendyWilliams . Talk about vulnerability. — Nai Stafford (@NaiStafford) March 19, 2019 @WendyWilliams just admitted to living in a sober house on her show. Say what you want about her but it takes strength and courage to speak your truth. It’s no secret she’s struggles with drug addiction in the past. pic.twitter.com/lMTIO6ng3a — Eric Perry (@actingeric) March 19, 2019 Proud of @WendyWilliams for taking this major step! Her journey will inspire so many people in the same situation… using her voice for good. https://t.co/QnNXirQq9Q — Tamron Hall (@tamronhall) March 19, 2019 This is why I love Wendy Williams She is one of the few that keeps it real and that’s hard to come by pic.twitter.com/qI5HLOOmg7 — Jźon | Publicist / Writer (@JzonAzari) March 19, 2019 Okay so Wendy Williams openly revealed that she has been staying in a sober-house for some time now, and I’m proud of her. Not only proud of her honesty, but getting help and helping other addicts along the way to overcome their addiction. — Keda (@ItsKedaLove) March 19, 2019 Yesssss!! @WendyWilliams I am so proud of you for telling your truth! Stay strong, I love you gurl — Nadine Apel (@refriedbeeny) March 19, 2019 Wendy Williams revealing on her show today that she’s currently living in a sober house has to be one of the bravest moments ever on daytime talk TV. Bravo Queen Wendy! https://t.co/MgdRsR4pit — Chris Witherspoon (@WitherspoonC) March 19, 2019 wow i fucking LOVE wendy williams. — Claudia Oshry (@girlwithnojob) March 19, 2019
Source: Maury Phillips / Getty We all watched Eva Marcille walk down the aisle on Sunday’s episode of Real Housewives Of Atlanta , and apparently so did her estranged (maybe not estranged) baby’s daddy Kevin McCall. According to the former Chris Brown collaborator, he and Eva have been creating “drama” between them to “create revenue.” Oh yeah? Does Eva know this? McCall was responding to a fan on social media, who claimed they saw him in the audience at the wedding. He responded, ““Bingo. This is all scripted. But don’t let me spoil the fun.” When another fan suggested he couldn’t possibly be at the wedding because Eva has an order of protection out on him. McCall then chimed in, “I’m amazed that people still don’t realize the obvious… look the Jigs up, me and my Bm work together to create Drama for revenue. It’s nothing yal can say… ‘yeah we played you…so!’ – cross Over Voice I have my child’s birth certificate we gonna be just fine keep watching” He also said the order of protection in fake. “That’s scripted too. Show me the order.” Whatever the case, Eva and Mike Sterling are happily married and seem unbothered by McCall’s antics. [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”3015370″ overlay=”true”] RELATED STORIES: ‘RHOAS11’ Recap: Kandi, Porsha And NeNe Settle Closet Gate At Eva’s Wedding All The Photos From Eva Marcille’s Dream Wedding
Source: Lisa Bonner / Lisa Bonner São Paulo is getting a facelift. It is easy to understand why Brazil’s largest city of 12 million people, was once known as a commercial city catering solely to business people: because that’s exactly what it was. No longer. Over the past few decades, São Paulo began to slowly reinvent itself, making it more livable for its citizens using its natural resources, and began subtly courting tourists with its global spin on São Paulo’s distinctly Brazilian culture. It worked. São Paulo transformed itself from a flyover city into a destination in its own right. Leisure tourism is up 50% over the past 5 years thanks to São Paulo’s urban renewal that touts medical tourism, Michelin starred restaurants, bustling nightlife, and world-class museums. If you only had time to visit Avenida Paulista (Paulista Avenue), you’d get a good representation of São Paulo all on one street. Visiting on a Sunday, the Avenue is closed to cars, so you can hop on a bike down São Paulo’s most famous thoroughfare. Otherwise, take a stroll town this storied street, which depending on the time of year, plays host to the Gay Pride Parade, and the Sylvester Road Race, and on any given day it’s not unusual to spot a political protest. This commercial corridor headquarters financial institutions, and features both street and retail shopping. Spend some time in the areas buttressing the Avenue, Parque Tenente Siqueira Campos (Trianon Park) that mimics a tranquil rainforest just off the Avenue on one side and MASP, South America’s