Entertainment
10 R-Rated Slasher Movies That Can Be Called Masterpieces
Slasher movies are easy to dismiss until one gets under your skin and stays there. A masked killer, a sharp weapon, a group of possible victims and a final survivor can sound like a basic formula. The masterpieces (on this list) expose how much can be done inside it.
These ten films have real personalities. Their murders are remembered, but blood alone did not secure their places here. Each one understands anticipation, character and the sick relationship between the audience and the killer. Horror fans have argued over these rankings for decades. Scroll down slowly to find out what I think.
10
‘X’ (2022)
A group of young filmmakers arrives at an isolated Texas farm in 1979, hoping to shoot an adult movie without telling the elderly owners what they are doing. That setup could have settled for cheap jokes and quick deaths. X instead connects youth, sex, ageing, ambition and resentment until the violence starts feeling like the ugliest possible reaction to being left behind.
Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) and Pearl (Mia Goth) drive the film far beyond its porn-shoot premise. Maxine believes fame will rescue her from an ordinary life. Pearl sees the youth and freedom she lost standing right in front of her. The barn, the alligator, the headlights and the television preacher all feed into a story about people desperate to feel special before time decides otherwise. X earns this spot through empathy that never softens the horror. Pearl is monstrous, but the film understands exactly where the rage began.
9
‘The Burning’ (1981)
Camp Blackfoot carries an old wound. Years earlier, a cruel prank left caretaker Cropsy (Lou David) horribly burned. His return turns another summer camp into a hunting ground, but The Burning has more on its mind than revenge. The campers actually behave like young people with existing friendships, private insecurities and enough personality to make the deaths feel disruptive rather than scheduled. The raft massacre remains the film’s most famous passage though.
The film comes from Tom Savini and his effects are fast, graphic and mean, with Cropsy attacking several people in broad daylight before anyone can properly react. Yet the camp life before that violence deserves equal credit. Woodstock (Fisher Stevens), Dave (Jason Alexander) and Sophie (Holly Hunter) appear early in their careers, while Alfred (Brian Backer)’s position as the bullied outsider complicates the usual slasher assumptions. Cropsy is not just punishing one neat group of guilty people. His anger has spread beyond the original humiliation and become an excuse to destroy strangers. That lack of moral order makes The Burning nastier than many of the Friday the 13th imitators surrounding it.
8
‘Child’s Play’ (1988)
There is something immediately upsetting about a killer hiding inside a toy a child loves. Child’s Play felt brutal because of that as a child. Six-year-old Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) begs for a Good Guy doll, and his mother Karen Barclay (Catherine Hicks) manages to buy one despite their financial struggles. Neither knows that serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) used voodoo to transfer his soul into the doll before dying. Andy then becomes the only witness to murders nobody believes he could have understood.
The film protects Andy’s point of view long enough for the adults’ disbelief to become part of the terror. Karen starts from a reasonable place, then has to accept that her son has been telling the truth while everyone around him treated him as disturbed. Chucky is still frightening here, before later sequels pushed his personality further into comedy. Brad Dourif’s voice has anger, panic and criminal arrogance in it. The battery discovery remains one of the cleanest reveals in 1980s horror. Karen sees that the doll has been moving without power, and every earlier scene instantly becomes worse.
7
‘You’re Next’ (2011)
You’re Next is exactly how the name sounds. The Davison family reunion is already uncomfortable before a crossbow bolt crashes through the dining-room window. Old grudges, sibling competition and money have poisoned the evening, leaving everyone emotionally exposed when masked attackers surround the house. Then Erin (Sharni Vinson) starts responding with a level of calm nobody expected from Crispian Davison (A. J. Bowen)’s quiet Australian girlfriend.
What follows is one of the most satisfying reversals in modern slasher cinema. Erin grew up on a survivalist compound, so locked doors, broken windows and armed intruders register as problems to solve. Erin gets hurt, makes mistakes and understands the situation faster than the people panicking around her. The animal masks are creepy as hell. The family conspiracy underneath them is even uglier. Wealth has turned murder into an inheritance strategy, and the killers expect their victims to behave helplessly. Adam Wingard and writer Simon Barrett keep the humour vicious without draining the danger. A blender eventually becomes a weapon, which tells you how completely Erin refuses the role chosen for her.
6
‘Scream 2’ (1997)
Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson had already exposed the rules of slasher movies, so the sequel faced a brutal question. What could Scream possibly say next without repeating the joke? The answer arrives through copycat violence, media exploitation, survivor trauma and the pressure of watching real murders become entertainment before the victims have even recovered.
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is trying to build a life at Windsor College when Ghostface returns. Neve Campbell’s work here has more weariness than the first film. Sidney understands the pattern now, which only makes the renewed attack feel crueler. Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) sees another career opportunity, Dewey Riley (David Arquette) returns with injuries that still affect him and Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) treats sequel rules as protection until the rules fail him. His death in broad daylight remains a punch to the chest. The sound-booth murder of Cici Cooper (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and the car escape with Ghostface unconscious beside Sidney and Hallie McDaniel (Elise Neal) show how inventive the suspense had become. Scream 2 knows sequels need escalation, then asks how much suffering audiences expect survivors to endure for another good movie.
5
‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984)
Before Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) became a comedian with knives, he was a filthy, cruel presence waiting inside sleep in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Tina Gray (Amanda Wyss)’s death announces that immediately. She is dragged across the ceiling while Rod Lane (Jsu Garcia) watches helplessly, and the bedroom offers no logical explanation for what is happening. Wes Craven had found the perfect slasher territory. Every person eventually has to sleep, and parents cannot protect children from something they refuse to acknowledge.
Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) becomes formidable through exhaustion rather than physical power. Heather Langenkamp’s character investigates the deaths, discovers the connection between Freddy and the adults of Elm Street and builds traps while her body is begging to shut down. The parents created the haunting when they burned Krueger alive and buried the truth, leaving their children to inherit the punishment. That generational guilt adds weight to every surreal image. The body bag in the school hallway, Freddy’s arms stretching across the alley and Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp) disappearing into his bed still feel wrong in the best way. Sleep was never safe again after this as a kid.
4
‘Black Christmas’ (1974)
Black Christmas helped establish ideas later slashers would use constantly, but its influence is only half the argument. The attic, the rocking chair and the unanswered telephone leave the film in a place far colder than closure. The phone rings inside a sorority house, and the voice on the other end refuses to sound human for long. It mutters, screams, threatens and shifts between identities while the women listening struggle to understand whether the caller is joking or already nearby. Bob Clark keeps the killer hidden so completely that even his face remains outside the audience’s reach.
Jess Bradford (Olivia Hussey) is dealing with an unwanted pregnancy and a controlling boyfriend while her friends begin disappearing during the Christmas break. Olivia Hussey allows the fear to build without losing Jess’s anger or independence. Barb Coard (Margot Kidder) brings sharp humour as Barb, whose drinking and hostility barely cover her own pain. The police trace the obscene calls slowly, and the truth is horrifyingly simple. They are coming from inside the house. Nobody can promise that Billy ever left.
3
‘The Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ (1974)
The title promises gore that Tobe Hooper barely shows. What the film delivers is worse. Five young people travel through rural Texas, pick up a deeply unsettling hitchhiker and eventually wander onto property belonging to a family that has turned slaughterhouse methods into domestic routine. The heat, dust, noise and relentless screaming make the whole experience feel physically unpleasant.
Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) first appears with almost no warning. Gunnar Hansen’s huge frame fills the doorway, the hammer drops and a metal door slams shut. There is no speech and no theatrical reveal in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. A human life ends with the speed of an animal being processed. The dinner scene later pushes Sally Hardesty (Marilyn Burns) beyond normal fear as the family mocks her terror and tries to involve their barely living grandfather in the killing. Marilyn Burns spends much of the last act running, falling and screaming until survival looks stripped of all dignity. Her laughter in the truck is not triumph. She has escaped with her mind hanging by a thread while Leatherface swings the chainsaw against the sunrise. One of the best slashers of all time.
2
‘Scream’ (1996)
Horror fans knew the rules before 1996. The genius of Scream was recognizing that the characters could know them too and still die. Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) answers a phone call, talks about scary movies and slowly realizes the stranger outside understands her home better than she does. Drew Barrymore was the biggest name in the cast, which made her murder before the title card feel like a direct threat to audience expectations.
Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has already lost her mother and watched the town turn that death into gossip. Ghostface forces her to question her father, her boyfriend, her friends and the story she has been told about Maureen. Neve Campbell keeps Sidney emotionally grounded while the film around her jokes about virginity, sequels and suspicious behaviour. Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) are terrifying precisely because their motives are unequal. Billy has built a revenge story around his own entitlement. Stu seems thrilled that murder has given him a role to perform. Scream laughs with horror fans, understands their knowledge and then uses that knowledge against them.
1
‘Halloween’ (1978)
The king of it all. Mighty Michael Myers. Halloween is basically a white mask that appears across the street, behind a hedge and beside a clothesline. Michael Myers (Nick Castle) spends much of Halloween standing still, yet every sighting changes the space around Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis). Haddonfield looks ordinary enough to lower everyone’s guard. Children walk home from school. Teenagers make plans. Parents leave for the evening. Evil has entered a familiar neighbourhood and has no interest in explaining itself.
John Carpenter’s direction is disciplined to the point of cruelty in this film. The widescreen frame encourages the viewer to search every background, while his score creates panic from a few repeating notes. Laurie notices Michael before anyone else, partly because she pays attention and partly because she already lives more cautiously than her friends. Once the attack begins, she fights with whatever is close, protects the children and keeps moving despite believing she has stopped him more than once. Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) shoots Michael, looks down and finds the ground empty. The closing shots move through silent rooms while his breathing continues. The movie ends, but Haddonfield never gets its safety back.
Halloween
- Release Date
-
October 27, 1978
- Runtime
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91 minutes
- Director
-
John Carpenter
- Writers
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Debra Hill, John Carpenter
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Entertainment
Will Ferrell’s New Netflix Series Just Became One of the Streamer’s Biggest Hits of 2026
The gap between what critics wanted from The Hawk and what viewers actually did with it has become one of the more interesting streaming stories of the summer. Netflix dropped all ten half-hour episodes of Will Ferrell’s first television comedy on July 16, and within days the show had planted itself at the top of the streamer’s US Top 10 chart.
In its first week, The Hawk logged 4.8 million views and 24.7 million viewing hours worldwide, according to Netflix’s Top 10 reporting, enough to make it the third most-watched English-language series on the platform for the week. It also grabbed the No. 1 spot in Australia, Canada, and Iceland, and landed at No. 2 in the UK, New Zealand, and Ireland. To date, it’s earned 1.5B minutes watched. For a show about a washed-up pro golfer in very loud plaid pants, that feels like a hole in one.
What Critics are Saying About ‘The Hawk’
Of course, critics have not been as enthusiastic. The show holds a pretty dismal score on Rotten Tomatoes against a considerably warmer audience rating, and the pans have been unusually pointed for a Ferrell project. The Hollywood Reporter called The Hawk “the most shapeless and least comedically focused” sports project of Ferrell’s career and described the series as “flat and disposable.” Variety went with “lackluster.” RogerEbert.com pointed to a tone that swings between slapstick, crude wordplay, and half-hearted emotional beats without ever settling on any of them. The recurring line in most negative reviews is that Lonnie Hawkins reads like a Ricky Bobby refit and that the show is coasting on Ferrell’s commitment instead of writing him anything sharp to do.
