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☆ Leonard Bernstein's family defends Bradley Cooper's portrayal
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The children of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein are defending the actor Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of their late father in an upcoming film. “Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father,” their statement reads. Leonard Bernstein in 1957. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images“It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that,” the statement continues.

Persons: Leonard Bernstein, Bradley Cooper’s, Maestro ”, Cooper, Bernstein, Jamie, Alexander, Nina, Instagram, “ Bradley Cooper, ”, Bradley, “ We’re, ” Cooper, “ Maestro, Felicia Montealegre, Carey Mulligan, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Felicia Organizations: CNN, Bettmann, “ Locations: Massachusetts, Russia

☆ William Friedkin, ‘Exorcist’ director, dead at 87
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —William Friedkin, director of iconic 1970s films including “The French Connection” and “The Exorcist,” has died, his wife Sherry Lansing, the former CEO of Paramount Pictures, told The Hollywood Reporter on Monday. Friedkin won the Oscar for best director for “French Connection” in 1972, going on to be nominated for the same trophy again two years later for occult horror “Exorcist,” the genre-defying hit that racked up ten nominations and two statuettes. Curiously, Friedkin once told Cinephilia Beyond that his original intention wasn’t even to make a horror film with “The Exorcist.”“I recognize that audiences for generations have considered it a horror film,” he observed. “I won’t deny that, but when I set out to make it, the writer and I never had any concept of it as a horror film. He is survived by his wife, along with two sons, Jackson and Cedric Friedkin.

Persons: William Friedkin, ”, Sherry Lansing, Friedkin, Oscar, Friedkin’s, —, Al Pacino, Willem Dafoe, Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Harry Connick Jr, Tommy Lee Jones, Samuel L, Jackson, Jade, David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Amort, Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, William Peter Blatty –, Ellen Burstyn, Cinephilia, Exorcist’s, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Penn, Mike Nichols, ’ ” Friedkin, Jeanne Moreau, Lesley, Anne Down, Kelly Lange, Lansing, Cedric Friedkin Organizations: CNN, Paramount Pictures, Hollywood, NPR Locations: L.A, ”, French, British

[1/4] Angus Cloud, cast member of the HBO teen drama series 'Euphoria', is pictured on set in this undated handout photo. HBO/Eddy Chen/Handout via REUTERSJuly 31 (Reuters) - Angus Cloud, cast member of the HBO teen drama series "Euphoria," died on Monday at age 25 just days after the death of his father, his family said in a statement. Cloud played Fezco, an intense drug dealer with a moral code, in the series starring Zendaya in the lead role of Rue Bennett. "We are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Angus Cloud. He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family.

Persons: Angus Cloud, Eddy Chen, Handout, Cloud, Zendaya, Rue Bennett, Angus, Fezco O'Neill, Fez, Daniel Trotta, Costas Pitas, Mary Milliken, Gerry Doyle Organizations: HBO, REUTERS, Globe, Twitter, Thomson Locations: California, Fez, Angus

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy now has 16 direct reports. See the growing and evolving list here, including a newly promoted executive from Alexa.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently expanded his group of direct reports. Jassy has added at least 8 new executives to his direct reports since becoming CEO in 2021. Amazon recently created a new AI group that reports to CEO Andy Jassy. In his 2 years since becoming CEO, Jassy has added or replaced at least 8 executives in his top leadership team. (Jassy's direct reports are different from the S-team, a group of more than two dozen most senior decision-makers at Amazon).

Persons: Andy Jassy, Rohit Prasad, Prasad, Doug Herrington, Adam Selipsky, Brian Olsavsky, Jassy, There's, Dave Clark, Jay Carney, Jeff Blackburn, James Hamilton, Mike Hopkins, Eric Remling, Beth, Dave Limp, David Zapolsky, Drew Herdener, WW Communications Eric Rimling, Paul Kotas, Peter Krawiec, Alexa Stacey Pistole, Steve Boom, Steve Schmidt, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Alexa, Business, Amazon Studios, Amazon Devices, WW Amazon, WW Communications, Amazon Video, Corporate Locations: It's

☆ ‘Barbenheimer’ had incredible box office momentum in its first week
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Eva Rothenberg | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —It was an explosive week for “Barbenheimer,” with the atomic bomb and the atomic blond working hand in plastic hand to deliver box office dynamite. Greta Gerwig’s dazzling doll surpassed a quarter of a billion dollars, with a stunning $258 million, according to Warner Bros., which produced the movie. (CNN and Warner Bros. are both owned by Warner Bros. Observers say both films are defying box office gravity, even after a blowout opening weekend. “Movies tend to drop of significantly midweek once that opening weekend interest is satisfied.

