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☆ 'Love Is Blind' is hell on earth: Contestants say producers deprived them of food and sleep, preyed on their anxieties, and refused to let them quit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Katie Warren | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +29 min

After the 10 days, cast members must decide whether they want to get engaged to another contestant sight unseen — or go home. The season-two contestant Nick Thompson said "Love Is Blind" didn't adequately support its cast members — during or after filming. Many cast members believed "Love Is Blind" would be a cut above other reality shows. The first evening in Cancún, producers told Ruhl she couldn't attend a party for all the newly engaged couples because they thought she might have COVID-19. In a later episode he again became infuriated and threatened to leave when Reed came home late from clubbing with other cast members.

Deutsche Bank says Disney 's strong film slate makes it a good time for investors to revisit the stock. The bank reiterated its buy rating on Disney shares. Analyst Bryan Kraft raised his price target to $135 from $130 — implying shares could rally 34.6% — as the bank raises its short- and long-term earnings estimates for Disney. The analyst set his price target for the next 12 months, while many of his other growth projections in the note are based on Disney's fiscal year. DIS YTD mountain Disney stock Shares of Disney are up 16% in 2023 but down more than 20% in the past 12 months.

☆ Fact Check-Video of Morgan Freeman criticizing Joe Biden is a deepfake
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video that appears to show actor Morgan Freeman criticizing U.S. President Joe Biden has been created using deepfake technology, experts told Reuters. In the video, Freeman seemingly says: “Enough already, get this guy out of there. A spokesperson for Freeman told Reuters via email that the video does not show the actor. Dominic Lees, an associate professor of filmmaking at the University of Reading, told Reuters via email that the video is a deepfake. Video claiming to show Morgan Freeman criticizing Joe Biden was generated using artificial intelligence.

☆ The King Of Chemo: After being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, Iain Ward decided to cycle across the US
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

‘The King Of Chemo’ has almost five million followers on TikTok, where he posts motivational, and humorous, videos tracking his journey. Iain Ward‘Freakish luck’Despite his diagnosis, Ward says he appreciates the “freakish luck” that has followed him throughout his life. He had previously been looking to raise money for an epic run across the country when Phelan reached out to him via Instagram. Phelan suffers with depression and was planning to cycle across the US to raise money for mental health and suggested Ward join him for a week. To a certain extent, his diagnosis stole control of his life, but Ward doesn’t want to become defined by his illness.

☆ 2 more diners arrested over 'sushi terrorism' video showing restaurant utensils used in communal bowls
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Two more people have been arrested for property damage over a "sushi terrorism" video in Japan. Videos of customers licking bottles or eating directly from communal dishes went viral earlier this year. Police said the men told them they posted the video to social media because they thought it was funny, the AP reported. The trend gained popularity earlier this year as videos were posted under the hashtag "#寿司テロ," or "sushi terror." Pranksters licked soy sauce bottles and added wasabi to items on the conveyor belt at popular restaurants in Japan — then posted videos or pictures.

☆ Saudi money is flowing to US media and entertainment, from Live Nation to LIV Golf, 5 years after Jamal Khashoggi's murder: 'The ice has thawed'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment. Insider identified some key people connecting Middle East investors with American companies. Saudi Arabia is trying to pitch itself to the world as a cultural and economic reformer and spur tourism. Vince McMahon's WWE has a long-term partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a major live WWE event there slated for May. Vince McMahon's WWE was one of the first US companies to create unique events in Saudi Arabia.

☆ Study finds diversity stunted in theatrical film roles but better in streaming
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/LOS ANGELES, March 30 (Reuters) - Despite the Oscars triumph of Asian-led film "Everything Everywhere All at Once," the diversity of leading roles in 2022's theatrical films slid to pre-pandemic levels, UCLA researchers found in a study released on Thursday. The annual UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report looked at 88 films released in cinemas last year and found that 21.6% of lead roles were filled by minorities. More than 33% of lead actors in 99 streaming films were minorities, the researchers said. Additionally, the interest in streaming films about women of color increased. While around a quarter of adults in the United States have a disability, actors with disabilities consisted of roughly 9% of lead roles in theatrical films and 6% in streaming films, the researchers said.

