From a Grammy Award upgrade to the long wait for new Disney flicks, here's what's happening in entertainment.
McCartney Embraces AI
Paul McCartney, who is a 12-time Grammy award winner, raised a bunch of eyebrows by announcing he'll embrace artificial intelligence and plans to use the tech to create a new music for what he called "the final Beatles record."
He told the BBC that the late John Lennon would be part of the new song after AI was able to extract and recreate his voice from an old demo tape.
"We were able to take John's voice and get it pure through this AI so then we could mix the record as you would. It gives you some sort of leeway," McCartney said.
This isn't the singer's first project with AI. Last year at the Glastonbury Festival in England, McCartney performed a duet with an AI-rendered voice of Lennon titled I've Got A Feeling.
Grammy Changes
The Grammy Awards are expanding and are set to dole out even more trophies at future ceremonies.
The Recording Academy approved the addition of three new categories, including Best African Music Performance, Best Pop Dance Recording and Best Alternative Jazz Album.
"These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape," Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement.
Other changes could have implications on your favorite songwriters and producers. The Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year awards have been shifted to the general field, which allows all Grammy voters to decide on a winner rather than just members who practice the same crafts. The implications come in when those not familiar with specific genres cast votes contrary to what has already been deemed "best" by the general public: i.e. Macklemore's 2014 win for 'Best Rap Album.'
Pat Sajak's Exit
After 41 seasons as the host of Wheel of Fortune, 76-year-old Pat Sajak is calling it quits.
The iconic game-show host took to Twitter to break the news and said that the upcoming season would be his last.
"It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it'll keep the clickbait sites busy!)," he wrote. The announcement comes just a few years after Sajak snatched the record of longest stand game-show host from the late Bob Barker, who hosted the iconic Price is Right for a staggering 35 years.
The rumor mill has already begun swirling as fans talk about who will replace Sajak. Ryan Seacrest, who has hosted American Idol since 2002, quickly emerged as a contender. Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw, who broke the news about Sajak's exit, reported that Seacrest "has been talking to the producers of Wheel of Fortune," and shared speculation that he could be the frontrunner replacement option.
Seacrest does have some time on his hands as he recently departed LIVE with Kelly and Ryan.
Disney Delays
We're beginning to see some of the first major implications of the ongoing Hollywood writers strike.
Disney has reworked the release dates for a slew of highly-anticipated projects as writers take to the picket lines, according to Deadline.
Perhaps the biggest shakeup are the changed release dates for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Captain America: Brave New World, starring Anthony Mackie as Cap't, has been pushed back two months to July 2024, Fantastic Four is scheduled for release in May 2025, Avengers: Kang Dynasty is being held off for an additional year and will hit theaters in May 2026, and Avengers: Secret Wars will be released in May 2027.
Other Disney properties impacted by the strikes and delays include Star Wars, Moana, three Avatar films, and Alien.
Xiaohua Yang, professor of international business and director of the China Business Studies Initiative at the University of San Francisco, joins Cheddar News to talk about the history of Lunar New Year.
After a number of tragic subway incidents, the MTA is facing increased pressure to install subway platform screens to help prevent injury or death. However, according to an earlier report from the MTA, installing these prevented measures isn't feasible. New York City Council Member Keith Powers, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Across the country, states are working to redraw their congressional lines in what is often known as gerrymandering. These news lines are expected to determine the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans within the next decade. Senior Counsel for the Brennan Center's Democracy Program, Michael Li, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
AT&T announced earlier today it is spinning off its media properties in WarnerMedia in a merger with Discovery in a $43 billion deal.Scott Rostan, founder and CEO at Training The Street, joined Cheddar to talk about what the unwinding of the telecom giant's Time Warner media properties means for investors. "I think the investor sentiment is they're digesting the new information, and they're looking into the dividend, especially the reduction of the dividend," said Rostan, noting the transaction allows AT&T to focus on its core telecommunications business.
A 2021 report from UK Research and Innovation found that the shipping industry makes up at least 2.5 percent of the world's total CO2 emissions. It's a problem that energy solutions company, Leclanché, is trying to solve. Founded in 1909, the company has been developing and producing batteries for more than 100 years. Today, Leclanché's lithium-ion battery is used to electrify not just ships, but also railroad locomotives, trucks, and specialty vehicles. Cheddar News spoke with Pierre Blanc, chief technology and industrial officer of Leclanché, to discuss.
Amazon is betting that ammonia could be the fuel of the future, participating in a Series A round for the Brooklyn-based company Amogy in December. Amogy aims to de-carbonize transportation with a clean energy system that uses ammonia as a renewable fuel. Amogy is partnering with Amazon on its first commercial product - an ammonia-powered cargo-shipping vessel. Amogy CEO Seonghoon Woo joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
One of the world's largest transport companies is kicking off Black History Month with a new initiative aimed at the next generation of business leaders. Today, FedEx announced the launch of its Student Ambassador Program. Participants selected from eight historically black colleges and universities will receive career guidance from FedEx executives. The program is part of FedEx's ongoing commitment to HBCUs and will also help the company expand its pipeline for diverse talent. Cheddar News welcomes senior vice president at FedEx, Jenny Robertson, and Jerryl Briggs, President of Mississippi Valley State University, to discuss.
"Sing 2" has overthrown "Spider-Man: No Way Home" as the number one film at the UK box office. The animated sequel brought in $8.1 million, in just its two first weekends. However, "No Way Home" is still on track to beat "Avatar" as the number one grossing movie of all time.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has been a driving force for youth mentorship since 1904. The nonprofit organization is launching its annual Big Draft campaign this month in partnership with the NFL, and Artis Stevens, the first Black CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, joined Cheddar to discuss the push for adding more "Bigs" as mentors on his one-year anniversary leading the non-profit organization. "While the NFL is recruiting and drafting more players, they're also helping us to draft more mentors and, particularly, men all the way from across February to all the way to April of this year," Stevens explained.