most famous fine arts museum on the other. MASP is home to many famous European artworks, but also features a large collection of impressive Brazilian and Afro Brazilian pieces as well. Vila Madalena, arguably São Paulo’s chicest and coolest neighborhood is famous for its eclectic street art, graffiti and art galleries, but was once little village owned by Portuguese farmhands and accessible only on foot or by horse. Now easily reached by public transportation or ride share, you can wander through Batman Alley to see some of the neighborhood’s famous murals and street art, then pop into Bar Samba https://www.yelp.com/biz/bar-samba-são-paulo for some of the city’s best Samba dancing. If you’re looking for retail therapy, there are some lovely boutiques here that feature artwork and crafts from local Brazilian artisans. Source: Lisa Bonner / Lisa Bonner Looking for shopping, Rua Oscar Freire (Oscar Freire Street) is one of South America’s most elegant shopping districts featuring high end local and international designers, restaurants and ice cream parlors. The best kept secret, there were a few international bookstores, which are increasingly hard to find in the Americas outside of an airport, and each had copies of our #ForeverFlotus’ book “Becoming.” I hopped off the plane craving some Brazilian rice and beans, and couvee (Brazilian’s version of collard greens), but I quickly learned that traditional Brazilian fare is harder to find here, because this city has a gastronomic identity all its own. Source: Lisa Bonner / Lisa Bonner Casa de Porco https://acasadoporco.com.br (House of the Pig) a 2017 and 2018 Michelin starred restaurant is consistently voted one of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, and for good reason: it’s a carnivore’s dream. The Brazilian born chef creates a mixture of dishes from the entirely of the pig; and I’m talking about cooking up everything from the rooter to the tooter, and the innards, and the skin; imagine your Granny’s cooking with a Y2k flair. Think pork sushi, or pig’s feet stew, everything you can imagine and more that can be made from the pig, is. If you abstain from meat like I do, there are plenty of vegetarian options created to mimic the pork dishes. The veggie options and the craft cocktails were quite good, making it easy to accompany your flesh eating friends to this restaurant, because this is a dining sensation for pork eaters that truly should not be missed. If you’re up for a little jaunt outside the city, hop in a rideshare, which are insanely inexpensive, hightail it to Restaurant Mocoto, an unassuming little shack about 30 minutes outside of the city center, that houses a Michelin starred restaurant https://mocoto.com.br/en/ . Helmed by Chef Rodrigo Oliviera, who is super easy on the eyes, this eatery is one of the World’s Best 50 Restaurants. The restaurant, started by Rodrigo’s father in 1974, is now a gastronomic must and features signature dishes of feijoada (on Saturdays), tapioca cheese cubes with pork, homemade pork sausages flambéed with cachaça, along with poetry inscribed walls and Brazilian artwork, along with a caipirinha bar featuring over 100 varieties of cachaça. If you can’t make it to São Paulo, Chef Rodrigo will be opening a stateside location in West Hollywood later this year! Your visit to São Paulo wouldn’t be complete without trying these typical dishes: Source: Lisa Bonner / Lisa Bonner Mortadella Sandwiches- these are huge stacks of mortadella sausage (roughly a half pound) which must be folded in half to avoid the obvious density of a half pound of meat, provolone cheese, sourdough bread, mayonnaise and Dijon mustard. Feijoada- The national dish of Brazil, is a black bean stew served with various cuts of meat and pork sausage served on Saturdays. Head over to one of Boteco São Bento’s locations for this famous dish. Pão de queijo- the famous Brazilian cheese bread which can be eaten for breakfast or just as a snack. You’ll find them on every street corner or deli and many restaurants throughout São Paulo. People flying down to Brazil for medical procedures is nothing new. Think the “Brazilian Butt Lift.” São Paulo is undeniably the leader in medical and healthcare services in Brazil, and has the most accredited private hospitals in Latin America. Aside from the typical butt lift, breast implants and the various cosmetic surgeries readily available, including