☆ Gen Zers are basing their travel plans on where TV shows like 'The White Lotus' are set
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Gen Zers and millennials are turning to movies and TV shows for travel inspiration in a trend dubbed set-jetting. This includes a boom in bookings for the hotels in Hawaii and Italy "The White Lotus" was filmed at. In particular, travelers have been scrambling to visit the resorts where the first two seasons of HBO's hit "The White Lotus" were set. When season one was broadcast, web traffic to the Four Seasons Maui resort increased 425% year-over-year, Four Seasons told Bloomberg. To visit the Taormina hotel for a week in July, many of the lower-priced options have already sold out and two-person rooms start at around $3,500 per night.

☆ Fact Check-Video of Australian news interview featuring Bill Gates edited using AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The version of the clip with altered dialogue being shared was created using deepfake technology, which manipulates audio and visuals to make it appear that an individual is saying something (here). There are signs of several techniques used to create the fake video, according to Dominic Lees, an associate professor of filmmaking at the University of Reading. “Voice cloning has been used to create the fake voices of Gates and his interviewer…The fake audio has been applied to a re-edited version of the interview,” Lees told Reuters. So, this analysis suggests the video is likely to be manipulated.”A spokesperson for ABC News told Reuters, “The video is clearly fake. The video shared on social media has been manipulated using deepfake technology and does not show an authentic interaction between ABC News journalist Sarah Ferguson and Bill Gates.

☆ Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars with OpenAI and Microsoft
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Google Bard, the search firm's answer to ChatGPT, has underwhelmed early testers. Users in the US and UK trying out the AI chatbot find it pales in comparison to OpenAI's tech. The makers of the Twofer Goofer word puzzle found ChatGPT was much better at solving the brainteasers than Google's Bard. It's possible that the company does have a super impressive AI tool up its sleeve. Insider's Hugh Langley reported earlier in March that Google employees are testing a more intelligent version of Bard, nicknamed "Big Bard."

☆ Anheuser-Busch is launching an entertainment division with help from Oscar-winning producer Michael Sugar in a push to reach consumers who don't watch ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Anheuser-Busch is building an entertainment division, Insider has learned, the latest big marketer to turn to Hollywood to reach consumers who are increasingly glued to ad-free streaming services. The AB InBev effort is under a new, unannounced entity called draftLine Entertainment, a part of its internal ad agency, draftLine. DraftLine Entertainment is being run by AB InBev marketer Lauren Denowitz as global studio head, reporting to VP Fábio Baracho. The world's biggest brewer, AB InBev is well known for its marketing. In the case of AB InBev, entertainment is a way to promote the beer category at large over any individual brand.

☆ Saudi money is pouring into Hollywood and media, 5 years after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Here's who's cashing in and how.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Sovereign funds and other entities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE are pouring millions into US media and entertainment. Saudi Arabia is trying to pitch itself to the world as a cultural and economic reformer and spur tourism. Even those media players that are comfortable with invetment from the Middle East may not find funds flowing, one Hollywood veteran said. A major live WWE event in Saudi Arabia is slated for May. Of the growing ties between US entertainment and media and Middle East investors, this person added, "Presumably media organizations got into this to help society make better decisions."

☆ Studio A24 captures Oscar spotlight with big wins for best picture, acting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LOS ANGELES, March 13 (Reuters) - Independent studio A24 was the big winner at Sunday's Academy Awards, taking nine awards out of its 18 nominations, including best picture and all four acting prizes. The studio's "Everything Everywhere All at Once" won seven Oscars, the most of the evening, including best picture. However, Brendan Fraser took the best actor prize for A24's "The Whale," which also won for best makeup and hairstyling. Not since the heyday of Miramax in the 1990s has an independent studio garnered such attention, talent and box office success, entertainment industry insiders say. EVERYTHING EVERYWHEREThe first film A24 produced and financed, together with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, was “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture in 2017.

