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☆ Kevin McCarthy shared a map of China that includes Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kevin McCarthy shared a map of China that included Taiwan in a tweet criticizing China. The Chinese Communist Party is very sensitive to its claims about Taiwan in Western media. As a result, Beijing has long sought for Taiwan to be shown as part of China — which McCarthy did. But right now, we are dependent on China," McCarthy wrote in a tweet posted on his official account in promotion of HR 1, the GOP's sweeping energy bill. The Chinese Communist Party is extremely sensitive to any language or depiction that undermines its claims to Taiwan.

☆ Why Are Flip-Up Sunglasses Suddenly Everywhere?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Brigid Mander | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FLIP THE SCRIPT Vibrant colors and sleek silhouettes have made contemporary flip-up glasses genuinely covetable. SUNGLASSES HAVE always played two roles: to shield your eyes from damaging UV rays, and to make you look cool. Just what constitutes “cool” has fluctuated with the decades—remember our early-2000s obsession with bedazzled frames? But few designs have more questionable associations than flip-up, clip-on shades, despite their ability to cleverly block or let in sunlight via a hinge attachment. While aviator sunglasses evoke Tom Cruise in “Top Gun” and understated black frames conjure icons like Joan Didion and Jackie O., the closest thing the flip-up has to an avatar is the nerdy, well-meaning Dwayne Wayne of “A Different World.”

☆ Yang Bing-yi: Founder of Din Tai Fung dumpling empire dies, age 96
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Yang Bing-yi, who set up the Taiwanese restaurant chain Din Tai Fung, “passed away peacefully” at the age of 96, the company said in a statement Saturday. He opened a small shop in Taiwan’s capital Taipei with his wife, naming it Din Tai Fung and selling cooking oil and Xiao Long Bao, steamed Chinese soup dumplings often made with pork. It expanded into a franchise, with outlets in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Singapore. Steamed pork dumplings served at Din Tai Fung's Hong Kong branch. Its restaurant at the Taipei 101 skyscraper hosted Hollywood star Tom Cruise in 2013, who dined and joined chefs to make soup dumplings.

☆ How One Guy’s Car Blog Became a $1 Billion Marketplace
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Ben Cohen | Photographs Christie Hemm Klok For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Justin Felker was sitting at home last summer, staring at his computer and trying to decide how much he should pay for a car once driven by Tom Cruise . He had two minutes to make up his mind—and the clock was ticking. He was in a bidding war on Bring a Trailer, an online auction house for classic and collectible cars, and Mr. Felker had already obliterated his budget. He woke up that morning with a spending limit of $40,000. His heart was beating out of his chest as he waited to find out if that would be enough.

☆ These 8 startups are bringing AI technology to Netflix, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, and more — and attracting millions in VC funding
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VCs and private equity have poured millions into AI startups seeking to disrupt film and TV production. Startups making waves in Hollywood AI include MARZ and Deep Voodoo, founded by the creators of "South Park." Generative AI has spawned a raft of tools with real-life applications to Hollywood — and VCs are getting in on the action. There are already AI tools that can write full scripts. Vendors and investors told Insider that over time, AI tools will change jobs, not replace them.

☆ Steven Spielberg's latest film 'The Fabelmans' could win Best Picture at this month's Academy Awards. Here are his top 10 most popular films.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Paramount Pictures Worldwide box office: $603.9 million ($925 million, adjusted for inflation) Total domestic box office: $234.3 million Domestic opening weekend: $64.9 million Budget: $132 million 9. Paramount Studios Worldwide box office: $474.2 million ($1.1 billion, adjusted for inflation) Total domestic box office: $197.2 million Domestic opening weekend: $29.4 million Budget: $48 million 7. Paramount Pictures Worldwide box office: $790.7 million ($1.1 billion, adjusted for inflation) Total domestic box office: $317.1 million Domestic opening weekend: $100.1 million Budget: $185 million 6. Universal Worldwide box office: $618.6 million ($1.15 billion, adjusted for inflation) Total domestic box office: $229.1 million Domestic opening weekend: $72.1 million Budget: $73 million 5. Universal Worldwide box office: $792.9 million ($2.5 billion, adjusted for inflation) Total domestic box office: $437.1 million Domestic opening weekend: $11.8 million Budget: $10.5 million 1.

