From Queen Bey's tribute to the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll to the banning of a historic poem, here are your top entertainment headlines.
Note: A major 'Succession' spoiler appears as the last item in today's article. Stop reading after the third story if you're not up to date on Season 4.
BEYONCÉ HONORS TINA TURNER
With the passing of Tina Turner at 83, tributes for the pop legend are pouring in. Among those paying tribute to Turner are other musical legends such as Beyoncé, Cher, and Pete Townshend of The Who. Beyoncé, in particular, stressed that Turner paved the way for her career and so many other musicians. “My beloved queen, I love you endlessly,” Beyoncé wrote on her website. “I’m so grateful for your inspiration, and all the ways you have paved the way."
INAUGURATION POEM BANNED
A South Florida elementary school has restricted the poem read at President Joe Biden's inauguration. Poet Amanda Gorman, who wrote the prose for the event, has vowed to fight back against the ban. “I'm gutted,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Robbing children of the chance to find their voices in literature is a violation of their right to free thought and free speech."
REGAL OWNER EXITS BANKRUPTCY
Regal owner Cineworld has announced plans to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July after restructuring its debt over the last nine months. The British-owned movie theater chain was considering selling all or part of its business, but opted for a restructuring that will wipe out its shareholders and ultimately lead to the firm being delisted. The news marks another milestone in the movie industry's ongoing recovery from the early days of the pandemic.
MAJOR 'SUCCESSION' SPOILER ALERT BELOW: DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU ARE NOT UP TO DATE
BRIAN COX ON 'SUCCESSION' TWIST
The final season of HBO's Succession has gotten plenty of nitpicking from long-time fans, and now star Brian Cox is joining the peanut gallery. Cox said the death of his character Logan Roy early in the fourth season came too soon. “I was fine with it ultimately, but I did feel a little bit rejected," he told the BBC. "You know, I felt a little bit, oh, all the work I’ve done and finally I’m going to, you know, end up as an ear on a carpet of a plane." Series creator Jesse Armstrong separately said he wanted Roy to die early on, so the show could explore the aftermath.
Ashleigh Hinde, Founder and CEO of WALDO, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all.
On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: WALDO CEO breaks down why now is a good time to make eyecare a priority, and how they are democratizing access to eyecare for all; COO at PetDx explains how next-generation sequencing technology is being used to detect cancer in pets early; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'Inside The Mind of a Con Artist.'
Plans to add affordable housing to a development in Yellow Springs, Ohio, were squashed after comedian Dave Chappelle and other community members spoke out against the project. Chappelle threatened to pull the plug on his local comedy club and restaurant projects if the development had been approved.
Jason Moser, Senior Analyst at The Motley Fool, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to talk about the big takeaways from Disney's Q1 report, which showed the company nearing 130 million Disney+ subscribers as parks revenue ticks up.
Shares of Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth surged after the company reported Q3 earnings Wednesday morning, with shares up more than 15 percent at the close of the day's trading session. Despite net revenue declining year-over-year, Canopy beat analyst expectations and has ramped up efforts to develop a "THC ecosystem' in the U.S. Canopy Growth's CEO, David Klein, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the report. He noted that its brands Storz & Bickel vaporizers and BioSteel beverages showed record growth.
Florists are dreading weekend pickups for this year's Valentine's Day, which lands on a Monday. Christina Stembel, founder and CEO of Farmgirl Flowers joined Cheddar News to discuss the challenges presented by shortages caused by supply chain issues, lack of labor, and climate change and how her company is preparing for this year's holiday. “A Monday delivery is just really hard for small businesses like us," said Stembel. "Larger companies have the scale that some of the large transportation carriers will provide a Sunday pick up for Monday delivery, but for small companies like us, that's not an option. So we have to try to convince people to order early."
PLAY, a low-cost airline headquartered in Iceland, is expanding service to New York Stewart International Airport, marking its third destination in the United States. PLAY is the latest affordable carrier to fly onto the scene, debuting its first flights a little more than six months ago. Birgir Jonsson, CEO of PLAY, joined Cheddar to discuss what this expansion means for the airline and what it's been like to lead a new airline during a pandemic. "For us to get into the market now, have the availability of great, brand new aircraft at historically low prices, and basically being able to secure a low operating cost base for the future is a completely rare opportunity," Jonsson said. "We can get into the market now when our competitors are also weak."