Not everyone agreed. NPR, in one of the show’s warmer reviews, praised its “satisfying silliness, amusing shenanigans and surprise cameos.” The Los Angeles Times wrote fondly about its affectionate handling of the sport itself. And at Collider, we scored it a 6/10. The Hawk is chasing a harder joke than Talladega Nights ever told, because Lonnie is not an earnest idiot in the Ricky Bobby mold. He’s an idiot who knows exactly what his obsession has cost him and keeps making the same call anyway.
Why ‘The Hawk’ Is Working for Netflix Audiences
The reason viewers seem to be responding to the show, based on the sustained chart run, is that Ferrell, in full meltdown mode, remains a pretty bankable pleasure. Lonnie cooing at a golf ball, brawling with a bunker, sipping suspicious sports-bottle contents, plowing his tour bus through the green: this is what Ferrell has always been good at. His refusing to protect his own dignity is still, in 2026, a watchable bit.
The cast around him is doing serious lifting too, and that’s probably a bigger part of the audience response than the reviews have given it credit for. Molly Shannon plays Lonnie’s estranged wife Stacy as a woman happy to turn every waking moment into a sales opportunity. She is genuinely great opposite Ferrell, especially when their chemistry turns from bitter loathing to something a bit hornier. Jimmy Tatro, as Lonnie’s cold-plunging wellness-appropriating son Lance, is the generational foil the show needs, and the father-son contempt running between them is the sharpest storytelling device the show sometimes makes use of. Fortune Feimster, as the DIY-mechanic caddie Lonnie hires out of a Walmart parking lot, gives the series the closest thing it has to a heart. And Luke Wilson turns up as Lonnie’s smug rival, Golden Fisk, while Chris Parnell floats through as an envious tour board member to round out a bench that shares the comedic wealth.
The finale is also a lot of fun, and one that will keep viewers arguing well past the credits. Without giving too much away, it all comes down to a single putt, a father-son standoff, a pickle jar, and one very pointed question Lonnie flat-out refuses to answer. None of this is prestige television, and it is not pretending to be. The Hawk is a well-cast, casually filthy, extremely watchable Netflix comedy that lets Will Ferrell do the thing Will Ferrell has been doing well for 25 years. Netflix has not confirmed a second season yet, but the numbers say the audience already voted. Another season of Ferrell losing his mind on a manicured green would suit all of us just fine.
The Hawk
- Release Date
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2026 – 2026-00-00
- Network
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Netflix
- Directors
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Jonathan Watson
- Writers
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Madeline Walter, Paul Welsh, Jerry Collins, Emma Rathbone, Cameron Squires, Harper Steele, Chris Henchy
Fantasy is, at its core, about imagination. The same can be said of every fictional genre, but traditional swords-and-horses-and-magic fantasy lends itself especially well to big concepts, extreme spectacle, and massive heart. That unlimited scale drives many of the time-honored tropes audiences seek out: arduous quests, enchanted objects, epic battles against insurmountable foes, and unlikely underdogs saving the world through the power of friendship.
Although Prime Video’s The Legend of Vox Machina has blossomed into a runaway sleeper hit, the adult animated series hasn’t yet reached the same levels of cultural awareness as heavyweight shows like HBO’s Game of Thrones, or Prime Video’s own The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time. With all due respect to those titles, The Legend of Vox Machina either matches or eclipses its multimillion-dollar live-action peers in every respect — especially when it comes to the playground of big concepts, extreme spectacle, and massive heart. Vox Machina offers comforting fantasy conventions up on a meticulously crafted silver platter by way of a creative team always determined to raise the bar on their existing accomplishments. The results are tremendous: a galvanizing love letter to fantasy’s imagination, an astounding triumph within the Western animation canon, and arguably the premier genre series of the decade.
‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ Understands What Makes a Perfect Fantasy Epic
Although The Legend of Vox Machina was designed to be broadly accessible, its unconventional origins inform its excellence. The misfit adventurers who christen their seven-person group as Vox Machina began with Critical Role, the multimedia company framed around eight voice actors’ shared enthusiasm for Dungeons & Dragons. When Critical Role decided to bring their livestreamed D&D campaign to animated life, Prime Video came knocking to the tune of four 12-episode seasons (with the fifth and final installment already commissioned).
Since it’s made by a team of self-proclaimed nerds who admire the same genre tropes and gaming mechanisms as their intended audience, Vox Machina knows it’s standing on the shoulders of giants. It zigzags around certain inspirations with a sly wink and fully embraces others with warmth and whimsy, fleshing out a foundational premise through luminous characters, a vibrantly textured world, adrenaline-surging combat, tonal harmony, and dynamic narrative architecture. Viewers across all genres are familiar with a bunch of lovably lethal mercenaries — quick-witted, foul-mouthed, prone to excessive mayhem — who accidentally become their realm’s go-to protectors and discover the messy found-family dynamic that becomes their shared saving grace.
This particular variation strikes every right chord precisely because of the production’s earnest commitment to mastering the storytelling craft. Whether the series has harmlessly riotous fun at the characters’ expense or torments them (as one does), Vox Machina isn’t trying to break the expectations associated with fantasy narrative structure. It infuses its spin on the beloved format with earned dramatic weight. Sometimes, that means turning an unwinnable fight into an exultant victory. When legitimate subversions arrive, they’re character-driven enrichments reckoning with the permanence of the compellingly intricate fallout, not contrivance-based shock value.