☆ A self-proclaimed 'Airbnb Queen' who managed other people's properties is accused of stealing from homeowners then fleeing town
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dan Latu | Aj Latrace | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Massey told Fox 23 that when she confronted Widell on the accounting "irregularities," Widell lashed out and responded "aggressively." A separate unnamed property owner told Fox 23 that he paid Widell $11,000 to stage his rental. Since then, seven of Widell's tenants told Fox 23 their water had been shut off and they risk losing electricity. "Honestly, the worst thing she has done is taken away everyone's peace of mind," one tenant, Traci Nunnelly, told Fox 23. After convincing landlords to switch to Airbnb, Neth said, she would then seek to manage their listings as a paid property manager.

☆ Woody Harrelson Can Play Anyone. It’s Being Himself That’s Hard.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( David Marchese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +17 min

“I’m an A personality and a B facade,” says Woody Harrelson, and that’s as good an explanation for his charm and success as you’re likely to find. I don’t know. I could go hang off one of those big mountaintop-remover coal things, but that’s not going to stop it. I meet with the director, and I’m going to do it — they’re making it for like $500,000 — then the guy just goes with someone else! I have a gluttonous side, and I know that’s not going to help me be a spiritually better person.

☆ Hollywood producers honor Tom Cruise and 'Everything Everywhere'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb 25 (Reuters) - Hollywood producers celebrated Tom Cruise's career and handed their top film honor to multiverse adventure "Everything Everywhere All at Once" on Saturday at one of the key awards ceremonies ahead of next month's Oscars. The Producers Guild of America honored Cruise with a lifetime achievement award, and several speakers thanked the actor for boosting the pandemic-hobbled movie business with last summer's blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick." "Tom Cruise showed all of us that moviegoing was back," Sherry Lansing, the former CEO of Paramount Pictures, said in her introduction. The 60-year-old Cruise rose to fame as the star of "Risky Business," "Cocktail," "A Few Good Men" and other films. As he accepted his award, Cruise applauded the work of the TV and film producers in the audience.

[1/3] A U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter lands on the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered super carrier, during a joint naval drill between South Korea and the U.S., in the West Sea, South Korea, October 29, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-JiFeb 23 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Thursday it plans to stop production of the F/A-18 Super Hornet in late 2025 after delivering the last of the fighter jets, as the aerospace giant shifts focus to winning the race for the sixth-generation of combat aircraft. Trade publication Defense News in 2020 reported that at least one prototype was built and flown by the Air Force. It said production of the F/A-18 jet, which debuted in 1983, could be extended until 2027 if the Super Hornet is selected by the Indian Navy for its future fighter. Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Valerie Insinna in Washington; Editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Film academy response to Will Smith slap was 'inadequate,' group's president says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Feb 13 (Reuters) - Hollywood's film academy did not adequately respond to Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards last March, the organization's president said on Monday at a gathering of this year's Oscar nominees. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was criticized for allowing Smith to remain in his seat, and accept the best actor trophy, after he assaulted Rock on stage. "What happened on stage was totally unacceptable," academy president Janet Yang said at the annual Oscar nominees' luncheon in Beverly Hills. Smith resigned from the academy after the incident, and the academy banned him from attending the Oscars for 10 years. He remains eligible to be nominated for and win Academy Awards.

☆ It's not all gloom and doom on Wall Street. Here's where finance firms are still hiring.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For many on Wall Street, those questions are top of mind. Insider's finance team canvassed more than a dozen recruiters to get their takes on the job market. From investment banking to hedge funds to fintechs, here's who's hiring and who's at risk of making more cuts. Click here to read more about the hiring landscape across Wall Street, from banks to hedge funds and fintechs. We've got a list of the best and worst US airlines, according to The Wall Street Journal.