facial fillers, you can easily obtain eye surgeries, fertility treatments, dental treatments and implants, bariatric surgeries, even chemotherapy at a fraction of the cost of the treatments available in North America. Plan in advance by doing your research for the more invasive procedures. https://www.health-tourism.com/medical-tourism-brazil/sao-paulo/ However if you are just looking for a little “refresher,” the hotel concierge can easily refer you to an outpatient clinic or stop into one of the many “clinics” available for a quick touch up, such as Espaco Pop Beauty http://espacopopbeauty.com.br . Source: Lisa Bonner / Lisa Bonner Where to Stay: Renaissance Hotel and Spa is a four star hotel featuring one of the best locations in the city. Located just off Avenida Paulista, this hotel offers a spa featuring vegan products, the largest fitness center in the São Paulo hotel community, several bars, a sushi bar, a world class restaurant Terraco Jardin and walking tours offered by the hotel. Looking to book a restaurant, tour or otherwise, let the hotel’s “Navigators” sort that for you. https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/saobr-renaissance-sao-paulo-hotel/ How to get there: LATAM offers non-stop flights daily to São Paulo from several North American cities, with more cities added monthly. LATAM is in the middle of a rebranding push and its evident they are making their mark in this market. Latam offers VIP lounges, new fleet of planes with bright, and spacious cabins with onboard entertainment https://www.latam.com/en_us/ [ione_media_gallery src=”https://hellobeautiful.com” id=”3024203″ overlay=”true”] RELATED STORIES: HELLO WORLD: See 40 Beautiful Costumes From The 2019 Trinidad Carnival HELLO WORLD: Yacht Week East Africa Is Catering To Black Women
Source: Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. Live-action films are very much a thing now, but very few of them are as highly anticipated as Detective Pikachu. The long overdue Pokemon adventure hits theaters this May, and we got a chance to visit the set of the Rob Letterman directed flick. Ryan Reynolds stars as the infamous pocket monster, Pikachu, whose CGI form looks amazingly realistic yet light and cartoonish at the same time. Justice Smith also stars in the film as as Tim Goodman, a former Pokémon trainer looking for his missing father. Goodman is also Detective Pikachu’s partner, and the only person that can hear hear him speak. We spoke to Justice on the London, England set of DP and he dished more on what is was like having an animated co-star and how much he enjoyed working with Ryan Reynolds. “Ryan is awesome, he’s hilarious. So, we basically went through the whole film with Ryan on a soundstage, with Ryan in a motion-capture helmet. And, so I got to see how he improvised, what he was gonna do, what he was gonna say, how he was gonna act. And then we have a reader who reads Ryan’s lines, but I essentially have to remember what Ryan did on the day. And then do my side of it, when we’re shooting.” Source: Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. “Things change around, and they’re gonna fix some stuff in post with Ryan, but for the most part it comes down to memory. We also recorded the tape so I can listen to them back, and remember what he did. But it’s just the whole team trying to work together, and they have been. It’s a really difficult beast. But it was insane. I can’t even explain it. It’s my childhood dream come true” Speaking of the set —production designer Nigel Phelps brought the Pokemon Universe to life in ways that will your mind when you see the film. According to Phelps, he made it a point to not borrow architecture or inspiration from any of the fictional cities in the 2016 Japanese video from whence the film was based on. Instead, he opted for more realistic details, such as tall skyscrapers and underground fight clubs, that makes the viewer feel like the Pokemon Universe is an actual place on the planet. “We’re trying to make a very realistic film, albeit with the most strange cast of characters that make it very unworldly. We’re trying to create a world where, in the fantastic beasts sense of the word, we’ve got a very realistic environment, where these amazing creatures can exist in a believable fashion.” Source: Warner Bros. / Warner Bros. “The color patterns have been quite neutral, so lots of grays and blacks and whites, to