deerstalker

Move over J.Rod. Forget about it, Kimye. There’s a hot new celebrity couple in town that everyone in Hollywood is talking about: Laura Dern and Baby Yoda. DernBaby, as they are known to fans, first made waves when the Big Little Lies star was linked with the intergalactic bon vivant at a basketball game:

Laura Dern says that she saw #BabyYoda at a basketball game: "That's all I'm going to say" pic.twitter.com/i87ves5tn4

— Variety (@Variety) December 3, 2019

Later, Dern opened up about the whirlwind romance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert:

.@LauraDern is thinking about seeing more of Baby Yoda. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/QT50UwxU39

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) January 11, 2020

Clearly these two are made for each other: Baby Yoda exists in the Star Wars universe, and Dern played Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi. They are both also said to be BFFs with Reese Witherspoon. And before everyone gets up in arms, Baby Yoda is 50, so he’s an age-appropriate match for the Little Women star. Plus, Dern has already said “I don’t mind being the taller one.”

What can we say, we stan a power couple that spans universes. Best of luck, you two!

(via Twitter, image: HBO/Disney)

• Protesters formed a flash mob outside of Harvey Weinstein’s trial. (via Jezebel)
• Batman‘s Burt Ward on the battle of the bulge and network television. (via io9)
• Check out this behind the scenes VFX reel for Netflix’s The Irishman. (via Nerdist)

I’m never going to stop thinking it’s weird that the three jobs in Star Wars are fascist army man, renegade ninja, or lounge musician.

— Jennifer Wright (@JenAshleyWright) January 11, 2020

• Game of Thrones and Watchmen garner DGA nominations. (via Collider)
• Want more Daughters of the Dragon? So did Jessica Henwick aka Iron Fist‘s Collen Wing. (via CBR)
• Good News, everyone!

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are returning as co-hosts for the 78th Golden Globe® Awards in 2021! pic.twitter.com/eEPClMrcbK

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 11, 2020

What are you seeing out there, Sue Believers?

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'Birds of Prey' is coming to theaters on Feb. 7. (Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)

TGIF. While you’re planning for the long weekend ahead, we’ve rounded up the top movie and TV trailers that you may have missed during the week.

Harley Quinn and her squad fight Black Mask in Birds of Prey, while Ragnarok teases a godly showdown in Norway. From 20th Century Fox’s The New Mutants to HBO’s Avenue 5, here are the top movies and TV shows to keep on your radar.

The New Mutants

X-Men spinoff film The New Mutants is coming to theaters in April. It follows Magik, Wolfsbane, and other teenage mutants who are locked up in a secret psychiatric facility. When the group realizes that their caretaker is up to no good, they use their superpowers to try to escape.

Sex Education

Sex Education is back for Season 2 on Jan. 17: Get ready for more relationships, hookups, and really embarrassing first time moments, from the perspectives of a therapist’s son and his classmates. (It’s unclear if their underground sex therapy clinic is still in session…)

Birds of Prey

Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Huntress, and Renee Montoya team up to protect a young girl from Black Mask in Birds of Prey, which hits theaters on Feb. 7. After breaking up with The Joker, Quinn rallies up her squad and goes after the bad guys in Gotham City.

Avenue 5

Space and vacation can be a thing, according to Avenue 5, which premieres on HBO on Jan. 19: This quirky series highlights a luxury spaceship crew, as they try to handle the requests of travelers and unexpected technical difficulties.

Locke & Key

After their father mysteriously dies, three siblings discover a major secret about their ancestral home in Locke & Key. The eerie series, which is coming to Netflix Feb. 7, takes the trio on a scavenger hunt, as they find magical keys inside the old residence.

Ragnarok

A major battle with the Giants is set to take place in Ragnarok, a chilling series coming to Netflix Jan. 31. A new boy arrives in town and realizes that he’s not a typical human. There’s only one hero who can take down the power-hungry giants and he may be the only hope.

More on Geek.com:

• Watch These Movies Before ‘1917’
• Fox Is ‘Wide Open’ to ‘Firefly’ Reboot
• The Best Movies Where Water Is the Villain

Marianne Williamson is the latest Democrat to realize she has no place in this overstuffed presidential race and she has now officially suspended her campaign … girlfriend.

I can’t say I’m sad to see Williamson go. She had some legitimately troubling ideas like her anti-vaxxing stance (she called it “safe-vaxxing,” which is just a tepid name for the exact same thing) or her belief that we can prevent natural disasters with “visualization“, which, combined with her total lack of political experience, made her presence cutely perplexing at best and dangerous at worst.

To her credit, she did add some value to the Democratic field, and not just (although definitely mostly) as a wacky distraction. Her dedication to the idea of reparations was an important force in the Dem candidates’ conversation around social justice.

But it was definitely time for her to leave. After failing to qualify for the last few debates, she announced that she didn’t “want to get in the way of a progressive candidate” winning the upcoming primaries.

