DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The movie is projected to debut with a modest $31 million to $41 million this weekend in the U.S., according to the Box Office Pro website. That is well shy of the recent $120.5 million haul for Sony’s critically acclaimed animated hit "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." Pixar is looking to rebound from the box office disappointment of 2022 release "Lightyear," the origin story of "Toy Story" hero Buzz Lightyear. "Judging Pixar on the recent past, history would not be kind," said SVB MoffettNathanson media analyst Michael Nathanson. But the move dealt a blow to creatives who had hoped their films would be seen on the big screen, according to one Pixar director who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Persons: Athie, Leah Lewis, Pete Docter, Denise Ream, Peter Sohn, Adele Exarchopoulos, Vincent Lacoste, Jim Morris, Read, Buzz Lightyear, Pixar, Michael Nathanson, Sohn, Mario, Shawn Robbins, Robbins, Bob Chapek’s, Luca, creatives, Sohn’s, Dawn Chmielewski, Lisa Richwine, Nathan Frandino, Kenneth Li, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Cannes Film, Pixar Animation Studios, Box, Pixar, Reuters, Walt Disney Co, Reuters Television, Comcast, Universal Pictures, Mario Bros, Sony Pictures, Pro, Disney, U.S, Cannes, Rotten, Thomson Locations: U.S, City, Los Angeles, San Francisco

Miller portrays Barry Allen who, as superhero the Flash, uses his superspeed to travel back through time to try to prevent his mother’s death. Miller plays both The Flash and his younger self throughout the film. The Flash gets stuck in the past with Supergirl portrayed by Sasha Calle and Batman played by the original cinematic Batman, Michael Keaton. "Really it's a beautiful moment for me," Miller told Warner Bros at the premiere. Ben Affleck, who portrays Batman in some scenes, told Warner Bros it was "nice" to play a wiser character with something to impart on younger characters.

Persons: Ezra Miller, James Gunn, Miller, Barry Allen, Supergirl, Sasha Calle, Batman, Michael Keaton, Ben Affleck, Ezra, David Rooney, Mario, Rollo Ross, Danielle Broadway, Mary Milliken, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Warner Bros, Flash, Reuters, Rotten, Hollywood Reporter, Thomson Locations: ANGELES

☆ Reactions to charges against Donald Trump in classified documents case
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during a campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., April 27, 2023. REUTERS/Brian SnyderJune 9 (Reuters) - Court documents made public on Friday detailed 37 criminal counts against former U.S. President Donald Trump, including charges of unauthorized retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice after he left the White House in 2021. *Senator John Barrasso, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference“This indictment certainly looks like an unequal application of justice. Hillary Clinton had a computer server in her house with classified documents. It feels political, and it’s rotten.”*Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow"He stored highly classified documents in his bathroom!?

Persons: Donald Trump, Brian Snyder, Jack Smith, Kevin McCarthy, we're, Joe Biden, General Merrick Garland, Trump, Biden, I’m, Ron DeSantis, DeSantis, Hillary, Chris Christie, Donald Trump's, Sarah Matthews, Daniel Richman, John Barrasso, Biden’s, Hillary Clinton, Debbie Stabenow, Todd Huntley, Andy Briggs, Matt Bennett, Trump’s, Republican Representative Denver, —, Jonathan Oatis, Leslie Adler Organizations: U.S, Republican, REUTERS, White House, Fox News, Twitter, Trump, GOP, Republicans, Columbia Law School, Senate Republican Conference, Georgetown University, Republican U.S, Republican Representative, intel, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Manchester , New Hampshire, U.S, United States, Ron DeSantis , Florida, New Jersey, Delaware

☆ HBO's controversial 'The Idol' starring The Weeknd has divided the world, according to new data about its global popularity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Nathan Mcalone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's a hit in Scandinavia and Latin America, but hasn't performed as well in the US, per data from FlixPatrol. HBO's "The Idol" was divisive before it even debuted on June 4, and its popularity around the world has also been uneven, according to new data. But the controversies started for "The Idol" well before the reviews started rolling in. A bombshell story from Rolling Stone in March said the show had gone "wildly, disgustingly off the rails," according to interviews with 13 sources. Tesfaye called the Rolling Stone article "ridiculous" in an interview with Vanity Fair shortly after its publication.

