Flop

Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair that the company has learned never to recast iconic "Star Wars" characters following the flop that was Solo: A Star Wars Story . The Ron Howard-directed 2018 movie cast Alden Ehrenreich as a younger version of Han Solo, the hot-shot space pilot famously brought to life by Harrison Ford. Many critics and fans felt Ehrenreich just couldn't capture Ford's magic. "There should be moments along the way when you learn things," Kennedy sad. "Now it does seem so abundantly clear that we can't do that." Solo opened over Memorial Day weekend in 2018 and brought the Star Wars film franchise to a new low after it bombed at the box office with just US$392mil worldwide. The film carried a near US$300mil production budget. Howard once told the Happy Sad Confused podcast that the response to Solo was "disappointing." "It made a lot of money, it just didn't live up to expectations," Howard said. "I came in eager to help, felt … [Read more...] about Lucasfilm vows not to recast iconic ‘Star Wars’ characters after ‘Solo’ flop

(CNN) It seems that every few days, a new star announces their foray into the world of non-fungible tokens, cryptocurrency or some other inscrutable corner of the metaverse -- the general term for a nascent virtual space where people can play, meet, and of course, buy things. This has been a habit for a while now, and every starry-eyed announcement usually promises some form of connection or exclusive opportunity. But for the majority of the population who don't own cryptocurrency or NFTs (and may not care to), big names and the pricey tech concepts they promote make for strange bedfellows indeed. Take some recent examples: Last week, Madonna minted an extremely NSFW NFT collection that featured explicit images of her giving birth to a tree, as well as a 3D model of her undercarriage. Charitably, the reactions were mixed. crypto-terms cryptocurrency: a currency that exists virtually and requires complex technology to verify and use NFT: … [Read more...] about The celebrity love affair with NFTs may be just beginning — even amid flops and doubts

KAJANG: Mechanisms to put the Political Funding Bill in place must be discussed thoroughly to ensure the law is effective, says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin ( pic ). The Home Minister said it is important to get it right to avoid any flip-flops. "A special team must discuss the matter in detail to ensure that the law can always be used. "The policy is good but we must make sure its implementation is beneficial as well," he told a press conference after launching the National Anti-Drug Agency's Mobile Recovery Treatment service on Friday (May 20). Hamzah, who attended a meeting of the Cabinet Special Committee on Anti-Corruption, said the Bill was discussed at length. ALSO READ: Political Funding Bill can enhance integrity, say experts He had been asked to comment on the decision to introduce the Political Funding Bill. On Thursday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the Special Committee had agreed for the Bill to be put in place to prevent … [Read more...] about Political Funding Bill must be discussed thoroughly to avoid flip-flops, says Hamzah

Disappointed by a 7.8% plunge that made for the world’s second-worst trading debut among large IPOs this year, shareholders of state-run Life Insurance Corp. of India will be counting on a bumper dividend if Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants them to stay put. The 65-year-old insurer, a household name in the country known as LIC, raised $2.7 billion last week in the country’s biggest initial public offering. After pricing at 949 rupees ($12.2) apiece, the top end of a marketed range, the stock plunged as much as 9.4% to 860 rupees in opening minutes on Tuesday, before paring losses. It was about 1% in early trading on Wednesday. Some investors and analysts are concerned that the price could drop even more because of little growth prospects for the legacy business, risks of further disinvestment by the government and the absence of major incentives for shareholders. The stock is a “good portfolio hedge against volatility,” said Jayesh Bhanushali, assistant … [Read more...] about Aramco-style dividend is what LIC investors seek post flop debut

