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☆ Berlinale film 'Manodrome' explores misogynistic world of incel culture
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Miranda Murray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Cast members Adrien Brody, Odessa Young, Jesse Eisenberg and director John Trengove attend a photo call to promote the movie 'Manodrome'' at the 73rd Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 18, 2023. The film, which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday, explores the "manosphere" of online toxic masculinity that bubbled up into the mainstream after a series of mass killings by "incels" - the self-described "involuntary celibates" - in the 2010s. They eventually win Ralphie as a new adherent to their cult and initiate him by branding him with their symbol. "It really became this idea of a character who just immerses himself in a world of men. And it all kind of leads to a sort of madness, a kind of a fever dream," Trengove told the premiere's audience.

☆ Real estate broker with tennis side hustle beats ex-top 10 player: 'I'm going to have to ask for another day off'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Instead, he plays tennis before work every day to maintain his skill and love for the sport. I'm going to have to ask for another day off tomorrow." This particular Cinderella story was short-lived: Pecotić lost the next day to Marcos Giron, an American ranked No. "[Stock] is a former top-10 guy with an incredible amount of tennis experience and a huge serve," he said. Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

☆ These bankers got deals done despite a dismal environment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Top M&A bankers of 2022. That's why you could argue that this year's edition of "The Rainmakers" — Insider's annual list of the 20 M&A bankers who handled the largest deals of the year in North America — is more impressive than previous editions. What's interesting about this year's list is how it was made up of bankers almost entirely from the bulge-bracket. Check out our list of the top-20 M&A bankers who made the most during a difficult year for dealmaking. Jeff Bezos' $500 million yacht finally hit the open water.

☆ Biden aides briefed former Trump officials on the Chinese spy balloon intrusions the ex-president has claimed never happened
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration has briefed key former Trump administration officials on China's spy balloons. "It never happened with us under the Trump administration and if it did, we would have shot it down immediately," he said on Sunday. He referenced "recent balloon/"object" incidents," but nothing from the Trump administration. During a February 6 briefing, Kirby told reporters that the Chinese surveillance balloons transited US airspace "for brief periods of time" during the Trump administration. Biden officials reached out to key officials from the Trump administration to offer briefings on the forensics they did.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday credited Brian Deese, his outgoing top White House economic adviser, for helping achieve the administration's economic vision for the country. "Brian has ... helped steer my economic vision into reality, and managed the transition of our historic economic recovery to steady and stable growth," Biden said. Deese, who is expected to step down in mid-February, told MSNBC that Biden had not made any decision on his replacement. Other candidates for the NEC job include Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Reuters reported last week. Only the CEA job requires Senate confirmation.

☆ Gucci's challenge: reigniting heat while boosting timeless appeal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

PARIS, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Sabato De Sarno, newly appointed by Kering (PRTP.PA) to reinvigorate its prized Gucci brand, needs to spark heat with a new direction, analysts say - a delicate task, given the emphasis executives have also put on the label's timeless appeal. De Sarno, a senior fashion designer from Valentino, is tasked as creative director with reviving the fortunes of the brand that accounted for two-thirds of Kering's profits in 2021. Analysts welcomed Kering's choice of a seasoned but relatively unknown designer, noting that previous creative director Michele did not have a public profile when he was appointed in 2002. His experience at Valentino suggests a "less eccentric aesthetic" than Gucci's previous designer, noted Carole Madjo of Barclays. The designer rose through Valentino's ranks after his arrival in 2009 to become fashion director overseeing both the men's and women's collections, working closely with chief designer Pierpaolo Piccioli.

☆ A Minute With: Michelle Williams on playing Steven Spielberg's mother
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Hanna Rantala | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Michelle Williams won critical acclaim for her performance in Steven Spielberg's autobiographical coming-of-age drama, "The Fabelmans", and her portrayal of the director's mother secured her a best actress Oscar nomination on Tuesday. Williams and Paul Dano play Sammy's mother Mitzi and father Burt, inspired by Spielberg's parents, the late Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg. In an interview with Reuters earlier this month, Williams spoke about the role, seeing an emotional Spielberg on set and awards season. Q: What was it like to essentially play Steven Spielberg's mother and take on this high energy role? Q: As a mother and artist, how much did your character Mitzi and Spielberg's mother Leah Adler resonate with you?

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' is the third James Cameron movie to gross $2 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Disney 's "Avatar: The Way of Water" has topped $2 billion at the global box office, making it the third James Cameron film to reach this benchmark. As of Sunday, "The Way of Water" had tallied $598 million from domestic ticket sales and $1.426 billion from foreign markets. "The film has now joined that very exclusive box office club and has made it look almost effortless," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. As the industry rebounds, films like "The Way of Water" have proven that moviegoers are eager to return for big blockbuster spectacles. Correction: This story was updated to reflect that "The Way of Water" is the third James Cameron movie to gross $2 billion at the global box office.