Persons: hasn't, Sam Levinson, Lily, Rose Depp, Abel, Max, Variety's Peter Debruge, Gyarkye, Stone, Levinson, Tesfaye, Depp Organizations: Rotten, HBO, Netflix, Stone, Cannes Film Locations: Scandinavia, Latin America, FlixPatrol, America, Central Europe, Western Europe, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia

☆ Why 'Spider-Man' filmmakers enlisted a 14-year-old artist to help animate their movie: 'He blew us all away'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A 14-year-old artist got to live his dream when the filmmakers behind the latest "Spider-Man" movie asked him to work on the film. Preston Mutanga made waves earlier this year when he shared a video he made recreating the trailer for "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" in the style of LEGO. The 2-minute clip went viral, finding its way to "Spider-Verse" writers and producers Chris Lord and Phil Miller. "It blew us all away, including some of the best animators in the world." When it was decided that the multiverse-hopping film would be adding a LEGO-themed sequence, the filmmakers reached out to Mutanga to offer him the chance to animate it.

Persons: Preston Mutanga, Chris Lord, Phil Miller, nonprofessional, Miller, Mutanga's, Miles Morales —, Mutanga, Kelly Evans Organizations: New York Times, Times, Rotten

☆ Molecular fossils open window on 'lost world' of primordial life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The researchers discovered that the molecular fossils indicating the presence of these primitive eukaryotes were commonplace in rocks spanning from about 1.6 billion years ago to 800 million years ago. "It is a lost world in the sense that we had not been able to see or detect them - although there was an entire world of them. It is a lost world also because these forms are now entirely extinct, Brocks added. The oldest of the rocks bearing these fossils were unearthed in the remote Outback of northern Australia, near Darwin. Scientists long were puzzled about the seeming absence of molecular fossils from this time span indicative of primitive eukaryotes.

Persons: Jochen Brocks, geobiologist Jochen Brocks, Benjamin Nettersheim, Brocks, sapiens, Konrad Block, Will Dunham, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Australian National University, Handout, REUTERS, University of Bremen, Thomson Locations: Creek, Northern Australia, REUTERS WASHINGTON, Canberra, Germany, Australia, Darwin

LOS ANGELES, June 4 (Reuters) - Audiences swung into theaters for “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," giving the animated film a hefty $120.5 million in its domestic box office debut, the second-biggest opening weekend of the year. Behind only “The Super Mario Bros” film that garnered $146 million, the movie’s box office performance surpassed Sony Pictures Animation's and the BoxOffice Pro’s estimates of $75 million to $115.5 million over its first three days of release in the U.S. and Canada from Pro. The sequel, “Across the Spider-Verse," which premiered in theaters on June 2, brought in three times the revenue in its opening weekend. Producer Amy Pascal announced during the film's Los Angeles premiere that there are more Spider-Verse projects on the way. Reporting by Danielle Broadway in Los Angeles; Editing by Aurora EllisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mario Bros, Oscar, Amy Pascal, “, ”, Morales, Mario, Danielle Broadway, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Sony Pictures, Pro, Rotten, Universal Pictures, Thomson Locations: ANGELES, U.S, Canada, Angeles, Los Angeles

☆ A giant seaweed mass heading for Florida's beaches is full of potentially dangerous bacteria that threatens a 'pathogen storm,' a study found
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A giant stretch of Sargassum seaweed is headed toward the beaches of Florida and Mexico. The interplay between plastic marine debris and bacteria could cause a "pathogen storm," a study found. The potentially dangerous Vibrio can stick to the plastic debris that gets caught in the mass of seaweed, the study found in seawater samples from the Caribbean and Sargasso seas. While there are some fears about the bacteria's "flesh-eating" qualities, experts told LiveScience this possibility was relatively uncommon. "What is important is that individuals should take caution," Jae Williams, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Health, told LiveScience.

Persons: —, Linda Amaral, Andrew, Kofi Jones, Vibrio, Tracy Mincer, Mincer, LiveScience, sargassum, Jae Williams Organizations: Service, NASA, Research, Florida Atlantic University, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Florida Department of Health Locations: Florida, Mexico, Sargassum, Caribbean, Lakes, sargassum, St, Barbados

[1/5] Cast members Issa Rae, Lauren Velez, Shameik Moore, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson and Hailee Steinfeld attend the premiere for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 30, 2023. For their sequel to 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," they have sought to build new worlds to immerse audiences in a web of animated adventure. The voice cast includes Issa Rae as Spider-Woman, Oscar Isaac as Spider-Man 2099, Daniel Kaluuya as Spider-Punk and Brian Tyree Henry as Miles' father, Jefferson Davis. The pre-pandemic "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" raked in over $35 million during its first three days of release and went on to win the 2019 Oscar for best animated feature film. Despite some concerns that those box-office-busting days are far from returning, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is forecast to open with $95 to $130 million in the U.S. and Canada.

