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☆ ‘Polite Society’ Review: Pride and Plenty of Fists
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“Polite Society,” a rollicking genre mash-up, is set in an enclave of well-to-do Muslim Londoners who play along with the comedy’s title until they get cranky. Then come the punches and neck chops, the bruises and broken glass, the ludicrous wire-fu that allows a matron in a brocade lehenga to fly through the air. Stubborn and snotty, Ria is so hellbent on breaking up the betrothal that she’s willing to spy and lie, claw and kick. She gets as good as she gives, ending more than one scene in a bloody, heaving heap. At the same time, the audience can appreciate what Ria is too childish to see: Lena’s joy that the neighborhood screw-up has landed its most eligible bachelor.

☆ Sam Altman is building his utopia, whether you want it or not
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

Altman told Insider, "We debate our approach frequently and carefully." "I don't think anyone can lose your dad young and wish he didn't have more time with him," Altman told Insider. Altman told Insider that his thinking had evolved since those posts. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ He's played chess with Peter Thiel, sparred with Elon Musk and once, supposedly, stopped a plane crash: Inside Sam Altman's world, where truth is stranger than fiction
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +41 min

But, "you do at some point need to start having contact with reality," he told Insider. The plan was still only a rough sketch, Blania told Insider, but that didn't seem to matter to his host. "He always wanted to understand everything at a very deep level," Thrun told Insider in an email. (When asked about guns, Altman told Insider he'd been "happy to have one both times my home was broken into while I was there.") When asked about this, Altman told Insider in an email: "i can guess what that's about; these stories grow crazily inflated over the years of getting re-told!

☆ Brian Cox’s next project involves James Bond
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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☆ His Mercury Cougar Puts the Car in Carpe Diem
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( A.J. Baime | Photographs Emanuel Hahn For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Joe Carter , 63, a real-estate investor living in Moreno Valley, Calif., on his 1970 Mercury Cougar convertible, as told to A.J. I was raised by a single mom in Hollywood, Calif. We were poor, and I used to go to the 49-cent theater to see rerun movies. That is where I first saw a Mercury Cougar, driven across the big screen by the actress Diana Rigg . It was love at first sight—the car, I mean, although Diana Rigg came in a close second. A song in the movie was, “We Have All the Time in the World.” The thing is, we don’t.

☆ 'Ghosted' review: Chris Evans and Ana de Armas reunite in a spirited action comedy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Brian Lowry | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —“Chris Evans and Ana de Armas” is about all that’s required to make the sales pitch for “Ghosted,” a spirited if familiar action-based romantic comedy, where the sparring banter generally outshines the muscular stunts. Throw in clever cameos and this Apple TV+ movie delivers on its promise of unpretentious fun. Unlike the needy Cole, “Ghosted” doesn’t ask for anything more than a couple intermittently attentive hours of your time. Thanks to Evans and de Armas, it’s the sort of invitation that’s pretty hard to ignore. “Ghosted” premieres April 21 on Apple TV+.

Companies Tesla Inc FollowApril 14 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators have written to Elon Musk, Tesla Inc's chief executive, questioning him about the sharing by employees of sensitive images recorded by cameras in customers' vehicles. The recordings included a child struck by a Tesla vehicle while riding a bicycle and a man approaching a car completely naked, according to former Tesla employees. Reuters had reported that seven former Tesla employees had said they could view camera recordings' map locations — and potentially see where a Tesla owner lived. Following last week's Reuters report, a California Tesla owner filed a prospective class-action lawsuit in San Francisco, accusing the company of violating customers' privacy. It alleged that Tesla employees accessed customer data for "tasteless and tortious entertainment" and "the humiliation of those surreptitiously recorded."

To report this story, Reuters contacted more than 300 former Tesla employees who had worked at the company over the past nine years and were involved in developing its self-driving system. The company requires car owners to grant permission on the cars’ touchscreens before Tesla collects their vehicles’ data. Reuters found that Tesla employees shared clips that captured sensitive and embarrassing personal moments. Tesla’s own data labelers initially worked in the San Francisco Bay area, including the office in San Mateo. According to several ex-employees, some labelers shared screenshots, sometimes marked up using Adobe Photoshop, in private group chats on Mattermost, Tesla’s internal messaging system.

☆ Tesla employees reportedly shared images recorded by customers' cars, including one of a naked man
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Tesla employees shared videos captured by owners' cars on an internal messaging system, Reuters reported. From 2019 to 2022, some Tesla workers circulated humorous, shocking, or invasive videos on a company messaging system, nine former employees told the outlet. Employees shared videos of car crashes, road-rage incidents, and some more embarrassing moments. Other former employees told Reuters they only saw images shared for legitimate work purposes, like identifying correct labels. Camera recordings are only shared with Tesla if owners opt to do so, the company says.