Prosecutors will need a mountain of evidence to cast Alec Baldwin as a criminally negligent gunman, skeptical defense criminal lawyers said Friday, as Hollywood appeared to rally around the oft-polarizing actor. But prosecutors insist they have FBI lab reports that show Baldwin did fire the fatal round. "Is there some intentional act that placed that live round there that we know nothing about? She urged prosecutors to stop "blaming the victim" and rhetorically asked "how about investigating who put the live round into the gun?" "Nobody is asking who put the live round into the prop gun," tweeted Fisher, best known for her role in "Titanic."

☆ Ex-Google comms chief D-J Collins founds biotech startup Early with designer Thomas Heatherwick
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ex-Google comms chief D-J Collins has founded a biotech startup with designer Thomas Heatherwick. The startup, named Early, will focus on the early detection of serious illnesses. D-J Collins and the designer Thomas Heatherwick established a startup called Early on December 20 2022, according to documents filed with Companies House. Early will focus on the early detection of serious illnesses. "Early's mission is to provide early detection of serious illnesses to as many people as possible," Collins told Insider.

☆ IMF chief: Growth will bottom out in 2023 and bounce back next year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Managing Director of International Monetary Fund IMF Kristalina Georgieva attends a session during the World Economic Forum WEF 2022 Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, May 25, 2022. The International Monetary Fund's Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told CNBC Tuesday that the days of her institution giving regular global growth downgrades are nearly over. "I don't see a downgrade now, but growth in 2023 will slow down," Georgieva said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its growth forecast three times since October 2021. "The China growth rates are not going to return to the days when China delivered about 40% of global growth, this is not going to happen," Georgieva said, with the country having experienced below-average growth for the first time in 40 years in 2022.

☆ Amazon workers' union victory upheld by U.S. labor board director
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jeffrey Dastin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. labor board director has upheld Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) workers' landmark union victory at a warehouse in New York, according to a decision issued Wednesday, bringing the online retailer closer to having to bargain with staff on a contract. The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) celebrated the labor board director's decision. "This is a HUGE moment for the labor moment!" Workers in different facilities in New York state have rejected joining the union in two elections since, and Amazon filed objections to conduct during the original contest. The NLRB regional director overruled those objections on Wednesday, in line with an NLRB hearing officer's recommendations last year.

☆ 'Avatar 2' dethrones 'Top Gun: Maverick' to become 2022's biggest movie in the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"Avatar: The Way of Water" passed "Top Gun: Maverick" at the global box office. But "Maverick" is still the top movie at the US box office for the year. The director's long-awaited "Avatar" followup, "Avatar: The Way of Water," became 2022's biggest movie at the global box office on Wednesday, with $1.5 billion. That's a rare occurrence at the box office these days, where big-budget tentpoles often see big significant drops week to week. The first "Avatar" is the biggest movie of all time, with $2.9 billion at the global box office.

Mike Hodges, the British filmmaker who directed the hard-boiled gangster saga "Get Carter" and the campy space opera "Flash Gordon," died Saturday, according to his friend Mike Kaplan. "My middle-class eyes were forced to witness horrendous poverty and deprivation that I was previously unaware of," Hodges wrote in a letter published in The Guardian in May. "Get Carter" quickly entered the pantheon of British film classics. He replaced the acclaimed British director Nicolas Roeg ("Walkabout") on "Flash Gordon," a goofy project that has since attracted a cult following. I think that as a young man I probably did."

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' review roundup: See it on the biggest screen possible, critics say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"The Way of Water" follows Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) who are now the parents of four Na'vi children. Read more: "Avatar: The Way of Water" could be headed for a $175 million opening weekend Critics are adamant that audiences should watch "The Way of Water" on the biggest screen possible, lauding the film for its you-won't-believe-this-is-computer-generated visuals and bombastic sound design. Here's what critics thought of "Avatar: The Way of Water" before its Friday release. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy: Disney Co.Ma did note that "The Way of Water" is "jaw-droppingly beautiful," likening it to watching a David Attenborough documentary rather than a CGI feature. Avatar: The Way of Water Courtesy Disney Co.Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

☆ Analysis: Out of fashion: Gucci faces daunting task to replace top designer
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Mimosa Spencer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Gucci's designer Alessandro Michele arrives at the "Green carpet Fashion Awards" event during the Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy, September 24, 2017. Tensions had been high between the designer and company management, sources told Reuters. Kering chairman and CEO François-Henri Pinault lauded the designer's tenure as "an outstanding moment" in Gucci's history. Gucci falls out of fashionFURRY LOAFERSMichele, 49, reinvigorated the brand with his eccentric, gender-fluid styles popular with younger shoppers. China generates around 35% of Gucci's annual sales, according to Barclays estimates, compared to 27% for LVMH's fashion and leather goods division and 26% for Hermes.

☆ Simu Liu says Tarantino's era in film was 'white as hell' after the director's anti-Marvel comments
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Sakshi Venkatraman | Sakshi Venkatraman Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Simu Liu is speaking up after director Quentin Tarantino criticized the "Marvel-ization of Hollywood," saying on a podcast that those who became famous through the superhero franchise are not real movie stars. "If the only gatekeepers to movie stardom came from Tarantino and Scorsese, I would never have had the opportunity to lead a $400 million plus movie," Liu tweeted, referring to Hollywood director Martin Scorsese. The actor also said Tarantino's "Golden Age" of cinema was "white as hell." “Part of the Marvel-ization of Hollywood is … you have all these actors who have become famous playing these characters, but they’re not movie stars. Thor is the star ... It’s these franchise characters that become the star.”Simu Liu in "Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings."