‘The Legend of Vox Machina’s Characters Are Its Crowning Glory
As the existing seasons gradually play out upon a battlefield of sublime havoc, rollicking vulgarity, and sobering maturity, Vox Machina‘s escalating plot momentum never sacrifices its narrative North Star: the titular ensemble’s electrifying chemistry as they clash with, complement, and strengthen one another into a unit capable of carrying their own vulnerable souls, the weight of their entire world, and each other. Tragedy and trauma are as much the party’s calling card as their bombastic charisma, and they’re plagued by a rogues’ gallery of conflict: exhaustion, disillusionment, past sins, a festering crisis of purpose, the trappings of divine mandates, and the mistakes they make out of desperate, grief-stricken, overwhelming love. When nefarious villains wreak their global catastrophe and internal carnage, those intimate beats find catharsis.
Yet even once healed, the emotional effects linger. Season 4, especially, paints a startlingly authentic and harrowing tableau about the complex, manifold, beautiful humanity buried underneath each member’s celebrity status. Of course, their not-so-secret hearts-of-gold deeply care about doing the right thing. Such a concept is easier said than done when the definitions, responsibilities, and costs aren’t clear-cut. And for all that friendship (and a healthy dash of spite) will indeed subdue tyrannical dragons and necromantic cults, Vox Machina can also do everything within their power and still lose. The notes never ring false because Vox Machina wears its blood-soaked heart on its sleeve, and has the skill to back it up.
The passion The Legend of Vox Machina‘s creatives hold for every background detail of their world blazes through the screen with undeniable clarity. Combine their painstakingly tender care with their increasingly ambitious scope, Titmouse, Inc.’s awe-inspiring animation, and the cast’s staggering performances, and you have one of the most remarkably consistent and fulfilling shows across any genre. The half-hour episodes will fly by in one weekend. You’ll laugh until you cry, cry until you’re riddled with a headache, and find your heart stolen by a bunch of half-broken outcasts as they stumble through their bittersweet lives, just striving to do their best. And isn’t that combination of mind-melting wonder and resonant humanity what all the greatest fantasy sagas are about?
The Legend of Vox Machina
- Release Date
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January 27, 2022
- Network
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Prime Video
- Showrunner
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Brandon Auman
- Directors
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Young Heller, Eugene Lee, Alicia Chan
Former president Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden is offering an update on his father’s ongoing cancer battle.
“It’s really tough, and that’s the real answer,” Hunter, 56, told the BBC in a Friday, August 7, interview when asked about Joe’s health. “My dad, to this day, remains the center of our family not just because of who he is as a public person but completely because of who he is to each one of us. It’s really, really hard and it’s really sad to watch.”
Joe, 83, shared sons Beau and Hunter, as well as daughter Naomi, with late first wife Nealia Biden. Nealia and Naomi were killed in a 1972 car accident, while Beau died in 2015 after battling glioblastoma. The politician also shares daughter Ashley, 45, with wife Dr. Jill Biden.
Joe was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in May 2025, with his office noting in a statement that the tumor had spread to the bones.
Former President Joe Biden has begun his battle with what his office called an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer. “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” a statement sent from Biden’s personal office to CNN in May 2025, read. “On Friday, he […]
“The cancer has spread [and] metastasized into his bones and further. It’s very painful,” Hunter added on Friday. “It’s very debilitating in many respects, but he’s still out there. He’s still doing this thing [because] he still believes in this country.”
Hunter’s stepmother, 75-year-old Jill, revealed two months earlier how Joe’s cancer battle had affected his daily work commitments.
“He’s doing OK. He does have stage IV cancer. It has metastasized to his bones. He will forever have cancer. He will forever be on medicine, and he’s 83,” Jill said on a June appearance on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast. “You put that mix in, so, [while] yes, he’s still working, he’s writing his book, he’s traveling, he’s speaking, but he’s a little more tired. I’ve seen him slow down. I mean, cancer really takes a toll.”
Former President Joe Biden and his family have endured several tragedies over the years. Biden married his first wife, Neilia Hunter, in 1966. The couple shared two sons, Joseph “Beau” Biden III and Hunter Biden, and a daughter, Naomi “Amy” Biden. Weeks after Joe was elected to the Senate in 1972, Neilia and their three […]
The former first lady continued, “I think every family in America has someone in their family with cancer, whatever form it takes. It’s really been, like, kind of a cruel blow. … [Joe is] strong, he’s resilient, and it’s just so unfortunate.”
According to Jill, her entire family is “trying to do their part in helping” with Joe’s care.
“Naomi, our oldest grandchild, said, ‘Nana, I want to come [visit] and bring my son, Willie, and stay with you for a month and help you out.’ I mean, it’s just been a really nice thing,” Jill added at the time, referring to Hunter’s daughter and her toddler son with husband Peter Neal.
NC State University swimming and diving coach John “Jack” Roney’s cause of death has been revealed, Us can exclusively report.
An autopsy report obtained by Us reveals that Roney’s death last month was ruled as accidental after the college coach died. He was 39.
Per the medical examiner’s findings, Jack had been practicing underwater breathing exercises while visiting a local pool with his wife, Maresa Roney. In video footage obtained by emergency medical services, John went under the surface for more than two minutes, coming back up for air before going underwater again. Maresa subsequently walked away to make a brief phone call, returning within five minutes, where she found her husband unresponsive.
“Wife told medics her husband was an avid swimmer and on that evening, he had been doing some breathing exercises [and] holding his breath underwater,” the report reads. “Wife pulled him from the water and called 911 … then began CPR.”
Local first responders continued administering CPR while transporting Jack to the hospital. He was pronounced dead upon arrival.