☆ Drive Like James Bond: 3 European Road Tours Inspired by 007 (and His Aston Martin)
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Brigid Mander | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SET-JETTING Pierce Brosnan in an Aston Martin DB5 at the Casino de Monte Carlo in Monaco for the filming of “GoldenEye” (1995). GREAT VACATIONS leave daily life in the dust—none more so than driving tours that involve a supercar worthy of 007 and an itinerary with thrillingly scenic roads. Consider a getaway even Dr. No would say yes to: a jaunt that kicks off in Monte Carlo , Monaco, offered by Ultimate Driving Tours based in Melbourne, Australia. These road trips are booked by both sexes, said Julie Hunter who co-owns the company with her husband Anthony Moss. “Our tours couldn’t be farther from an adrenaline-fueled boys’ trip,” she said.

☆ KraneShares on Alibaba company restructuring and Chinese government
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAlibaba restructuring has more to do with the company than the Chinese government, KraneShares saysBrendan Ahern of KraneShares says the Chinese government is sometimes portrayed as a "James Bond-like figure" and "the truth is usually somewhere in the middle."

☆ AMC Entertainment shares jump on report Amazon exploring a deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 28 (Reuters) - Shares of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc (AMC.N) jumped more than 18% on Tuesday, set for their biggest gain in a month, after a report that ecommerce giant Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) was looking to buy the theater chain. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has dispatched his investment advisers and top entertainment chiefs to explore acquisition plans for AMC, The Intersect reported, citing sources familiar with the discussions. AMC and Amazon did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. AMC's shares, which posted a 12-fold jump in 2021 in a Reddit-fueled surge, have gained about 11% this year to Monday's close. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj KalluvilaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Why Men Want Jackets That Give Them ‘Hourglass Figures’ Like Daniel Craig and Idris Elba
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ashley Ogawa Clarke | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

I SPY A HIGHLY DEFINED WAIST ‘James Bond’ star Daniel Craig in a trio of recent hourglass looks. AT A MOVIE premiere last October, a star got the cameras flashing with a head-turning hourglass silhouette—nipped-in at the waist and gently flared below. Not Scarlett Johansson, or some Marilyn Monroe manqué, but Daniel Craig, a man who’s famously embodied James Bond. Mr. Craig, 55, smoldered in a cinched navy tux—his latest embrace of waist-nipping tailoring. Along with fellow A-listers including Idris Elba, Mr. Craig is making men want such exaggerated tailoring for one simple reason: The narrow waist accentuates his broad shoulders and chest, making him look more buff.

☆ Want to Look Buff Like 007? Try This Jacket Style
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Ashley Ogawa Clarke | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

I SPY A HIGHLY DEFINED WAIST ‘James Bond’ star Daniel Craig in a trio of recent hourglass looks. Not Scarlett Johansson, or some Marilyn Monroe manqué, but Daniel Craig, a man who’s famously embodied James Bond. Mr. Craig, 55, smoldered in a cinched navy tux—his latest embrace of waist-nipping tailoring. If you think the “hourglass” is solely a feminine ideal, 007 is here to tell you otherwise. Along with fellow A-listers including Idris Elba, Mr. Craig is making men want such exaggerated tailoring for one simple reason: The narrow waist accentuates his broad shoulders and chest, making him look more buff.

☆ Analysis: Kremlin moves to rein in Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

"The position of the (Kremlin) political bloc is not to let him into politics. Prigozhin told a Russian interviewer on Friday that he had "zero" political ambitions. Markov, who described Prigozhin as extremely confrontational, said he believed Putin had told Prigozhin to halt public criticism of the top brass at a St Petersburg meeting around Jan. 14. It advised recipients to stop mentioning Prigozhin or Wagner and suggested generic phrases to describe his forces instead. After years of denials, Prigozhin stepped out of the shadows in September to admit he had founded Wagner in 2014.

☆ Amazon Studios is growing fast and spending big on shows like 'Citadel,' but insiders say unclear creative direction, leadership shifts, and tech bureaucracy threaten to drive away staff and talent
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Lucia Moses | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

The dust has been settling at Amazon Studios after a big reorg in the fall that solidified Jen Salke's power. Yet Amazon Studios faces major challenges. Amazon Studios' Head of Global Television Vernon Sanders told Insider that the goal is to deliver content with global cultural relevance. Amazon Prime VideoWhile spending on such big swings has soared, some insiders see far less budgetary support for underrepresented casts. "I do think people wonder what's the commitment to Amazon Studios," the current insider said.

☆ Burt Bacharach, legendary composer of pop songs, dies at 94
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

Bacharach was both an innovator and throwback, and his career seemed to run parallel to the rock era. He was an eight-time Grammy winner, a prize-winning Broadway composer for "Promises, Promises" and a three-time Oscar winner. Fellow songwriter Sammy Cahn liked to joke that the smiling, wavy-haired Bacharach was the first composer he ever knew who didn't look like a dentist. Bacharach was essentially a pop composer, but his songs became hits for country artists (Marty Robbins), rhythm and blues performers (Chuck Jackson), soul (Franklin, Luther Vandross) and synth-pop (Naked Eyes). He's everybody's composer ... Burt Bacharach!"

