With critics' groups across the country starting to hand out their awards, the Oscar race is officially on. Cinemablend's Sean O'Connell joins us to handicap the major categories. With no clear frontrunner, it's anyone's guess which movie is going to break out before the big night.
In the Best Picture category, it's looking like things are boiling down to a showdown between "The Post" and "Lady Bird." O'Connell weighs the pros and cons of each, noting that he thinks the Steven Spielberg political drama is the best movie of the year. We also consider whether "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" could be the franchise's first Best Picture nominee since the 1977 original, "A New Hope."
Then, we tackle the contenders duking it out in the acting categories. Meryl Streep is looking to win her fourth Oscar for her leading role in "The Post." If anyone can stop her, O'Connell says it will likely be "Lady Bird's" Saoirse Ronan or "I, Tonya's" Margot Robbie. As for the actors, "Darkest Hour's" Gary Oldman is pulling ahead as the one to beat for his portrayal of Winston Churchill.
Good communicators, rejoice. You possess the top skill in demand in this year's LinkedIn U.S. Emerging Jobs Report. "The single biggest one is in oral communications," Guy Berger, LinkedIn's chief economist, told Cheddar Thursday. "Nearly every major city in the United States has a shortage in this."
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White says the mixed martial arts league's five-year deal with ESPN puts it in a position to go the distance despite declining linear television trends. "Everything is going digital. Cord cutting is real. It's happening and we see it in all aspects of the business, whether it's pay-per-view or television," White said in an interview with Cheddar Thursday.
Wildlife adventurer Coyote Peterson has been bitten, stung, and poked by a lot of creatures. It may come as a surprise that it's no accident ー he does it for his fans. A Steve Irwin-style adventurer, Peterson is the star and founder of Brave Wilderness, a YouTube Channel with more than 13 million subscribers. He sat down to discuss some of his craziest adventures with Cheddar.
If you're eyeing the coming year for that big vacation you've been meaning to take, gird yourself for higher prices. Flight and hotel prices are edging up around three percent on average, according to Mark Ellwood of Condé Nast Traveler, due in part to higher fuel and labor costs, more long-haul trips, and good old-fashioned supply and demand.
With just a few weeks left in the year, Cheddar is taking a look at the best and worst of what 2018 had to offer. The internet's attention span was shorter than ever this year, with new memes, viral moments, and trending stories dominating feeds on social media every day.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.
Taking Back Sunday is growing up. The band that started in the early aughts as part of the emo scene is about to turn 20 years old ー and to celebrate, it's releasing an evolved rock album, "Twenty." Bassist Shaun Cooper and drummer Mark O’Connell told Cheddar the album is a combination of old and new.
All eyes were focused on Google CEO Sundar Pichai when he testified in front of Congress on Tuesday. But stealing the spotlight was a face in the background ー the Monopoly Man, resurfacing to troll corporate America once again. According to Ian Madrigal, the D.C. attorney behind the viral persona, the mustachioed figure is the ultimate symbol of corporate malfeasance.
2018 was a year of serious advancement in tech. It brought us more driver-less cars, Bitcoin adoption, and more A.I. But as the year dwindles, we're looking to the future, not the past. As we gaze into Cheddar's Crystal Ball, here are our top five picks for the technology that is most likely to advance even further in 2019.
Marketing management platform Traackr found that 72 percent of major brands are dedicating a large portion of their budgets to influencers. And 2018, it seems, has produced hordes of them on social media, from fashion to fitness. So which of them deserve your attention? Here is Cheddar's list of five to watch.