“There were no concerns for suicide, substance abuse or foul play,” the report adds. “No trauma was noted. Law enforcement was reviewing footage of the incident. Due to the circumstances of the death, pathology at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was consulted and the case was accepted there for autopsy.”
In a separate statement from the medical examiner, findings reveal that Jack “had a history of ADHD and was a former college swimmer in a good athletic state.”
“He was last known to be alive the evening of July 5, 2026, when he and his wife went to their community pool following dinner,” the statement reads. “While his wife stepped away, he decided to do breathing techniques to practice holding his breath. Video surveillance captured him submerging, very briefly surfacing about two minutes and 14 seconds later, and then submerging again without resurfacing. His wife returned after approximately five minutes and found him unresponsive in the pool. His wife pulled him out and began cardiopulmonary resuscitative efforts and called emergency responders. … Upon emergency responder arrival, he was in pulseless electrical activity, and they continued resuscitative efforts for approximately one hour.”
NC State announced Jack’s death the next day on July 6.
“We mourn the passing of former assistant coach and Wolfpack alumnus Jack Roney,” the university shared in a social media statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Roney family during this difficult time. His impact on our program and community will be remembered.”
Jack is survived by Maresa, with whom he celebrated his 15th wedding anniversary earlier in July, their five children and the late coach’s siblings.
“My brother…how are you gone? How is this real?” his sister Amber Moore wrote via Facebook. “You were the glue to your family and the glue to ours. How are we supposed to move forward without you? Every single day, you worked to become a better man. So few people live with that kind of purpose, but you did. You were never satisfied with standing still. You wanted to be the best version of yourself every day. To me, you were perfect!!!!”
Jack’s sister Katie Corum also shared a tribute to her late brother on social media, praising him as “an amazing man who loved his wife and kids more than anything in this world.”
“Grief is the price we pay for loving someone so deeply,” Corum stated via Facebook. “Right now, this pain feels never ending, but it also reminds us just how lucky we were to have had Jack in our lives. His absence leaves a hole in our hearts that can never be filled, but the love he gave and the memories he leaves behind will stay with us forever.”
Is Michael B. Jordan off the dating market again? That’s what fans are assuming after he was spotted riding rollercoasters with singer Raye at an amusement park in California. Social media is poppin’ off with dating speculations, while Michael and Raye have yet to clear the air.
RELATED: Drew Sidora Reveals The Ex-Boyfriend She’d Pick Up The Phone For & Michael B. Jordan’s Name Is In The Mix (VIDEO)
Michael B. Jordan & Raye Pop Out For Rollercoaster Fun
As said, the 39-year-old actor and the 28-year-old British singer have social media in a chokehold right now. And all it took was a single picture! That photo shows Michael B. Jordan sitting inside a yellow, black and orange coaster car. He appears to be mid-sentence, looking forward, while she has a small, open smile as she stares at him. The entertainers were dressed for the occasion, too. MBJ was wearing brown overalls, a crisp white tee, and a black-and-white cap, while Raye appeared to be wearing an all-black top. Her hair was styled in a voluminous blonde bob with loose curls. According to E! News and an X summary, the viral photo of MBJ and the singer was taken on Friday (August 7) at Six Flags Magic Mountain, near Los Angeles.
Raye and Michael B. Jordan spotted at Six Flags amusement park. pic.twitter.com/RyVFrSnSTr
— RAYE Updates (@RayeUpdate) August 8, 2026
Additionally, E! News reported on a TikTok video that Michael and Raye chattin’ as they waited for a separate rollercoaster ride to start. A separate third video shows fans cheering the entertainers on as a different rollercoaster took off.
@4.30pm00 I JUST SAW MICHEAL B JORDAN AT SIX FLAGS#fyp #sixflagsmagicmountain #michaelb#sinners #OMG
New video of Michael B. Jordan and Raye at Six Flags. 📸
Khalid Jordan, Michael’s younger brother, was also on the ride with them. pic.twitter.com/uEyaxS84Hh
— best of michael b. jordan. (@bjordanfiles) August 8, 2026
Social Media Users React To MBJ & Singer’s Link-Up
This Six Flags outing appears to be the first public sighting of the entertainers kicking it solo. However, there’s no clarity from either Michael or Raye on whether the link-up was romantic or platonic. Still, that hasn’t stopped fans from doing everything short of planning a wedding, chile! Keep scrolling to see reactions from X users.
They on tik tok saying Michael B Jordan was at six flags with Raye yesterday pic.twitter.com/Kp2gm1AJWz
— kay (@shutupkrysta) August 8, 2026
This a good look for both of them. Raye pretty, classy and a great artist. Michael B Jordan is MBJ. https://t.co/i6JxX2wEW2
— Von512. (@jgvisions00) August 8, 2026
RAYE asked the question, “WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!” Michael B. Jordan responded: by taking her to Six Flags. 👀💞 https://t.co/8NX2cl9kgR pic.twitter.com/TOYOseP1Vt
— KEVIL (@RealKevinNoel) August 8, 2026
Raye and Michael B Jordan at six flags pic.twitter.com/RZ4UDRdxqU
— Shaynemadeit (@shaynefreeman19) August 8, 2026
raye and michael b.? pic.twitter.com/xCTyNEBBeE
— Byaaa (@Bybywc) August 8, 2026
I guess Raye found her husband… and it’s Michael B Jordan pic.twitter.com/0F6gf2hMSv
— agathaismyfriend (@agathaismyfrie1) August 8, 2026
Okay, okay, okay… 2 very talented people who are ridiculously hot and at a theme park and him wearing those dungs…
I could certainly appreciate this actually being a thing. https://t.co/FGlF7ngL85 pic.twitter.com/RQ0kRxywFE
— Lyn🌺 (@_ayandamay) August 8, 2026
Congratulations to Raye. I’m so happy for you! “Oh look at me I’m Raye and I’m riding roller coasters with Michael B Jordan” pic.twitter.com/fElMJ7lUVj
— Tia Wouldn’t Wanna Be Ya 💋 (@t_shaaee) August 8, 2026
wdym Michael B Jordan might be dating Raye.. pic.twitter.com/aZ50HScObO
— flo 🌪️ (@ISLED3LFINO) August 8, 2026
Idg the fuss about RAYE and Michael B. Jordan meeting??? It could literally mean nothing lol
— Kay (@legendaarykay) August 8, 2026
Michael b Jordan & Raye at six flags???? i am here for itttt pic.twitter.com/uSA0WRp4Kk
— Dihj 🧁 (@blushiikurraa) August 8, 2026
See additional reactions by swiping below.