Persons: “, Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer, Greta, Christopher Nolan’s, ”, Paul Dergarabedian, “ Barbie ” Organizations: CNN, Warner Bros, Warner Bros ., Observers, Boxoffice, Google, Apple

☆ Fact Check-No evidence hiccups at Sound of Freedom AMC showings are intentional
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

There is no evidence to claims being shared online about AMC theaters suppressing attendance to the Sound of Freedom film, according to Angel Studios, the film’s distributor, and AMC, a major movie theater chain that broadcast the film. “AMC is trying to sabotage ‘Sound of Freedom,’” reads one post (here). Another says, in part, “AMC Theatres is running The Sound Of Freedom into the ground!” (here). Haters?”Aron updated the number of attendees in another tweet on July 12, 2023, that more than one million had seen the film at AMC theaters (here). AMC theaters was not suppressing attendance to the Sound of Freedom film, according to AMC and Angel Studios.

Persons: ”, Forbes, Adam Aron, ” Aron, Brandon Purdie, “, ” Neal Harmon, Read Organizations: AMC, Angel Studios, ‘, Indiewire, of, Reuters, ” AMC Locations: U.S

☆ Fact Check-Inauthentic Netflix ‘Wonka’ poster circulating on social media
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A poster spreading on social media showing the Netflix logo and a Black woman in a pink top hat with the title for an upcoming Willy Wonka film is inauthentic. Users responding to a post sharing the image appear to believe it is a real promo for an upcoming film starring the woman as Wonka (here). Comments on the post include: “Go woke go broke.”However, Netflix confirmed it is not an authentic image. It stars actor Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka www.imdb.com/title/tt6166392/ . The alleged poster for an upcoming “Wonka” film is inauthentic.

Persons: Willy Wonka, Wonka, “ Go, “ Wonka, Charlie, Timothée Chalamet, Willy Wonka www.imdb.com, Read Organizations: Netflix, Warner Bros, Reuters

☆ Drena De Niro says fentanyl killed her son
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Drena De Niro has shared the cause of death for her 19-year-old son. Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, the grandson of Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, recently died after ingesting fentanyl, his mother wrote on social media. “It is with immeasurable shock and sadness that we say goodbye to our beloved son Leo,” Drena De Niro posted Monday in a statement on her verified social media. “Someone sold him fentanyl laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him so for all these people still f**king around selling and buying this sh*t, my son is gone forever,” De Niro wrote in response. “I’m deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo,” Robert De Niro said in a statement to CNN.

Persons: Drena De Niro, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Oscar, Robert De Niro, Leo, ” Drena De Niro, –, ” De Niro, “, ”, De Niro, ” Robert De Niro, “ We’re, ” Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Maxime ” Organizations: CNN, US Centers for Disease Control Locations: “

☆ Robert De Niro’s grandson Leandro dead at 19
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, the grandson of Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro, has died, his mother announced on social media. Actress Drena De Niro, Robert De Niro’s daughter, wrote about the loss of her son in a post on Instagram on Sunday. Leandro De Niro Rodriguez was also an actor. He appeared, along with his mother, in the 2018 film “A Star Is Born,” starring Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. CNN has reached out to representatives for Robert and Drena De Niro for comment.

Persons: CNN — Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Oscar, Robert De Niro, Drena De Niro, Robert De Niro’s, “, Carlos Rodriguez, Carlos Mare, ”, ” Mare, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Maxime, Robert Organizations: CNN Locations: “

☆ Elon Musk's sister says she has been overcharged because she shares a last name with the world's richest man
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tosca Musk told the Daily Mail she was given an inflated price for a film location because of her last name. Elon Musk's sister says she's been overcharged because she shares a surname with the world's richest man. Tosca Musk told the Daily Mail the family weren't "born rich". From left to right: Tosca Musk, Kimbal Musk, their mother Maye Musk, and Elon Musk Courtesy of Maye MuskTosca Musk is a filmmaker and the CEO and founder of Passionflix, a streaming service and production company for romantic movies. Representatives for Tosca Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Elon Musk's, Tosca Musk, she's, Kimbal Musk, Tosca, Maye Musk, Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, Jeff Bezos Organizations: Daily Mail, Elon, SpaceX, Tesla, Amazon, Bloomberg

☆ Their Show Flew Under the Radar. TikTok Blew It Up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Calum Marsh | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Usually when you say ‘They took a chance on us,’ it means they took a chance because the show could have been bad,” Schulman said. “I got the feeling that this could be really special,” she said. While Marsden was initially intrigued by the idea, he said in a phone interview that his doubts set in once the production began. “It was on a brand-new streaming platform that no one had ever heard of, so I didn’t really think it was going to go anywhere,” Gladden said over the phone from Los Angeles. “I truthfully didn’t think anything was going to come from it.”

