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Photo by Jeenah Moon/Getty Images By Melissa Noel ·Updated November 3, 2024

In a surprise appearance, Vice President Kamala Harris joined Saturday Night Live on November 2, just three days before the  2024 Presidential election, for a playful cameo alongside Maya Rudolph, who’s been portraying her all season. 

The night opened with a string of impersonations, featuring James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump, Dana Carvey as President Biden, and Andy Samberg as Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. But the real spark came when Maya, as Harris, took a moment in front of a mirror and wished aloud for some relatable advice.

“I wish I could talk to someone who’s been in my shoes… a Black, South Asian woman running for president, preferably from the Bay Area,” Rudolph said.

Enter Kamala Harris herself, dressed in a matching suit and greeted with thunderous applause from the audience. Sitting across from her SNL double, Harris smiled and said, “You and me both, sister. It is nice to see you, Kamala. I’m just here to remind you: You’ve got this. Because you can do something your opponent cannot do. You can open doors.”

The line was a cheeky jab at Donald Trump’s recent struggle with a garbage truck door, and the audience laughed as Harris chuckled through the sketch, as Rudolph mimicked the vice president. “I don’t really laugh like that do, I?” Harris asked. “A little bit,” Rudolph replied, adding a dramatic flourish.

The two Kamalas then riffed on Harris’ first name, which her opponent, Trump has repeatedly mispronounced.

“Kamala take my palm-ala,” Rudolph said as she grabbed Harris’ hand. “The American people want to stop the chaos and end the dram-ala with a cool new step-mamala. Kick back in our pajam-alas and watch a rom-com-ala.”

Harris  suggested putting on “Legally Blond-ala.”

“Because what do we always say?” Harris said. Then she and Rudolph said in unison: “Keep Calm-ala and Carry On-ala.”

Together, they chanted,“Keep Calm-ala and Carry On-ala,” before finishing each other’s line: “We know each other so well we even finish each other’s… belief in the promise of America.”

They wrapped it up with a pitch for the vote. “I’m gonna vote for us,” Rudolph said, as Harris playfully replied, “Great! Any chance you’re registered in Pennsylvania?” Without missing a beat, Rudolph answered, “No, I am not.” Harris shrugged, “Well, it was worth a shot!”

With that, the duo delivered SNL’s classic sign-off: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”

The post ‘Keep Calm-ala’: Kamala Harris Makes Surprise ‘SNL’ Cameo Alongside Maya Rudolph Ahead Of Election Day appeared first on Essence.

By Dominique Fluker ·

The post Eva Marcille And Her Girlfriends Explore Vietnam In Peacock Series, ‘Eat, Slay, Love’ appeared first on Essence.

One of the most iconic fantasy and sci-fi artists of all time, Greg Hildebrandt, has sadly passed away at age 85. We learned the news via the folks at Gizmodo. Together with his twin brother Tim, the prolific artist drew illustrations for the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, Marvel and DC Comics, and a number of iconic movie posters. But he is perhaps most famous for the poster he did way back in 1977, for the original Star Wars. Although A New Hope had many posters, Fox licensed this one for merchandise all over the world. It eventually became synonymous with the film.

Back in 1977, Michigan-born artists Greg and Tim Hildebrandt were approached by 20th Century Fox to produce poster art for the UK release of Star Wars. The studio had already produced a poster in the US by artist Tom Jung, but Fox executives considered this poster artwork “too dark.” So with only 36 hours, brothers Greg and Tim had to produce a new image to promote the film. The poster art they came up with took great liberties with the actor’s appearances. Luke Skywalker had an open shirt revealing a buff physique, while Princess Leia posed in a provocative way. Neither version really resembled the actors, yet this image wound up on everything from bedsheets to t-shirts.

The brothers Hildebrandt did many illustrations together for decades. In the fantasy realm, they did a series of Lord of the Rings calendars and posters in the ’70s. They followed those up with Illustrations for Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and Harry Potter. They also illustrated a popular series of Marvel Masterworks trading cards in the ’90s. In later years, after his brother passed away in 2006, Greg did a series of Star Trek covers for IDW. And all that is just the tip of the iceberg. This means there are very few major sci-fi and fantasy properties he didn’t contribute to artistically in his lifetime. Greg Hildebrandt left an indelible mark on how we view heroic fantasy characters for all time.

The post Iconic STAR WARS Poster Artist and Fantasy Illustrator Greg Hildebrandt Dies, Age 85 appeared first on Nerdist.

I love pro wrestling. The moves, the wrestlers, the spectacle of it all coming together to tell a story. Stories are endless. They have a beginning and ending, but there’s always a new chapter. Much like a comic book. Which to me means, wrestling is comic books. You got people playing a larger-than-life hero (baby face) or villain (heel). There’s just something about watching folks get in that ring and put on a show. They’ve all got different reasons for doing it: money, fame, thrills. Then, there’s those with something to prove. Those that wrestling just calls to. That calling makes them wanna be the best at it. Invincible Fight Girl takes on the calling of a young, Black girl named Andy (Sydney Mikayla) that’s got dreams of becoming the best machine, the greatest of all time, the best wrestler alive.