☆ Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel hails movie-going rebound, cracks wise about 'the slap'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Comedian Jimmy Kimmel, returning for a third stint as Oscar host, led a back-to-basics show on Sunday that sought to celebrate a moviegoing rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic while avoiding the kind of unscripted outburst that marred the 2022 telecast. "We know this is a special night for you," Kimmel told the crowd of Hollywood luminaries. Kimmel, who was cheekily promoted ahead of Sunday's telecast as an "unflappable, unslappable" Oscar host, then went on to give a mock recitation of "strict policies in place" to prevent a repeat of last year's incident. "If anything unpredictable or violent happens during the ceremony, just sit there and do what you did last year, nothing," Kimmel added. It was a departure from many years in which relatively little-seen, but critically acclaimed, films have dominated the Academy Awards.

☆ Five Best: Books on Hollywood
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Charles Elton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

FlickerBy Theodore Roszak (1991)1. “Flicker” is the love child of Pauline Kael and Umberto Eco—a 700-page novel that combines religious philosophy and film theory, with some tantric sex thrown in. “There was no bliss to compare with the discovery of a lost von Stroheim scene or a Pabst without torn sprockets,” he muses. His search for the mysterious Castle takes him into a sinister Catholic organization called Oculus Dei, which will do anything to destroy Castle’s legacy. If “Flicker” sounds unlike anything you’ve ever read, it is—and gloriously so.

☆ Factbox: Life and career of film and TV actor Robert Blake
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, March 9 (Reuters) - The following are select facts about the life and career of screen actor Robert Blake, who was acquitted in 2005 of murdering his wife but later found liable for her death in a civil trial:* Blake was about 6 years old when he started his Hollywood career. Before that, he and his brother and sister were part of an act known as "The Three Little Hillbillies" on the vaudeville circuit. Even though his earnings would provide most of his family's income, Blake said his father used him as "his punching bag." As a child he also worked with Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, John Wayne, John Garfield and Gene Autry. Other jailhouse visitors included musician-composer Quincy Jones, comedian Mort Sahl, and Scott Wilson, Blake's "In Cold Blood" co-star.

☆ ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ studio A24 captures Oscar spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LOS ANGELES, March 10 (Reuters) - A24, the independent studio behind such films as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and "The Whale," is poised to dominate this year’s Academy Awards, eclipsing Hollywood’s established studios and awards-hungry streamers that are spending millions on Oscar campaigns. Not since the heyday of Miramax in the 1990s has an independent studio garnered such attention, talent and box office success, entertainment industry insiders say. EVERYTHING EVERYWHEREThe first film A24 produced and financed, together with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, was “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture in 2017. The studio has garnered 53 Oscar nominations in less than a decade, including best picture nods for “Lady Bird, “Minari” and “Room.”A24's film slate has grown at the pace of its cash flow - starting with three movies in 2016 to 15 in 2022. This year, it’s on track to produce about 15 films for theatrical release, eight documentaries and 10 television shows.

☆ How universities became giant piggy banks for hedge-fund billionaires
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Catherine Liu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

The move also marked the beginning of a new way to manage endowment funds. The arrangement has been a boon for the hedge-fund managers who received university endowment cash, but the benefits for the schools are trickier to parse. As Eaton put it in his book, universities directed funds to "wherever those allocations would generate the largest further investment returns." Eaton estimated in 2017 that tax breaks for university endowments cost federal coffers up to $19 billion a year. As the influence of billionaires and hedge-fund managers has grown, universities have moved further away from their ultimate goal: educating people.

☆ Ken Griffin just keeps winning
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

No, 4.1 billion represents the number of dollars Ken Griffin made from his hedge fund, Citadel, in 2022 alone. Griffin made more money in one hour than the average American makes in their lifetime! Oh, and one more thing: That's not even all the money Griffin earned in 2022! I've said before you could make the case for Griffin being the most powerful person on Wall Street. And check out this fascinating profile from Insider's Dakin Campbell on Ken Griffin.