☆ Amazon is bragging about the popularity of Netflix's 'Wednesday' and its star Jenna Ortega — even though the streamers are rivals
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon touted the success of Netflix's "Wednesday" in its Q4 2022 earnings report on Thursday. The series, which stars Jenna Ortega, is one of Netflix's most-watched shows of all time. It was viewed for 1.237 billion hours globally in its first 28 days of release, according to Netflix's own figures. It bought the film and TV studio, which is also behind the James Bond films, last year for $8.5 billion, and recently launched the MGM+ streaming platform. Soon after, though, Netflix announced it had renewed the series for season two, exclusively for Netflix.

☆ In UK lawsuit, Hollywood star Eva Green says making 'B movie' would ruin career
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] French actress Eva Green arrives at The Rolls Building courthouse in London, Britain, January 30, 2023. 'UNREASONABLE'In its written submissions, White Lantern's lawyers said Green, also an executive producer in the project, had made unreasonable demands about crew, locations and equipment. She also described funders for the movie as "arseholes" and some proposed crew members as "shitty peasants". "I wanted to make the most brilliant film possible," Green told the court, agreeing with White Lantern's lawyer Max Mallin that making a "B movie" could kill her career. I wanted to work with a high-quality crew who just wanted to be paid standard industry rates," Green told the court.

☆ 'GoldenEye 007' is coming to Nintendo Switch and Xbox
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

“GoldenEye 007,” a classic first-person shooter made for Nintendo 64 in 1997, is being revived for Nintendo Switch and Xbox more than 25 years later. For fans who subscribe to additional content on both gaming systems, the game will be available on Friday. The Xbox version has been “faithfully recreated and enhanced,” said one ad for the re-release, while the Switch game features an online multiplayer mode. The return of “GoldenEye 007,” often referred to as one of the greatest video games of all time, has been years in the making. Now, Rare, the game’s original developer, has recreated it for Xbox with “a few modern touches,” while Nintendo is re-releasing the original on its Switch console.

☆ Swatch positive on recovery in luxury demand from China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( John Revill | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies Says January sales have exceeded January 2022Company now expects record sales for 2023Stock hits highest level since July 2021ZURICH, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Swatch Group (UHR.S) shares hit their highest level in nearly two-and-a-half years on Tuesday after the world's biggest watchmaker said it expected a recovery in luxury demand from China. The sales growth in January in China reinforces the Group's expectation to aim for a record year in 2023." The outlook sent Swatch's shares to their highest level since July 2021, and was the latest positive signal for the luxury sector at the start of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. "To reach the record sales number of 2014 Swatch Group would need to have growth of 16% in 2023," said Patrik Schwendimann of Zuercher Kantonalbank. Europe's luxury sector($1 = 0.9192 Swiss francs)Reporting by John Revill; editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Rare BMW Model Driven by James Bond—and a Retired Surgeon From Missouri
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( A.J. Baime | Photographs Christopher Smith For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

C. Daniel Smith , 67, a recently retired orthopedic surgeon living in St. Joseph, Mo., on his 2002 BMW Z8, as told to A.J. Orthopedic surgeons have quite a bit of time between cases, and sometimes, to take the edge off, we would talk in the surgeon’s lounge about anything but work. I have a good surgeon friend named Steve Long who is, like me, nuts about cars, and oftentimes we would talk about our favorites. One day, we happened on the BMW Z8.

☆ Fake cannabis billionaire Justin Costello pleads guilty in $35 million fraud, with recommended prison term of 10 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Justin Costello, who posed as a billionaire and twice-wounded Special Forces Iraq veteran to dupe investors while portraying himself as a legal cannabis mogul, pleaded guilty Wednesday to securities fraud. Under a plea agreement with Costello, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 10 years in prison for him. Costello also agreed to pay victims of his frauds — which related to cannabis firms, a would-be bank and stock pump-and-dumps — not less than $35 million in restitution. His guilty plea Wednesday was to a single count of securities fraud, but it covered much of the criminal conduct alleged in the indictment. Costello had used about $42,000 of investors' money to pay for his wedding, prosecutors have said.

☆ Netflix lists 'Glass Onion' island compound for $450 million on Zillow
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Just in time for the streaming debut of its hotly anticipated "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," the streaming service's marketing team has listed the film's eponymous Greek island compound on the popular real estate site. "Sleek architecture and sophisticated design, with an equal eye toward nature and extravagance, provide an unparalleled luxury living experience accessible only by boat and crowned by a Glass Onion atrium," the listing reads. Of course, even if you have the millions to shell out, the "Glass Onion" estate doesn't exist. A link to "learn more" about the listing brings visitors to the "Glass Onion" page on Netflix's website. But viewers will be able bring the villa to their living rooms: "Glass Onion" hits Netflix on Dec. 23.

☆ North Korea's record-setting missile tests are showing off weapons it has tried to keep hidden for decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In October, North Korea claimed that it had launched an underwater ballistic missile from a lake. In October, North Korea claimed that it had launched an underwater ballistic missile from a lake. A missile launch from a North Korean lake in a photo released on October 10. The entrance to an "intrusion tunnel" under the DMZ between South and North Korea in September 2006. During the Korean War, UN forces used airpower to relentlessly pound North Korean troops, emplacements, and supply lines.

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