Persons: Issa Rae, Lauren Velez, Shameik Moore, Daniel Kaluuya, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mario, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Miller, they've, Miles Morales, Gwen Stacy, Brian Michael Bendis, Sara Pichelli, Gwen, Oscar Isaac, Spider, Brian Tyree Henry, Miles, Jefferson Davis, unapologetically, Rae, Henry, Oscar, Andy Warhol, Stephen Hawking, Owen Gleiberman, Danielle Broadway, Rollo Ross, Jorge Garcia, Mary Milliken, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, Sony, Miles Morales Marvel, Reuters, Rotten, Variety, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles , California, U.S, ANGELES, Los Angeles, Canada

☆ With Hannah Gadsby’s ‘It’s Pablo-matic,’ the Joke’s on the Brooklyn Museum
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jason Farago | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Back then it was a voguish noun, borrowed from French, that described the unconscious structure of an ideology or a text. Soon, though, like so many other efforts to think critically, “the problematic” got left behind in this century’s great shift from reading to scrolling. These days we encounter “problematic” exclusively as an adjective: an offhand judgment of moral disapproval, from a speaker who can’t be bothered by precision. A whole cast of professional art workers — conservators, designers, guards, technicians — has been roped in to produce “It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby,” a small exhibition opening Friday at the Brooklyn Museum. Like the noun-turned-adjective “problematic,” this new exhibition backs away from close looking for the affirmative comforts of social-justice-themed pop culture.

Persons: Hannah Gadsby, ”, —, It’s Pablo, “ Nanette, riffed, “, Picasso, Gadsby, “ Nanette ” Organizations: Brooklyn Museum, Netflix, TED Locations: Spanish

☆ Tom Hanks' rant about the frustrations of movie night in the streaming era is hilarious — and right on the money
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tom Hanks sounded off in an interview on the plethora of entertainment options available today. He suggested that going to a movie in theaters is a worthwhile compromise. Actor Tom Hanks vented a bit about exactly that in a podcast interview with The New Yorker, offering up some highly relatable observations. Great, you pick up the remote and it takes you forever to agree on what you're going to watch on Apple or Netflix or Hulu or Amazon Prime. Hanks, who currently stars in Netflix's "A Man Called Otto," has a history of being outspoken about the industry's move toward streaming.

☆ '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

New Delhi CNN —A 16 year-old girl was brutally stabbed and bludgeoned to death in a busy public alleyway in India’s capital on Sunday, sparking renewed outrage over the safety of women in the country and violence perpetrated by men. Sahil, a mechanic, was detained in Bulandshahr in neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, Ravi Kumar Singh, Deputy Police Commissioner for Outer Delhi, told reporters on Monday. Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the Delhi Commision for Women, told ANI she’s never seen such a frightening incident. The frequency of crimes against women in India also appears to be increasing. “We learn to live with this kind of situation in our country which is very unfortunate,” Bhayana told CNN.

☆ 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.

☆ None of the Roy children deserve to succeed Logan but I'm hoping it's Shiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

There are really no good choices for who should succeed Logan Roy in "Succession." She also fakes authenticity — a power move, one expert told Insider. The show revolves around the deeply dysfunctional Roy family and the jockeying to succeed Logan Roy, the recently deceased patriarch played by Brian Cox, as head of the family media empire, Waystar Royco, loosely based on Fox News and News Corp. "Shiv seems to be a person who gets relationships," Gino told Insider. The media baron and inspiration for Logan Roy, Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corp, also has stirred speculation over which of his children might succeed him at the top of the home of Fox News.

☆ 4 ways to 'spring clean' your life in less than 15 minutes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Kelly Hyman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's only after the first quarter that people begin to spring into action and tidy up areas of their life. Reviewing your calendar before embarking on the work week can save you a lot of time and frustration come Monday. Set an alarm for 15 minutes to look at your week ahead and make adjustments. Put your to-do list into actionA to-do list can easily become a place for procrastination if not edited and acted upon regularly. To clean up your to-do list, create tasks in the way you'll get them done.

☆ By recreating old photos, these children of immigrants step into their parents’ shoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Visually recreating the archival photos allowed the subjects to step into their parents’ shoes — sometimes helping to mend fractures in those relationships, Lui said. Kyle Lui The series includes written reflections by participants that explore themes such as family, identity, race and nationality. Kyle Lui Some photos are taken in exactly the same place as the old ones, while others require a bit more creativity. Kyle Lui Alan's late father, pictured in front of an apartment building in New York's Chinatown. Kyle Lui Akil's father, pictured in a similar stance and setting — but with posters of reggae legend Bob Marley.