The Biden administration appeared to reverse its previous position that it wouldn’t consider an oil export ban Tuesday. “I can confirm the president is not taking any tools off the table,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm remarked, Reuters reported. “If you had a ban on crude oil exports, because you’re cutting off supply to the global market, you are going to have higher global crude prices and higher global refined product prices that would be fed through here,” said Garrett Golding, a business economist tasked with analyzing energy markets at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the administration hasn’t ruled out a petroleum export ban Tuesday, an apparent reversal of its previous position on the policy. Granholm’s comments appeared to suggest President Joe Biden was open to both an oil export ban and export ban on refined products like gasoline or diesel fuel. The energy secretary promised in December that a crude oil export … [Read more...] about CRUDE FLIP-FLOP: Biden’s Energy Sec Now Open To Oil Ban, But Will It Actually Lower Gas Prices?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Dads are notoriously hard to shop for because they often buy themselves whatever they need. However, the right wardrobe staple can make a much-appreciated gift for Father’s Day. After all, most dads don’t spend a lot of time shopping for clothes and finding him something sustainably-made that’s high quality adds extra meaning to the gift. Knowing where to buy ethical and eco-friendly menswear isn’t always obvious, so the added touch of introducing him to sustainable brands is meaningful. In fact, men are known for their brand loyalty, so even if the dad in your life isn’t buying sustainable clothing yet, he has a good chance of becoming a loyal customer to whatever brands you buy for him if they’re well-made and stylish. The following are sustainably-made wardrobe staples dad is sure to love for Father’s Day. Blanket Shirt by Outerknown, $148 The name alone is a huge selling feature on this Blanket Shirt by Outerknown . … [Read more...] about Father’s Day Gift Guide: Sustainable Wardrobe Staples Dad Will Love

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin John Meadow, CEO of LDV Hospitality, oversees a portfolio that includes more than 20 restaurants and bars, located everywhere from Miami to Chicago to Las Vegas. In 2004 Meadow opened his own bar, one of the first roof-decks in New York, followed by his debut restaurant in the Meatpacking District, which wrong time, wrong place was a bit of a flop. For Meadow, his career really began when he launched Scarpetta in 2008 to much critical acclaim, including a James Beard Foundation nomination for best restaurant in the country. And in 2019, he brought the celebrated brand to London with the opening of Sette at The Bvlgari Hotel in Knightsbridge. You have previously described the Scarpetta approach as “comfortable but aspirational”—how do you achieve that? The high-low balance of comfortable but aspirational, effortless elegance, the art of sprezzatura is at the core of everything we do at Scarpetta. The philosophy of the … [Read more...] about Sette At The Bvlgari Brings A New York Energy To London

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It ought to be the best of times for online education. Nearly everyone who’s learning is doing so online. Teachers and other school leaders are being online educators by necessity and many millions of learners, across all levels, are experiencing online learning products firsthand. Both sides of the education equation are seeing it, touching it, taking online learning for a prolonged, if unexpected, test drive. And, at this same moment, one of the early brand names of online learning - Coursera - is wooing investors and going public. Under somewhat normal circumstances and for nearly every other kind of marketplaces, that kind of exposure is priceless. Contemplate, for a second, what electric car companies would pay to get every driver in the world into an electric model for a solid year. But instead of celebrating, we may be entering the worst of times for online education. That’s because, if you’re going to … [Read more...] about The Worst Of Times For Online Education

It was one of the more spectacular TV flops of the 21st century. Late in the second term of President George W. Bush, in 2007, Fox News decided that it had the right-wing alternative to Comedy Central’s popular and influential The Daily Show with Jon Stewart . The 1/2 Hour News Hour would puncture liberal pieties and media bias in the fashion that Stewart and his cast of fake correspondents fired barbs at conservatives and right-wing media like Fox News. The show tanked—hard—more or less after the pilot aired in February 2007. And with its failure, modern progressives (and future leftists) had all the evidence they needed: Conservatives weren’t funny. advertisement advertisement For the last 15 years, that take—frequently informed by one failed late-night show—has stuck among anyone who isn’t a conservative. But all the while, right wingers were making comedy—and succeeding. Some of it flew under the radar in subterranean clubs and YouTube channels, … [Read more...] about Why you need to take right-wing comedy seriously

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Dustin Snyder is the founder of Wayforward , a Strategic People Leadership firm focused on organizational development and engagement. In the early 1500s, Hernán Cortés led an expeditionary force into the Aztec Empire. When his force had disembarked on shore, he set fire to the fleet of ships they’d used to cross the Atlantic. This dramatic, intentionally dire act sent a clear message to the men he led: There was no turning back. They would succeed in their endeavor, or they would die trying. Although he may not have been the first in history to do so, we generally attribute the phrase “burn the boats” to Cortés’ act. It’s indicative of a mentality in pursuit of success with no retreat from an objective. And this is the mindset a human resources (HR) professional needs to dive into organizational development successfully (OD). Without it, they’re not the correct part of the organization to lead OD initiatives. … [Read more...] about Transitioning From Human Resources To Organizational Development