☆ MoviePass CEO Stacy Spikes on his plans to relaunch the service (for real) and bring back an unlimited option
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jason Guerrasio | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Stacy Spikes told Insider he plans to put MoviePass out of beta and make it available for all by the summer. You would think Spikes would want to run as far away as possible from the movie-ticket-subscription startup. Before Stacy Spikes created MoviePass he created the Urbanworld Film Festival. I wanted to put that down because I see so many times people approach me and think MoviePass was my first business. MoviePassThe MoviePass beta version is focused on the credits system, e-ticketing, and fixing bugsWhat have been the biggest challenges in getting this beta version of MoviePass off the ground?

☆ 'Avatar' director James Cameron, 'Top Gun' star Tom Cruise snubbed by Oscars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] Director James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' in London, Britain December 6, 2022. Cameron was joined - in omission - by another box-office standout, actor Tom Cruise, whose starring role in “Top Gun: Maverick” wowed audiences but was overlooked in the best actor category. Another notable snub from the best picture list was "Babylon," "La La Land" director Damien Chazelle's ambitious ode to old Hollywood. This year none of the nominees for best director are women. One of the most successful recording artists of the era, Taylor Swift, also was snubbed by the Academy.

☆ Box office hits 'Everything Everywhere,' 'Elvis' and 'Avatar' land Oscar nominations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Everything Everywhere," a science-fiction flick about an exasperated Chinese immigrant struggling to finish her taxes, landed 11 nominations, including best picture and four acting nods. Other films in the hunt for the top trophy at the Academy Awards included sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water," James Cameron's visual spectacle that currently ranks as the sixth-highest grossing movie of all time. Last year's Academy Awards ceremony, when Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock before winning best actor, drew about 15.4 million TV viewers, the second-smallest audience ever. Apple TV+ (AAPL.O) nabbed best picture last year for heartwarming drama "CODA." This time, Disney received the most nominations, a total of 22, for movies including "Avatar," "Banshees" and animated "Turning Red."

☆ 'Elvis' and 'Avatar' face off as Hollywood returns to Golden Globes
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] The Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. Photo taken on December 12, 2022. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniLOS ANGELES, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The flashy "Elvis" biopic and sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar: The Way of Water" battle for the top honor at the Golden Globes on Tuesday when stars return to a ceremony trying to rebuild its reputation after scandals. The Golden Globes will be back on television after celebrities and broadcaster NBC abandoned the 2022 show because of ethical lapses at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the group that hands out the awards. "I think we're going to see 'Elvis' win and Austin Butler win," said Chris Beachum, managing editor of awards website Gold Derby. Golden Globes voters "have proven time and time again that they love spectacles and they love musicals."

[1/12] Angela Bassett poses with her award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" at the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 10, 2023. REUTERS/Mario AnzuoniBEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan 10 (Reuters) - "Black Panther" actress Angela Bassett won a supporting actress award on Tuesday at the first Golden Globe awards since a scandal knocked the glitzy Hollywood ceremony off television. Bassett was honored for playing Queen Ramonda in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," a sequel that was rewritten after the death of star Chadwick Boseman. Ke Huy Quan was named best supporting actor in a drama film for his role of Waymond Wang in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Among those voters, nearly 52% are racially and ethnically diverse, including 10% who are Black, according to the HFPA.

☆ 'Top Gun: Maverick' and Disney were the box office leaders in an otherwise soft 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"Top Gun: Maverick" was the highest grossing theatrical release in 2022, but its $719 million haul wasn't enough to make its studio, Paramount , ruler of the domestic box office. It also accounted for more than half of Paramount's overall domestic haul for the year. Other releases, including "The Lost City," "Smile," "Scream" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 2," pushed Paramount's 2022 box office to around $1.3 billion, the third-highest haul for studios, Comscore reported. Ultimately, "Maverick" represented around 10% of the total $7.5 billion in domestic ticket receipts collected last year. While the "Top Gun" sequel topped the charts as the highest-grossing film of the year, it is Disney that ultimately wears the 2022 box office crown.