A Look At Michael B. Jordan’s Last Public Relationship
Roomies, you might recall that MBJ’s last high-profile relationship was with Lori Harvey. However, it’s been four years since the two were romantically linked. He and his “Turtle” dated for about 1.5 years, before splitting in June 2022. The first sightings of them together happened in late 2020, being spotted in Atlanta and then again in Salt Lake City. By January 2021, the ex-couple were Instagram official. Following the split, a source told PEOPLE that Michael and Lori Harvey were both heartbroken but weren’t on the same page and pace about committing long-term.
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Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge Messi, has died. He was 68.
“Club Atlético Newell’s Old Boys bids farewell with deep sorrow and grief to Jorge Messi, who passed away at the age of 68 in the city of Rosario,” Lionel’s first soccer club, the Newell’s Old Boys, wrote in a Saturday, August 8, X statement. “[Jorge was a] recognized leproso fan, businessman and father of the Argentine national team captain, Lionel Andrés Messi.”
The statement continued, “Jorge was the pillar and the person who supported with vision, rigor, and affection the career of the greatest player of all time alongside his wife, Celia Cuccittini. His constant companionship and behind-the-scenes leadership were essential in backing every step of Lionel, from his beginnings at Malvinas to the pinnacle of world football glory. Thank you for teaching him to love these colors.”
The Old Boys’ Board of directors, members and athletes went on to offer their condolences to Cuccittini, 66, Lionel, 39, and their entire family in their Saturday statement.
Multiple Spanish and Argentine outlets reported that Jorge, who served as his son’s longtime business agent, died in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina, on Friday, August 7.
Lionel has not publicly addressed his father’s death at the time of publication.
In addition to Lionel, Jorge and Cuccittini shared sons Rodrigo and Matías, as well as daughter María Sol, Jorge is survived by his wife, his four kids and his multiple grandchildren. (Lionel and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, share three sons.)
Two months before Jorge’s death, news broke that the Messi patriarch was battling an undisclosed health scare.
“He is currently under medical supervision, recovering, and progressing favorably within his current condition,” a family statement shared with ESPN in June read. “Given the versions, rumors, and speculation that have circulated in recent hours, the family wishes to express its deep displeasure at the lack of sensitivity, respect, and scruples with which some people have treated a strictly private and family matter.”
At the time, the family declined to share details of Jorge’s condition or diagnosis.
“We ask for responsibility, prudence and compassion. A person’s health and the peace of mind of those around them should not be subject to speculation or irresponsible media interest,” the told the outlet. “We sincerely appreciate the expressions of affection, respect and concern received, and we request that the privacy, confidentiality, and intimacy of Jorge and his entire family be respected during this process.”
Lionel had been representing Argentina in the 2026 World Cup at the time, where he was seen getting emotional after scoring the first goal in his team’s first qualifying match against Algeria.
“Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football. I went through some difficult days,” the pro athlete told reporters afterward. “ I’m grateful to the entire delegation and my teammates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength to help me get through it.”
Lionel led the Argentine national team to the World Cup final in July, which they ultimately lost 1-0 to Spain in extra time.
David Fincher‘s reported planned expansion of the “Squid Game” universe has apparently been shelved. Netflix is said to have moved away from the project as its approach to the global franchise evolved.
The decision reportedly followed shifting priorities at the streamer as Fincher focused on other projects.
David Fincher’s long-rumored “Squid Game” spinoff is reportedly dead at Netflix after spending years in development.
Sources close to the filmmaker told The Playlist that the streamer is no longer moving forward with “Heckler,” the working title for Fincher’s planned English-language take on the hit Korean franchise. The project was conceived as an American version of “Squid Game,” although filming was expected to take place in the UK.
“Utopia” creator Dennis Kelly had reportedly been tapped to write the series, with development dating back to a period when Netflix was eager to expand “Squid Game” with a U.S. adaptation.
Cate Blanchett’s ‘Squid Game’ Cameo Wasn’t A Spinoff Tease
According to insiders, Netflix’s franchise priorities changed amid executive shakeups and the project’s lengthy development process.
The report comes after Cate Blanchett’s surprise appearance as an American recruiter in the “Squid Game” series finale. Her character is seen playing ddakji, a Korean game in which players try to flip a folded paper tile by striking it with another, with a man in a Los Angeles alley.
The cameo fueled speculation that she could be connected to Fincher’s project. However, creator Hwang Dong-hyuk denied that her cameo was intended as a setup for the spinoff. According to The Playlist, “Heckler” was never developed around Blanchett or her character.
Director Hwang Explains Why Blanchett Was Cast
Hwang had a very specific idea in mind when choosing Blanchett for the brief but memorable role in “Squid Game.” The creator told Netflix’s Tudum that he wanted the American recruiter to be a woman because he believed the choice would make the character more “dramatic and intriguing.”