Persons: ” Schulman, Anderson, — hadn’t, “, ”, James Marsden, Marsden, ” Gladden Locations: Los Angeles

Hong Kong/Seoul CNN —“The Little Mermaid” has bombed with moviegoers in China and South Korea amid racist critiques in some quarters over the casting of Black actress Halle Bailey as main character Ariel. Disney’s live-action remake has made only $3.6 million in mainland China since opening there on May 26, according to Box Office Mojo. In South Korea, “The Little Mermaid” has grossed $4.4 million since May 24. Halle Bailey in 'The Little Mermaid.' Ariel and Prince Eric in a scene from 'The Little Mermaid.'

Persons: Halle Bailey, Ariel, Disney’s, Bailey, “, ”, Rob Marshall, ‘ Let’s, ’, Fans, Prince Eric, Maleficent ’, Paul Dergarabedian Organizations: Seoul CNN —, Office, Korean Film Council, Global Times, Disney, Hollywood, Halle, United, Comscore Locations: Hong Kong, Seoul, China, South Korea, United States, Comscore, ”, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Finland, United Arab Emirates

☆ 'The Little Mermaid' defied backlash and review-bombing by opening at No. 1
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"The Little Mermaid" debuted this weekend and was "review-bombed" on some movie-review sites. Since Disney announced its live-action remake of "The Little Mermaid," the film has been targeted with online hate, namely racist complaints about Halle Bailey being cast as the mermaid Ariel. But that didn't stop it from taking the top spot at the weekend box office upon its release in the US. Despite backlash and review-bombing, the film had a notable opening weekend for box office earnings: The film was the fifth highest-grossing release on Memorial Day weekend in history, per IMDb. 'The Little Mermaid" ticket sales did beat out Disney's 2019 live-action remake of "Aladdin," which grossed $116.8 million when it opened on Memorial Day.

Persons: Halle Bailey, Ariel Organizations: Disney, Rotten

☆ Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ rakes in $117 million at the US box office on opening weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( David Goldman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —Disney’s live-action movie “The Little Mermaid” brought in $117.5 million at the US box office in the fifth-best opening for Memorial Day weekend in history, according to Box Office Mojo. Despite the controversy, the movie was among the most successful films ever to debut on Memorial Day, Box Office Mojo reported. Last year’s “Top Gun Maverick” tops that list with $160 million at the US box office over the long holiday weekend. That came in a hair lower than “The Little Mermaid” with an opening weekend haul of $116.8 million. Including international ticket sales, “The Little Mermaid” brought in $185.8 million over the weekend.

☆ Nina Gold on creating film stars, audition tapes, and why she'll never act
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Thomas Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

This is the same Nina Gold who’s made a successful career casting some of the defining films and TV shows of this century. “I still don’t really understand what it is that makes acting good,” she says. For “Bad Sisters’” smarmy, abusive antagonist John Paul, Gold cast Claes Bang. For Gold and her team – rising to six people, depending on projects – it’s a lot of logistics and audition tapes. Gold cast Taylor-Johnson in his breakout role as John Lennon in “Nowhere Boy” (2009) at age 18-20, she guesses, but had been auditioning him since about the age of nine.

☆ Striking Writers Guild of America members say they work second jobs in retail, food service, and more to make ends meet: 'I never know when work is going to dry up'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Writers Guild of America members are currently on strike after their contract expired with no new deal with TV and movie studios. Many have complained of low pay, especially when writing for a show on a streaming service. Several said they applied to or were working retail jobs when they found out they were nominated for awards. Dozens of users responded and quoted the tweet with their support for Carter and other striking writers, saying they assumed writers on successful TV shows made enough to live between writing jobs. "When I got nominated for a Canadian Screen Award (Canada's Emmy) - I was applying for a job at a coffee shop.

☆ Amazon just poached a longtime Meta veteran to lead its growing adtech division
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon Advertising has hired Kelly MacLean as its VP of its ad buying platform. MacLean, who joined Amazon late last month, previously spent more than 11 years at Meta. Amazon Advertising has poached a longtime Meta executive to lead a key adtech division, Insider has learned. The Amazon DSP uses automation to let advertisers buy ads on Amazon properties like Amazon.com, Twitch, and IMDb, as well as elsewhere on the web. The Amazon DSP recently underwent an overhaul that was 18 months in the making to improve its machine-learning and predictive algorithms.