☆ Tarnished Golden Globes aim to regain role as Hollywood's 'party of the year'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/4] Director James Cameron arrives at the world premiere of 'Avatar: The Way of Water' in London, Britain December 6, 2022. "We've gotten a really great response from the nominees," said Hoehne, a German journalist elected in late 2021 to lead the group through diversity and ethics scandals. Comedian Jerrod Carmichael, who is Black, will host the three-hour ceremony, while Eddie Murphy will receive a lifetime achievement honor. Tom Cruise is not expected to appear even though his blockbuster movie "Top Gun: Maverick" is nominated for best drama film. Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'Avatar 2' soars past 'Top Gun' with $1.5 billion to become highest-grossing film of 2022, and it's already the 10th biggest movie ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

"Avatar: The Way of Water" has surpassed "Maverick's" box office haul in just its first three weeks in theaters, raking in an astonishing $1.51 billion worldwide since Dec. 16 according to Box Office Mojo data. Box office watchers don't expect "Avatar 2" to slow down any time soon. Along with the original "Avatar" ($2.92 billion) and "Titanic" ($2.2 billion), Cameron has now directed three of the 10 biggest blockbusters ever. "The first movie famously just kept going and going and going." "Avatar's" box office dominance wasn't a given from the outset.

☆ Former US Navy fighter pilot explains why TOPGUN fines aviators $5 each time they quote the iconic 1986 film 'Top Gun' starring Tom Cruise
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The US Navy's premiere fighter pilot training school, commonly known as TOPGUN, fines people for various infractions. At the Navy's decades-old tactical air combat training center commonly known as TOPGUN, there are fines for various infractions. Any quote from the iconic 1986 film "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise as the hotshot naval aviator Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell will cost you $5, former fighter pilot and TOPGUN instructor Cmdr. Decades later, the school, since relocated to Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada, is still producing some of the world's top combat aviators. He is a TOPGUN graduate and former instructor, as well as a retired naval aviator who flew combat missions overseas.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ From a Deepfaked Elon Musk to RadioShack’s NSFW Tweets, CMO Today’s Twenty-Two Most-Read Stories of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Nat Ives | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Our report on deepfakes was the most-read CMO Today story in 2022. Prepare for what’s coming with this list of CMO Today’s most-read coverage in 2022, presented in order of popularity. How NSFW Tweets Plug Into RadioShack’s New Marketing StrategyAbel Czupor, who leads RadioShack’s newly edgy marketing. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CMO Today CMO Today delivers the most important news of the day for media and marketing professionals. Photo: KayakA hospitality empire decided to try its hand at ad sales, too.

☆ 'Avatar: The Way of Water' crosses $1B in ticket sales in just 14 days: Here are the 10 highest-grossing movies of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"Avatar: The Way of Water" has made over $1 billion in ticket sales in just two weeks. James Cameron's blockbuster, the sequel to the highest-grossing movie of all time, joins "Jurassic World: Dominion" as a 10-figure earner this year and may depose Tom Cruise's "Top Gun: Maverick" as the highest-grossing 2022 release by the end of its time in theaters. "Avatar's" performance means that 2022 will end with three films passing the billion-dollar threshold at the box office. While that's a far cry from the nine billion-dollar grossers that 2019 — the final full box office year before the pandemic — had, it's still an increase from 2020 and 2021 which had zero and one movies earn over $1 billion, respectively. Though some industry watchers had predicted that the domestic box office would cross $8 or $9 billion, those hopes were dashed in part because some big-budget films have been delayed, including another Tom Cruise title, the hotly-anticipated "Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning".

In TV, the top 10 list ranges from the indefinable second season of “The White Lotus” to laugh-out-loud comedies and smoldering fantasy shows. “Catch the Fair One” is available on Hulu and various video-on-demand platforms. “Paris, 13th District” is available on Amazon Prime Video and various video-on-demand platforms. “Peter Von Kant” is available on various video-on-demand platforms. “Tár” is available on various video-on-demand platforms.

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