Blanchett then emerged as his ideal candidate because the part required an actor capable of commanding attention with very little dialogue. “She’s just the best, with unmatched charisma,” Hwang said, adding that the production needed someone who could “dominate the screen with just one or two words.”
He also viewed Blanchett’s character as a deliberate counterpart to Gong Yoo’s recruiter from the Korean storyline. “If Gong Yoo is the Korean Recruiter, I thought she would be the perfect fit as the American Recruiter,” Hwang explained.
For the filmmaker, the casting ultimately served the finale itself. He wanted Blanchett’s brief appearance to deliver a “gripping and impactful ending” without requiring an extended introduction.
Hwang Reveals The Message Behind ‘Squid Game’s L.A. Ending
Interestingly, Los Angeles was always part of Hwang’s plans for the ending, but not in the form viewers eventually saw.
The filmmaker told Vanity Fair that he initially imagined a happier conclusion to the season, which he ultimately abandoned as his ideas about the series’ message changed. That shift also gave Blanchett’s final appearance a larger purpose than simply teasing another series.
Hwang explained that although the Korean arena where the deadly competition was staged had been destroyed, he wanted the closing scene to show that the organization behind the Games remained intact. Blanchett’s recruiter operating in Los Angeles made that point clear by revealing that the same system was still finding new players in the U.S.
David Fincher Moves On With ‘The Adventures Of Cliff Booth’
While “Heckler” may have stalled, Fincher has been busy bringing another Netflix project to life. “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” reunites the director with Brad Pitt, who reprises his Oscar-winning role from Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Tarantino wrote the script, while Fincher stepped behind the camera.
Production reportedly wrapped in January, with the movie following Booth years after the events of the 2019 film. He is now working as a Hollywood fixer in a changing Los Angeles. The project marks the fourth movie collaboration between Fincher and Pitt. They previously teamed up on “Seven,” “Fight Club,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, however, will not return as Rick Dalton. The actor confirmed that he had been involved in early discussions but ultimately stayed out of the project, while praising Fincher as the “perfect man for the job.” Netflix plans to give the movie an IMAX theatrical run beginning November 25 before its streaming debut on December 23.
Martha Stewart believes her five-month prison sentence added an unexpected element to her carefully cultivated public image. More than two decades after serving time in connection with a stock-trading scandal, the lifestyle mogul reflected on the experience and insisted that being incarcerated gave her “street cred.” However, Martha Stewart also rejected the comparatively comfortable reputation of the minimum-security federal facility where she completed her sentence, describing it as “a horrible place.”
Stewart served her sentence at Federal Prison Camp Alderson in West Virginia between October 2004 and March 2005. During a new interview with PEOPLE, she acknowledged how the experience affected the way the public viewed her. “Of course it gave me street cred,” Stewart said. “I mean, you would never know what jail was like until you go to jail.”
When the interviewer suggested that her newfound credibility may have helped bring her closer to longtime friend Snoop Dogg, Stewart rejected the theory and explained that their connection began with her interest in hip-hop.
“No, I don’t think Snoop likes me because I have street cred. I invited Snoop to be on my show [in 2008] because he was a rapper, and I was attracted to rappers. I like rap music. I especially like Eminem, and I could never get Eminem to come on any show. He would not accept any invitation. I still haven’t met him,” she said.
Inside The Minimum-Security Facility Dubbed ‘Camp Cupcake’
The 85-year-old television personality did not look back fondly on her time at the facility. “It’s not a restorative process,” she said of incarceration. And although Stewart described the prison in stark terms, FPC Alderson has frequently been nicknamed “Camp Cupcake” because of its minimum-security environment.
FPC Alderson occupies approximately 159 acres and has been compared to a college campus. Unlike a high-security prison, the facility does not have barbed-wire fencing. Inmates reportedly have access to televisions and recreational activities, including ceramics and gardening.
Stewart lived in one of three units known as the “mansions.” Each reportedly contains approximately 100 rooms furnished with bunk beds for two occupants. The units were generally reserved for new arrivals and inmates serving shorter sentences. Those comparatively relaxed features helped create the facility’s “Camp Cupcake” nickname.
The Stock-Trading Scandal That Sent Martha Stewart To Prison
Stewart was convicted on four federal counts stemming from an investigation into her sale of ImClone Systems stock. A jury found her guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators.
Her conviction became one of the biggest celebrity legal controversies of the early 2000s, placing the homemaking expert at the center of a national media storm. Stewart ultimately served five months at FPC Alderson before returning to public life and rebuilding her entertainment and business career.
Martha Stewart Reportedly Broke Rules While In Prison
Despite the facility’s relatively relaxed reputation, Stewart was reportedly disciplined for violating some of its rules. In December 2024, Lisa Guarino, who described herself as Stewart’s “prison bestie,” claimed that the cookbook author attempted to remove two sugar packets from the prison kitchen. According to Guarino, Stewart received a write-up for the incident.
She was also reportedly reprimanded for collecting crabapples from trees on the prison property. “Every blade of grass and tree leaf is owned by the government, so when Martha made her crabapple jam it was made from contraband product,” Guarino told the Daily Mail.
The alleged infractions were minor, but they became another unusual chapter in the story of one of America’s most famous homemaking personalities serving time in federal prison.
Martha Stewart Has Never Avoided Controversy
The stock case and her prison sentence remain the largest controversies of Stewart’s career, but her outspoken personality has continued generating attention. She recently referred to her former husband, Andy Stewart, as a “jerk” while discussing their relationship and divorce.
When asked if she heard from Andy after her 2024 Netflix documentary “Martha” came out, she said, “Only legally, to remind me of divorce settlement statements, which I had never read. I mean, who cared after two years of arguing about a settlement? I still haven’t read it. He’s a jerk.”
