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.
Prices at the pump this year reached a seven-year high, and a new forecast from GasBuddy shared with CNN predicts that gas prices will only continue to rise in 2022 and that the national average could even reach $4.00 a gallon; however, analysts at GasBuddy say anything could happen when it comes to gas prices in the future, as the pandemic has made it difficult to make any predictions about the economy. Consumer Energy Alliance federal policy advisor Michael Zehr joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
The record-breaking success of "Squid Game" on Netflix has many media companies competing to produce, stream, and invest in new content from South Korea. Netflix has spent half a billion dollars on developing Korean content this year, and other streaming services are taking note. Seth Schachner, managing director at StratAmericas and digital business executive, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
The two tech- billionaires Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey are the latest voices to discuss the new hypothetical internet called Web 3.0. According to the billionaires, the new concept is just a "marketing buzzword" and cannot exist without venture capitalists or large backing. However, advocates of the Web 3.0 believe this decentralized space is the next big thing to help put ownership back into the hands of the people. Senior News Editor at The Verge, Richard Lawler, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
This year, the games market will generate total revenues of $180.3 billion dollars, a significant increase from 2020. While the industry continues to grow and expand into new spaces, such as the metaverse, there is still plenty of room for growth and reform in this male-dominated market. Katie Robinson, content creator, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Jacob Channel, Senior Economic Analyst at LendingTree, joins Cheddar to discuss some of the most family-friendly metros in the U.S., and tips for house hunting for a family in the new year.
The hit series "Cobra Kai" on Netflix is about to drop the fourth season on December 31. Jacob Bertrand, who plays Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz, joined Cheddar to talk about what viewers can expect from his character in the upcoming season and why it translates so well with new audiences as well as fans of the original "Karate Kid" film. Bertrand also discussed his podcast with series co-star Xolo Maridueña called "Lone Lobos."
The theme for this year's Waterford Crystal Times Square New Year's Eve Ball is the 'Gift of Wisdom.' Waterford Crystal's Master Artisan Tom Brennan joins Cheddar News to discuss the story behind this year's theme, how Covid is impacting New Year's celebrations and some surprising facts about the Waterford Times Square ball.
Ron Gutman, Co-CEO of Intrivo, joins Cheddar News to discuss how the company is creating a test and tech solution for Covid testing called 2Gather, and how it's using data-driven digital diagnostics to make these tests widely available and affordable.
