Alec Baldwin is doubling down on his defense of Woody Allen in the wake of sexual assault allegations. Zimbio's Areeba Abid joins Cheddar to discuss why Hollywood can't decide whether "time's up" for the Oscar-winning director. Diane Keaton is also sticking by her former collaborator, while other stars are pledging to never work with him again.
The Grammys posted historically low ratings for the 60th annual awards ceremony. Abid explains what she thinks the Recording Academy needs to do to turn things around. We also discuss Grammys President Neil Portnow's comments that women need to "step up" to be better represented next year.
Finally, we hit on news that Tom Hanks will portray Mr. Rogers in an upcoming biopic. Abid says the move should put Hanks in contention for his first Oscar nomination since 2000. Despite being a Hollywood favorite, the actor hasn't had much luck with awards season in recent years.
Amazon closed its deal to buy MGM's many content brands for $8.5 billion, and Michael Pachter, a managing director at Wedbush Securities, joined Cheddar News to discuss the e-commerce giant's second-largest acquisition to date and how he thinks it will all pay off. "To make a movie today, you just can't even think about it for less than 30 million bucks, so 4,000 movies, I mean that's several billion dollars worth of assets," he said, noting how it would also add to Amazon's little-known ad-supported IMDb TV service. "I don't know that the IMDb TV guys actually talk to the Amazon Prime Video guys, but a lot of content, it makes the value of a Prime subscription much, much greater, and people are far, far less likely to churn even if they're only buying one package every three months."
Rachel Thomas, the co-founder and CEO of the non-profit Lean In, joined Cheddar amid Women's History Month, to discuss how the organization is taking on issues that continue to impact the workplace through its Circles program. "These are a program that brings women together in small groups, usually 8 to 12, for support, camaraderie, and to learn together," she said. "We also we have a lot of curriculum so women can learn how to navigate workplace biases, how to negotiate with women." Thomas also applauded President Biden's recent call to action on equal pay for women, noting that businesses must do more to be cognizant of inherent gender and racial biases.
Beer brand Heineken recently revealed its foray into the metaverse was something of a joke, but how serious are brands taking the latest craze in general? Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo takes a closer look.
With the highest inflation in 40 years, some retailers say shoppers are reaching their limits. Efforts to charge more for items are being met with new resistance from customers, especially on lower-priced apparel and furniture. Marshal Cohen, the chief retail industry analyst at market researcher NPD Group, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the latest trends in consumer spending and how the hike in interest rates might impact wallets moving forward. "What's really impacting the consumer: higher prices, less promotions." He also noted other headwinds for the economy on the horizon including skimpier tax refunds for those who took advantage of child credits and student loan repayments possibly restarting.
Caroline Aaron, who plays matriarch Shirley Maisel on Amazon Prime's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," joined Cheddar News to talk about her "thrilling" turn as the character as well as what to expect in Season Five. “It's very exciting actually to be a part of something so iconic. It's New York, it's the 1950s, and it's about women, so it's like all this and heaven, too," she said. "What it's been like to play Shirley is to walk around with your heart on the outside of your body." The award-winning show will be ending with its fifth season.
Catching you up on what you Need to Know on Mar 18, 2022, with updates on the war in Ukraine, President Biden’s meeting with Xi Jinping, Meta removing a deepfake video of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Britney Griner, vaccine updates, and tech news.