☆ 3 senators call for DOJ to potentially unwind the Ticketmaster and Live Nation merger: 'High prices and labyrinth-like ticketing process for Taylor Swift's Eras tour are clear examples of the harms co
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"The high prices and labyrinth-like ticketing process for Taylor Swift's Eras tour are clear examples of the harms consumers face in an anti-competitive ticketing market," the senators write. Live Nation Entertainment has said that it "does not engage in behaviors that could justify antitrust litigation, let alone orders that would require it to alter fundamental business practices." The DOJ and Live Nation Entertainment did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the letter. UMAW is also pushing for the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be unwound. Put simply, artists, venues, and consumers should no longer be at the mercy of a single seller."

☆ Russia keeps mum on CIA director's warning over nuclear weapons
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Guy Faulconbridge | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] CIA Director William Burns speaks during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 15, 2021. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns warned Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, about the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, a White House official said. It was the first known high-level, face-to-face U.S.-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Zelenskiy said the CIA director had spent time in a bomb shelter before the two men met amid Russian missile strikes. Putin has said Russia will defend its territory with all available means, including nuclear weapons, if attacked.

☆ I worked on Netflix's 'The Jeffrey Dahmer Story' and the experience was so bad it broke me. The aftermath proved there are no safe spaces for Black women to talk about Hollywood.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

It's not always easy being a Black crew member on a major production, because you'll often be one of the few. But the worst experience I ever had as a Black woman on a production was "Dahmer." The experience I had was tied in with the lack of diversity within the crew: Black crew members did not last long on this show. Black people — Black women specifically — have it hard enough already. Editor's note: Netflix declined to comment on human resource matters between employees and the number of Black crew members on this production.

☆ The head of the CIA met with Putin's spy chief to warn Moscow against using a nuke in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CIA director William Burns warned Putin's spy chief against the use of a nuclear weapon in Ukraine. Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, met with his Russian counterpart in Ankara on Monday. Burns previously warned that Putin could use a nuke in Ukraine if he feels desperate enough. In April, Burns warned that Putin could use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine if he feels desperate enough. Since those remarks, Russia's fortunes in Ukraine have turned from bad to worse, with Russian forces losing ground to major Ukrainian counteroffensives.

☆ 'Avatar' director James Cameron once threw out a 130-page script for a sequel: 'It was missing one of those critical elements'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

We kept trying to corral it into a box and it never quite fit," Cameron said in the December issue. Indeed, the 68-year-old revealed in a recent interview with Total Film magazine that he scrapped a full script for an early version of 'Avatar 2'. Thirteen years after the original "Avatar" burst into theaters and became the highest-grossing film ever made, James Cameron is finally delivering the first of four planned sequels next month. Cameron said that the script "was missing one of those critical elements about sequels, which is that it didn't go enough into the unexpected." Cameron also felt that the script didn't connect to the "spiritual component" of the world of "Avatar".

☆ DC's new movie boss says he's focused on 'hammering out the new DCU' and 'telling the biggest story ever told' in response to fan requests
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

James Gunn, the co-CEO of DC Studios, said that he is focused on "hammering out the new DCU." He seemed to shoot down the possibility of a director's cut for David Ayer's "Suicide Squad." Gunn and Peter Safran are leading DC's new movie and TV efforts. Gunn, who's leading DC's movie, TV, and animation efforts with producer Peter Safran, said it's important to acknowledge fans but that he's focused on the future. The most recent DC movie, "Black Adam," hinted at the franchise's future with a cameo by Henry Cavill reprising his role as Superman, but it hasn't yet proven to be a smash hit.

☆ Fact Check-Video does not show Elon Musk firing Twitter exec on live radio show
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A widely shared video appears to capture Elon Musk firing former legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde during a live radio show. One post reads, in part, “Elon Musk fires Twitter's Chief Legal Officer and Policy Chief Vijaya Gadde ON AIR!” (here). Reuters reported on Friday that Musk fired Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, according to people familiar with the matter (here). Reuters was unable to identify the exact origin of the following phrase attributed to Musk in the parody video: "Failure comes with a big penalty, you're fired." Elon Musk did not fire a Twitter executive during a live radio show.

☆ Audiences are still discovering John Carpenter's cult classic 'Prince of Darkness' 35 years later
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Mike Calia | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

John Carpenter is the king of Halloween. A lucrative new trilogy of "Halloween" sequels to his 1978 original just wrapped up with "Halloween Ends," which Carpenter helped score and executive produce. But this year, one of Carpenter's more obscure movies, "Prince of Darkness," which teems with insects and metaphysical dread, is having a moment and finding new audiences. The movie's 35th anniversary was just last weekend, in the heart of the peak time for scary movies. That's quite a turnaround for "Prince of Darkness," which critics panned when it was released in 1987.

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