Now, more than 20 years after leaving prison, Stewart continues enjoying the success and luxury associated with her lifestyle empire.
Ariana Grande can always count on her older brother, Frankie Grande — no matter what.
“Family forever. I will have your back until the end of time,” Frankie, 43, wrote via Instagram on Friday, August 7, sharing footage from the final night of Ariana’s Eternal Sunshine Tour. “I am so proud of you and so happy for you.”
He continued, “Last night was a beautiful celebration of your artistry and the magnificent eternal sunshine family you have built and created. It was a magical night. You are magical. You are my everything and I am so so happy I was there to see you shine on this tour one last time.”
In a second post shared via social media, Frankie gushed that Ariana, 33, put on “the greatest concert [he’s] ever seen.”
Ariana Grande plans on stepping away from the spotlight after she ends her Eternal Sunshine Tour amid public scrutiny over her body. “Ariana will be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour,” a rep for Grande, 33, told People in a statement on Sunday, August 2. “She looks forward […]
“I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. It was cinematic, theatrical, intimate, spectacular, and vocally flawless all at once,” the influencer gushed via Instagram earlier this week. “Somehow it felt like a Broadway show, a film, and a concert existing in the same magical space. The way live performance and cinema danced together was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. And then … there was the singing.”
Frankie added, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it forever: I believe my sister is the greatest singer of all time. There is simply no substitute for hearing those songs performed live. Her artistry, her musicianship, her storytelling, and a discography that is truly unmatched all came together in what I genuinely believe is the highest expression of her craft.”
The Big Brother alum further marveled at Ariana’s vocal talents, calling his sibling a “once-in-a-lifetime artist at the absolute peak of her powers.”
“I’m so incredibly proud. So deeply inspired, and so grateful that the world gets to experience this version of her,” Frankie concluded. “Brava, sister. What a gift you are.”
Just before wrapping the Eternal Sunshine Tour, Ariana’s spokesperson confirmed that the Oscar nominee planned to take a break from the public eye amid an onslaught of public scrutiny about her body, assumed weight and perceived health.
“It is something that I had decided, a plan I had quietly made a long time ago, and it’s a decision that was made from a thoughtful and empowered place,” Ariana said during her Monday, August 3, concert, without addressing the criticism of her appearance. “No matter what noises exist out there, nothing will be able to distort my reality or be more real to me or not as real to me than this love that we share and how it feels to make art with people that I love and respect. Absolutely nothing will change that.”
Ariana Grande gushed about her “Petal” music video days after her team announced that she will take a “step back” from the public eye amid intense “scrutiny” of her appearance. “Blooming and firmly planted . . ꕤ,” the pop star, 33, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, August 5, alongside several behind-the-scenes photos from the music […]
Ariana’s body had been criticized following the recent release of her “Petal” music video. While the Wicked actress never addressed the recent claims pertaining to disordered eating, she has long been vocal about navigating the conversation.
“I don’t do this often. I don’t like it. I’m not good at it,” Grande previously said in an April 2023 social media video. “I just want to address your concerns about my body. There are ways to compliment someone or to ignore something that you don’t like that I think we should help each other work toward. Just to aim towards keeping each other safer. There are many different kinds of beautiful. There are many different ways to look healthy and beautiful.”
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, visit the National Alliance for Eating Disorders website or call their hotline at (866) 662-1235. Text “ALLIANCE” to 741741 for free, 24/7 support.
Roomies, sometimes the person you thought you’d be walking into the next chapter with ends up being the person you have to learn to walk away from. Erica Raven and NLE Choppa had been serving up a romance that quickly turned serious, but now the singer and TV personality is letting folks know that her relationship status has changed — and she’s asking for a little support while she works through it.
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Erica Raven Confirms She & NLE Choppa Have Split
On Thursday, Erica took to Instagram to address questions about whether she and NLE Choppa, whose real name is Bryson LaShun Potts, were still together. In a video, Erica confirmed that the two are no longer a couple and revealed that she is now single. She captioned the post simply, “Pray for me.”
Erica opened up about the split, saying she did her best to be the best fiancée she could and gave the relationship as much love as she could. She explained that sometimes that still isn’t enough and said she’s now choosing to move forward on her own while focusing on herself.
Here’s What Erica Raven Said In The Video
The 23-year-old also described the past three weeks as “very rough” and said she’s been trying to regain control of her life. While Erica made it clear there’s no ill will toward NLE Choppa, she said she continues to send him support and prayers while asking women to show her some love as she navigates the difficult moment.
In the video, Erica revealed:
“I did the best to be the best fiancée. And I showed up as much as I can. I gave as much love as I can. But sometimes, it’s just not enough. So, I will be moving forward by my lonesome, focusing on myself. I’m sending him support. I’m sending him prayers. There’s no ill will. But, I just gotta focus on me now. It’s been very hard for me. It’s been a very rough 3 weeks. And I’m just trying to push through and regain control of my sh*t. You know? Please send me some support. Please send me some love. Woman-to-woman, like, we all be going through this. I’m only 23, so it’s been hard. But, we’re gonna keep pushing. And we’re gonna focus on ourselves now.”
What We Know About Erica Raven & NLE Choppa’s Love Story
Erica Raven and NLE Choppa first sparked romance rumors in October 2025 after they shared a photo together that showed the rapper leaning against a Cadillac truck while Erica kissed him. Just a few months later, their relationship took another major step when NLE Choppa proposed to Erica over Christmas, sharing footage of the December 26, 2025 proposal. Now, less than a year after going public and getting engaged, the pair have seemingly gone their separate ways.
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What Do You Think Roomies?
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