“I stayed in the race to take advantage of every possible opportunity to share our message,” she wrote to her supporters. “With caucuses and primaries now about to begin, however, we will not be able to garner enough votes in the election to elevate our conversation any more than it is now.” (via CNN)

RIP to the campaign of Marianne Williamson, the Gwyneth Paltrow of Jill Steins. https://t.co/lhecMF1Fuf

— The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) January 10, 2020

Some campaigns simply fail to crystallize.

I’ll see myself out.

— Adam Best (@adamcbest) January 10, 2020

Marianne Williamson the Pippi Longstocking of Presidential candidates had a whimsy that will not be forgotten pic.twitter.com/HQ5a8tIcH5

— Wʏɴᴛᴇʀ Mɪᴛᴄʜᴇʟʟ (Rᴏʜʀʙᴀᴜɢʜ) (@wyntermitchell) January 10, 2020

• Effie T. Brown was named the CEO of Gamechanger, the first film financing fund by and for women. (via Deadline)
• We’ve got our first trailer for Fargo season four! (via FX on Twitter)
• *Raises hand*
  

  Raise your hand if you know why people are trolling Elizabeth’s dance moves and not my dad jokes https://t.co/SUsyIQDlPZ

  — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 9, 2020

• Nope, don’t like this.
  

  The Olympic Committee is banning protests at the 2020 Olympics.

  It says “political, religious or racial propaganda” like armbands, kneeling or raising a fist will not be allowed at games or medal ceremonies because “sport is neutral.” pic.twitter.com/exqBYGvZys

  — AJ+ (@ajplus) January 9, 2020

• Mark Hammil is going to appear in What We Do in the Shadows season two!!!!! (via Nerdist)
• We’re very into this fan video that inserts Keanu Reeves into the Old Republic. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
• This is a local story for me but we’re seeing versions of it in cities across the country: marginalized communities are fighting back against those trying to claim ownership of (and potentially profit off of) women’s marches. (via The Pitch)

• of all of the reboots in the last 10 years i’m most thankful that we rebooted asian pic.twitter.com/mmbL9Kq28u

  — Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) January 10, 2020

What did you all see out there at the end of this seemingly endless week?

(image: Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
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When you think of New Orleans, you probably think of Creole food, beignets, Bourbon Street, and of course — Hurricanes. Jazz singer Robin Barnes is on a mission to change the narrative, and make New Orleans a hub for health and fitness as well. Because it’s all about balance, right?

After overcoming a serious illness, she focused on creating a healthier lifestyle for herself which led her to create to a fitness Facebook group. That group took on a life of it’s own and has inspired hundreds of women in New Orleans (and beyond) to prioritize their fitness and to get up and move.

Today the organization — Move Ya Brass — has grown to hundreds of people with weekly group runs and Bounce Ya Brass, Hip Hop Ya Brass, sunrise Stretch Ya Brass and Twerk Ya Brass classes. 

If you’re planning your next trip to New Orleans for ESSENCE Festival or otherwise, find out more about Barnes’ movement which is inspiring women everywhere.

What inspired Move Ya Brass?  

After overcoming a life altering health issue while on tour, I wanted to create a fitness community that would motivate myself and others to live a healthier life through movement and the music of New Orleans.

What does it mean?  

When I was in recovery, my mom walked into my room and said, “Girl, you better get off your ass and move ya brass!” That stuck with me and inspired our motto of “Getting off of the sideline and into a second line”. Everything about Move Ya Brass ties back to my life as a musician and the culture of growing up in New Orleans. We have second lines for funerals, weddings, and on Sundays just because. People follow the brass band throughout the streets, dancing and moving to the sounds of the band. They’re exercising without calling it exercise – I thought – why not take that format and give it to people weekly as a class? 

How do you infuse New Orleans flair into your workouts? 

It’s all about the music and the movements – we have classes like Twerk Ya Brass and Bounce Ya Brass – those are classes and music that are special to New Orleans. When people finish our classes, they feel the same excitement and exhaustion that you feel after dancing with a second line.

Is your background in health and fitness? 

It’s not! I’m a full time musician. 

Why should Black women prioritize their own self-care? 

Because if we don’t, who will? Black women are always expected to be the strong ones, taking care of everyone and holding everything together. But we can’t do that if we’re not first taking care of ourselves first.

You turned a Facebook post into a movement. Do you plan on bringing Move Ya Brass national? 

That’s the plan! We would love to expand to festivals nationwide and be able to add our live music component to our classes as well, to be able to incorporate more of the New Orleans sound with the class. We activated classes at Bonnaroo last year and it was such a fun experience for us. We’re excited to take that and grow to more festivals and on larger platforms.

The post How A Facebook Group Became A Movement Inspiring Women To Get Up And Move Their ‘Brass’ appeared first on Essence.