“Suplex the K like Shane Douglas, brain busters, you can’t muster”

Invincible Fight Girl is set in a world where wrestling is everything. It’s literally the way of life. I knew I was hooked when they showed the globe, and the continents formed a flexing bicep. Andy’s story starts off 10 years ago earlier at a wrestling event with her parents. Now, her parents aren’t into it at all but this match changes Andy’s life, especially seeing the goat wrestler Quesa Poblana (Rolonda Watts). This is where Andy decides that she is going to be a professional wrestler.

However, the problem with Andy’s dream is that her parents don’t know about it and haven’t accounted for it because they’re counting on their daughter being an accountant like them. See, though wrestling is worldwide, Andy is from Accountant Isle. She’s in a land of no wrasslin’ or graps. We watch Andy struggle through Accountant Academy where everybody else is flourishing because they eat, sleep, and dream about crunching numbers. The problem for Andy is she’s more concerned with hitting brain busters. You already know how this goin’ go. Andy’s gotta find a way to follow her dream before accounting adds them up into a pile of shattered dreams.

“Owen Hart with the Pan. It’s all in the wrist, fork in the hand”

Invincible Fight Girl creator Juston Gordon-Montgomery clearly made the series as not only a love letter to fans of pro wrestling but as a gateway into wrestling that anyone can go through. “Wrestling is for everyone” is not only a line in the show but a line that’s been said in recent years to show how progressive wrestling has become. Every so often, fellow staff member Jordan Calhoun and I get into a back and forth about the popularity of wrestling. While Jordan sees wrestlers not being household names as they once were during the Attitude Era. I, on the other hand, believe that we’re currently in a renaissance of wrestling.

They’re playing wrestler’s theme songs at NBA games, current wrestlers are being cosplayed, and now that there’s alternatives to WWE, wrestling is way more accessible. The current landscape of pro wrestling makes this the perfect time for Invincible Fight Girl to drop as we’ve seen leaps and bounds in the treatment and packaging of Black wrestlers. Especially, Black women wrestlers.

I’m talking Willow Nightingale, Your Forever ROH Champ Athena, Naomi, Sasha Banks/Mercedes Mone, Bianca Bel Air, Mia Yim, Queen Aminata, Kiera Hogan, Jade Cargill. The 90s-2000s pioneers, Jacqueline Moore, Jazz, Awesome Kong, and Aja Kong, to Black women wrestlers that literally paved the way like Kathleen Wimbley, Ethel Johnson, and Ramona Isbel.

It’s impossible not to see the influence of all these women breaking down doors so that we now live in a time where Invincible Fight Girl stars a young, Black girl that loves wrestling. Not only that, Juston Gordon Montgomery’s show is bringing wrestling back to Toonami. Ultimate Muscle is the last wrestling show (that I can name) that Toonami aired. Dawg, Ultimate Muscle came out in 2002. That’s a 22-year gap in graps until now.

“I’m like Ted DiBiase – I win no matter what it cost me”

What I appreciate the most about the presentation of Invincible Fight Girl is that Andy isn’t trying to be the best female wrestler; she wants to be the best wrestler alive. Period. We see Andy fighting men, and there is no holding back whatsoever. Andy is taking hits, accumulating damage, and out her scrapping for real. There’s a flow to each fight but what stays consistent is that every hit taken has weight to it. I always appreciate how a show can have the animation be fun, goofy, and over the top then at the drop of a dime switch to up and convey a how dire the situation is. Invincible Fight girl does an amazing job of reeling in the audience to pull for Andy as a believable underdog.

Sydney Mikayla who voices Andy brings the finishing touch to the animation. Sydney’s voice acting portrays Andy as an eager young lion but also, we see who she is as a person and why she fights. There’s such a stark difference in Andy’s demeanor between her first and second fight. Even in her reasons for each fight, however, Sydney shows the growth of the character from each episode. Juston Gordon-Montgomery stressed how Andy’s style of wrestling will switch up for every fight based upon the opponent. What he didn’t mention, is that Sydney’s performance follows suit. Each fight brings out a different animal in Andy. Sydney conveys that notion flawlessly to make each fight stand out and on its own. My wrestler, I saw Andy throw a headbutt to block a punch… then smile. That’s what I’m talking about!

Sydney Mikayla’s voice acting blends so well into the animation seamlessly. When Andy’s down, we feel it. We get a great sense of her frustration, joy, and determination. Invincible Fight Girl at its heart is a story about being able to do what you love while striving to be the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be. Andy’s journey will show her what it takes to have the wrestling game on Scorpion Deathlock. So, now yall got tickets to see Andy’s pro wrestling debut Nov 2 at midnight on Adult Swim (streaming next day on Max).

“Looky here – it’s just the way the cookie tear,
prepare to get hurt and mangled like Kurt Angle rookie year.”

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The post ‘Invincible Fight Girl’ Brings the Wrestling Tsunami Back to Toonami appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.