*By Conor White*
"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's new anthology series for Amazon, "The Romanoffs," is about far more than Russia's last royal family, according to one of its stars.
"As I said to Matthew when I was doing this, I have to bone up on the Romanoffs," actor Aaron Eckhart said in an interview on Cheddar.
"And he said, 'Well, not really, because it really has nothing to do with the Romanoffs.'"
The family consisted of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, and five children. After Russia's February Revolution of 1917, Nicholas II abdicated the throne and was later executed with the rest of his house. Within the last 30 years, all the bodies have been discovered and identified through DNA testing. Despite that evidence, whispers remain that one of his children, most likely Anastasia, escaped the killings. (The tsar's youngest daughter inspired the popular animated film, "Anastasia," which was recently turned into a musical.)
The Amazon ($AMZN) series features a different cast in each of its eight episodes, which are all linked by some sort of connection to the famous family ー be it real or fabricated.
Eckhart said it's the relationships between the show's characters ー whether directly linked to the royals or not ー that makes the show special.
"The magical part of the show is that it has thematics, and it has through lines with the Romanoffs," the Golden Globe nominee said. "But it's all these different scenarios with different people all over the world."
The series is creator Weiner's return to television after his seven-season run with "Mad Men" ー the highly-acclaimed show garnered two Golden Globes for "Best Drama Series" and eight Primetime Emmy awards.
It was Eckhart's first time working with Weiner, and he said the experience was "educational, interesting," and "fascinating,"
"It's very surprising and striking and bold. It takes a real genius to figure this all out," Eckhart added.
In the age of binge-watching, Amazon has made the choice to release one episode per week after releasing the first two episodes simultaneously on Oct. 12.
Eckhart is a fan of the move and called it "more traditional." But he admitted he has binged his way through at least one classic series.
"I did binge-watch 'Friends'," he said.
"'Friends' is a very good show."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/meet-the-romanoffs).
Some millennials are vowing to protect the environment along with their relationships when they walk down the aisle ー with "zero waste" weddings. Given the potential for waste ー discarded florals, trimmings, and food ー an eco-friendly wedding is a lofty goal, but it can be done, according to Rachel Sylvester, a lifestyle editor at RealSimple.com.
The holiday season is here again ー and as consumers buy and spend, more personal information is being exposed online. The number and severity of cyberattacks are on the rise, and both consumers and businesses need protection. Shane Wall, chief technology officer at HP and global head of HP Labs sat down with Cheddar on Monday to discuss the state of cybersecurity heading into the new year.
The issue of food waste has the distinction of being a massive sustainability problem, the solution to a worldwide humanitarian crisis, and a dilemma that is eminently fixable. As part of Cheddar's The Future of Food special report, we spoke to two companies at the opposite end of the spectrum ー one a huge multinational conglomerate, the other a Philadelphia-based start-up ー trying to innovate their way out of a $1 trillion problem.
As Cheddar reflects on 2018, we are profiling the most innovative, flamboyant, and often-controversial entrepreneurs and corporate leaders who delivered the year's most memorable moments in business. Cheddar's Class Clown Award Goes to Elon Musk.
The Impossible Burger earned its Halal certification on Monday from the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America, marking a major milestone on the meat industry disruptor's path to feeding the world. Soon the Impossible Burger will be available in grocery stores, too, for home chefs who want to try their hand at cooking the meatless burger. David Lee, the COO and CFO of Impossible Foods, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's plan to "serve the world."
Mattel's newest game, "Silicon Valley Startups," is training the entrepreneurs of the future ー and there's real money on the line. The new game pits entrepreneurs against each other to pitch ideas to investors. In a related contest, one aspiring entrepreneur will walk away with $50,001, thanks to a partnership between Silicon Valley Startups and "Shark Tank" investor Daymond John. Together John and Mattel will award the entrepreneur with "the best of the worst" idea. "I love pitching, I love startups ー and believe it or not some of the worst ideas have become the best things," John told Cheddar on Monday.
Daymond John, an investor on ABC's "Shark Tank," told Cheddar on Monday he's all-in on ride-hailing. And with both Uber and Lyft planning to go public, he's gearing up to invest in Uber, but only once the market has stepped back a bit following the initial public offering. He said he likes the company because his own life would be disrupted if it disappeared. "If Uber or Lyft went away, my life would be disrupted ... I think it's been around for quite some time and I think they're just going to expand globally and I like it," he said.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 10, 2018.
A.I. robot Sophia is getting a software upgrade, one that will inch her ー and perhaps A.I. ー even closer to humanity. According to her creator, not only will Sophia earn her citizenship, she will reach a level of advancement equal to human beings in roughly five to 10 years.
Birchbox wants a bigger piece of the cosmetics market, but courting obsessive shoppers is not part of its plan, according to CEO and co-founder Katia Beauchamp. "We are focused on that non-obsessed consumer, that casual consumer," she said in an interview with Cheddar Friday.