☆ Meet 6 trailblazers in the NFL, Coast Guard and more: 'Success isn't being the first,' it's having 'many others follow'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Morgan Smith Gili Malinsky Ashton Jackson Jennifer Liu | Morgan Smith | Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

"There was something about the Coast Guard, the missions, seeing the small boats that just spoke to me," she says. Fagan ended up attending the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and her first tour of duty in 1985 took her to Antarctica. From there, the Coast Guard would offer a new assignment every couple of years. Of all 32 teams in the NFL, less than 10 have a Black or female president. "To me, the definition of success isn't being the first — it's to have many, many others follow behind you."

☆ Women's stories stand out in Oscars race, but Hollywood lagging in gender parity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"It's such an extraordinary year for women," "Tar" actress Blanchett said at last month's British Film Academy Awards (BAFTAs). "Every year, there's idiosyncratic, remarkable performances that just break down the myth that women's experience is monolithic." Still, Hollywood remains far from a place of gender parity. "Women are making progress in certain areas on screen," said UCLA sociologist Darnell Hunt, co-author of an annual Hollywood diversity report. "There's a great tradition of strong female characters and strong female leads in movie history, mainly in the 1950s," Field said.

☆ Mark Cuban offered $400,000 to a 'Shark Tank' startup he initially rejected—all because of his 2 daughters and wife
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mark Cuban typically only invests in companies if he can see himself — or his NBA team, the Dallas Mavericks — using their products. On Friday's episode of ABC's "Shark Tank," he made an exception on behalf of his two daughters and his wife, making a $400,000 investment deal with San Francisco-based makeup company Youthforia. Robert Herjavec said he didn't understand what made the product unique, and Lori Greiner said she didn't use oil-based makeup. That's when Cuban came back in, saying he'd offer $400,000 for 10% without a royalty deal, because his daughters and wife would "understand" the product. O'Leary, growing frustrated, said he'd give $400,000 for 7.5%, but wanted a 75-cent royalty until he made $1 million.

☆ Tuxedos and jumpsuits: menswear dazzles on awards season red carpets
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Marie-Louise Gumuchian | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 6 (Reuters) - From classic tuxedos to shiny jumpsuits, menswear has dazzled on the red carpets this awards season, sometimes even attracting the most attention with eye-catching looks. Singer Harry Styles arrived at the Grammy Awards in a chest-baring sparkling harlequin jumpsuit, while Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan has chosen ensembles in pale blue and red as his style choices for the Golden Globes and British Academy of Film (BAFTA) Awards. While classic suits and tuxedos are still a red carpet staple, menswear now features plenty of variety and bolder choices - vibrant colours, sparkling embroidery or detailing, as fashion favourite, actor Timothee Chalamet has often demonstrated with his non-traditional outfits. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne has won style accolades for his red carpet choices this awards season, which culminates with Sunday's Oscars. Asked what she thought of men's fashion this award season, Oscar nominee Michelle Yeoh told Reuters last month: "I love it."

☆ 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' editor never thought he'd get an Oscar nomination: 'That's not how I saw my career going'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"That's not how I saw my career going," Rogers tells CNBC Make It. Paul Rogers poses with the Editing Award for 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' during the 2023 EE BAFTA Film Awards. That's where he realized he had a passion for film editing – the process of putting a film's footage together into a finished product. "We never in our wildest dreams thought it was an Oscars type of film," Rogers says. " Everything from the production design to the performances to the camera work to the editing, and that's no accident.

☆ 2 college friends created energy gum and mints that got the attention of Kevin O'Leary and Robert Herjavec on 'Shark Tank.' They turned down the offers and still built a 7-figure business while workin
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

College friends Kent Yoshimura and Ryan Chen came up with the idea of making caffeinated gum in 2013. "Shark Tank" stars Robert Herjavec and Kevin O'Leary both wanted a piece of the company when the co-founders entered the tank three years ago. Yoshimura and Chen came up with the idea of creating energy gum and mints on a 2013 scuba diving trip. Courtesy of Kent Yoshimura and Ryan ChenIt was on a scuba diving trip in 2013 when the friends thought about creating an energy product more approachable than pills. Turning down a $1 million deal from Robert Herjavec on 'Shark Tank'In 2019, Yoshimura and Chen got a casting call from the hit business reality TV show "Shark Tank."

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