☆ Mexican president backs referendum on electing Supreme Court justices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 17 (Reuters) - Mexico's president on Wednesday backed a proposal to hold a national vote on whether Supreme Court justices should be chosen by citizens, the latest move in the leader's push to reshape an institution he considers "rotten." Mexico's Supreme Court justices are currently approved by the senate with a two-thirds majority from a shortlist selected by the president, and they serve terms of 15 years. "I hope the vote happens, that the question goes to the people," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in his daily news conference when asked about the possibility, which his party has said they want Congress to vote on. Approval in a referendum would lend support for changing the constitution to create a system of citizen-elected Supreme Court justices, something the president said last week he would seek before leaving office in 2024. Reporting by Raul Cortes Fernandez; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Bowlero, the public company that reimagined bowling, faces dozens of discrimination claims that the feds want to settle for $60 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Gabrielle Fonrouge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

The 73 EEOC claims brought by individual former employees against the company sparked the larger pattern or practice investigation into age discrimination. Only a fraction of EEOC age discrimination complaints — 2.8% in fiscal 2021 — resulted in reasonable cause determinations, EEOC data show. It went from running six bowling alleys to 272 overnight after it acquired AMF, which was then the largest bowling company in the world and was in bankruptcy. The following year, Shannon's company acquired the Brunswick Corporation, the second-largest bowling company in the world, and changed his company's name to Bowlero. Dowe said negotiations fell apart when Bowlero countered the EEOC's $60 million settlement proposal with a proposal of $500,000.

☆ Mexico president slams 'rotten' judiciary after electoral reform setback
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, May 9 (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday criticized the country's judiciary as "rotten," one day after the Supreme Court invalidated part of a set of electoral reforms he had championed. The Supreme Court on Monday voted 9-2 to strike down a measure curbing elections authority INE's ability to police political communications. Critics of the elections overhaul have warned it will weaken democracy in a country set to hold presidential elections next year. Lopez Obrador has frequently attacked the agency, saying it allowed voter fraud to rob him of the 2006 and 2012 presidential elections. He has also squared off with Supreme Court justices, arguing they do not represent the people in the way lawmakers do.

☆ The Star Wars timeline: All movies and shows in chronological order
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Scottie Andrew | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

These details are pulled from the official “Star Wars” resources “Ultimate Star Wars” and “Star Wars Character Encyclopedia,” as well as experts from outlets like USA Today and the AV Club. ‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ (animated series)Ahsoka is Anakin's padawan in "The Clone Wars," and he lovingly calls her "Snips." ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’"Solo" shows how Han and Chewie became best friends. ‘Star Wars Rebels’Kanan Jarrus, Zeb Orrelios and Sabine Wren take on the Empire in "Star Wars Rebels." ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story’Heroes attempt to find the plans to blow up the Death Star in "Rogue One."

☆ Amazon's $300 million new spy series 'Citadel' debuts to mediocre reviews and could be another high-profile miss for the streamer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon's ambitious new spy series, "Citadel," starring Priyanka Chopra, premiered today. Costing as much as an estimated $300 million, it stands to be one of the most expensive series ever made. It has a 56% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 41 reviews. Amazon has a lot riding on its new ambitious spy series, "Citadel," but so far critics are less than impressed. Rotten Tomatoes deems a 60% score or less to be "rotten."

“It was just so original,” she told Reuters, and her co-lead, “Umbrella Academy” actor Ritu Arya, could not agree more. When Lena drops out of art school and quickly gets engaged, Ria and her friends plan a bride-heist of epic proportions. Director Nida Manzoor's first feature film scored a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival. Critics have praised the quirky martial arts film for its inspiring and unconventional representation of compelling women and girls. “Strong women come from strong women,” Kansara said.

☆ An idyllic California town, a celebrity landlord, and a rental from hell
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Tatiana Walk-Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Sonaar Luthra and Sarah Szalavitz left Los Angeles for a rental in La Quinta, California, last March. The couple found a rental home online for $4,000 a month in La Quinta, California, a palm-tree-dotted hamlet about 2½ hours away, nestled between the resort-haven Palm Springs and festival-famous Coachella. They were relieved, they told Insider, because they believed someone in the public eye would be a reliable landlord. Luthra and Szalavitz thought moving to La Quinta would afford them the time and space to begin personal projects, including planning a wedding. The couple detailed how the celebrity-owned house in a desert paradise became a rental from hell.

☆ Those Seaweed Blobs Headed for Florida? See How Big They Are.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

Scientists say they spotted more than 13 million tons of Sargassum, a yellowish-brown seaweed, drifting in the Atlantic Ocean last month — a record for the month of March. NORTH AMERICA March 2023 Atlantic Ocean The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt grew to an estimated 13.5 million metric tons of seaweed this spring. Tangles of the goopy, leafy seaweed have already begun to wash ashore beaches in southern Florida and Mexico. Floating mats of seaweed accumulate in the central Atlantic Ocean for much of the year. But during the spring and summer, patches of it are carried by ocean currents toward the Caribbean, eastern Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast.

Search resuls for: "Rotten"

25 mentions found