☆ Movie stars who draw audiences to theaters are getting older, raising questions about young Hollywood's star power
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new study found the actors who are most likely to draw audiences to theaters are getting older. Most of the top 100 actors — with 13 exceptions — were age 40 or older, according to the study. 10 among Gen Z), Zendaya (No. 14 among Gen Z), Michael B. Jordan (No. But older actors also ranked highly with younger cohorts, including Hart and Sandler, who were the third and fifth biggest box-office draws respectively for Gen Z.

Amazon on Tuesday began laying off some employees in its advertising as part of CEO Andy Jassy's effort to rein in costs, the company confirmed. Jassy last month announced Amazon would lay off 9,000 employees, on top of the 18,000 cuts already announced last November and in January. In March, Jassy said the latest round would affect employees in Amazon's advertising, cloud computing, Twitch livestreaming and human resources divisions. Importantly, I want to acknowledge and thank our impacted colleagues for the work they have done on behalf of Amazon Ads customers. PaulWATCH: Watch CNBC's full interview with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on message to investors, new AI tools and stock price

☆ Amazon Union President Chris Smalls Seen Fighting Worker in Video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Katherine Long | Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +27 min

On the night of December 5, the president of the Amazon Labor Union pummeled another union member. Some longtime Amazon Labor Union organizers decided to begin organizing on their own, without Smalls. All three said they believe in Smalls' mission and support the goals of the Amazon Labor Union, but worry about Smalls' ability to lead. Amazon Labor Union members consoled each other after the union lost the vote at its second warehouse, LDJ5, last April. One purpose of the organization appears to be to raise funds for the Amazon Labor Union, according to its certificate of incorporation.

☆ The Video Streaming Numbers Game Is Shifting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Dan Gallagher | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Warner has scheduled an event for this week to introduce an offering that will combine its HBO Max and Discovery+ services onto a single platform. Once it seemed there was never anything good on TV. Streaming has only solved part of the problem. Viewers certainly are awash in content: According to Reelgood, which aggregates data from streaming platforms, subscribers can currently choose from a total of 36,674 TV shows and movies among the nine largest subscription-based streaming services, at any time day or night. But quantity doesn’t mean quality; only 46% of those shows and movies are considered quality or high-quality offerings based on their IMDb viewer scores, according to Reelgood’s data.

☆ 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' smashes box office records with the biggest global opening for an animated film ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" had the biggest opening for an animated film on record. The movie, based on Nintendo's video game, stars Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black. In the US the film took $31.7 million on Wednesday, $26 million on Thursday and a further $146.4 million Friday to Sunday. It's also the biggest opening of any film so far this year, beating "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter said "Super Mario" was set to be "the first all-audience blockbuster of 2023."

☆ This Uber Eats driver only accepts high-value orders in the hope of getting big tips. He says it's 'like gambling,' but 'very exciting.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An Uber Eats driver told The New York Times that only accepting high-value orders is like "gambling." He told the newspaper he felt delivery drivers were now considered "the bottom of the barrel." After delivering the orders, he waited an hour to learn from the Uber Eats app how much his tips were worth. "It's like gambling," Bush told The Times about his "very exciting" big tips. Uber told The Times it had improved its app to reduce "verification confusion" for high-value tips and added measures to encourage better tipping.

☆ The top breakout TikTok stars of each year since 2019 show how the app has evolved over time
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

When TikTok first gained popularity, it was known for lip syncing, dancing, and viral challenges. We used data from Famous Birthdays to see the breakout TikTokers each year since 2019. TikTok's first homegrown influencers, like Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae Easterling, grew in popularity with dancing and lip syncing videos filmed from their childhood bedrooms. It identified Addison Rae Easterling, who now has 88 million TikTok followers, as a breakout creator when she first gained momentum on TikTok, contacting her when she had just 300,000 followers, she told the LA Times. Here were the rising stars on TikTok each year since 2019, according to data from Famous Birthdays:

☆ TikTok's rising stars every year since 2019 show how much the app has changed — and stayed the same
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Amanda Perelli | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

When TikTok first gained popularity, it was known for lip syncing, dancing, and viral challenges. We used data from Famous Birthdays to see the breakout TikTokers each year since 2019. TikTok's first homegrown influencers, like Charli D'Amelio and Addison Rae Easterling, grew in popularity with dancing and lip syncing videos filmed from their childhood bedrooms. From analyzing searches on its platform, Famous Birthdays is able to identify which creators are rising in real time. Here were the rising stars on TikTok each year since 2019, according to data from Famous Birthdays:

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