help offset the very, the pattern of colors that all the creatures have. And a lot of them are really tiny as well, so it got right down with all the floors and a lot of the ground surfaces, so that you get, any color that we have on the light stuff is reflected on the floor. All the streets and the exterior stuff is in and around the city of London and Shoreditch.” The fashion in the film is pretty next level, too! One of the scenes fight club moment in the Pokemon Battle Arena a.k.a Rhyme City (ran by Charizard’s owner Sebastian) aesthetically called for very grungy yet kitchy vibes. Costume Designer Susie Harmon told us, “It’s very, probably the most creative out-there look. Some punk meets goth meets Tokyo street fashion; anything basically. RnB, you name it. Everything just mashed up together, underground fight club basically. Did a lot of research in the anime, to get a sense of what the key looks were.” “Especially for the lead actors, just to give it a grounded but that slight cartoony feel about it. Just to give it the silhouette and how the guys tend to wear their clothes in the anime, and the women, with those lovely little skirts, and the hair. So yeah, definitely to get a sense of fully anime, rather than the games.” Earlier this month, it was announced that Detective Pikachu will also be adapted into a graphic novel . According to Legendary Comics, an official movie graphic novel titled POKÉMON Detective Pikachu will debut online and in stores in summer 2019, following the film’s release. There’s also a sequel to the 2019 film already in the works. Detective Pikachu will definitely make all of your nostalgic, 90’s, Pokemon dreams come. Don’t miss out on the live-action when hits theaters on May 10.
Lori Loughlin has been caught on camera admitting to the crime for which she just got arrested. Sort of, that is. In a newly-surfaced video from 2017, the controversial actress and her teenager daughter, Olivia Jade, are recording footage for the latter's YouTube channel. In a video titled “TEACHING MY MOM SLANG TERMS OF 2017,” Olivia, who was 17 at the time, tell the Full House star of the phrase, “England is my city,” something made famous when fellow YouTuber Nick Crompton sang these words in Jake Paul‘s “It’s Everyday Bro.”) “England is NOT a city,” Loughlin tells her ignorant child in response, to which Olivia replies: “I know, that’s why it’s so, so, so iconic on YouTube! … Well, it’s not iconic at all, it’s just really dumb.” This whole conversation is really dumb, but it's also about to become very telling. Loughlin, who was arrested this week for her role in a nationwide college bribery scandal , then says: “If you would’ve said, ‘England is my city,’ I would say, ‘Why did I pay all this money for your education?'” At this joke, he mother-daughter duo laugh and laugh and then laugh some more. But few people are guffawing over pretty much this exact same thing right now. Loughlin and her husband were each indicted by the FBI a few days ago because they allegedly paid a $500,000 bribe to pretend Olivia and her sister were high school crew team members. They were subsequently admitted to the University of Southern California because an employee there listed them as potential athletic recruits, thereby lowering their admissions standards. Loughlin and actress Felicity Huffman were the two best-known individuals involved in an arrested that netted dozens of wealthy parents, all of whom are accused of lying, cheating and bribing their kids' way into college. Olivia Jade has since left USC, at which she barely studied, while Loughlin has since lost multiple jobs , including her role as leading lady on Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart. “We are saddened by the recent news surrounding the college admissions allegations,” Crown Media Family Networks said in a statement, adding: “We are no longer working with Lori Loughlin and have stopped development of all productions that air on the Crown Media Family Network channels involving Lori Loughlin including Garage Sale Mysteries, an independent third party production.” Olivia, for her part, lost her brand deal with Sephora. “After careful review of recent developments, we have made the decision to end the Sephora Collection partnership with Olivia Jade, effective immediately,” a spokesperson for the beauty company has said. Watch Loughlin make her so-called joke in this video now.
