New Jersey gov. Phil Murphy has announced that a mandatory curfew has been placed for all movie theaters, gyms, and casinos in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. According to the curfew, as of March 16, all these establishments are to close at 8 p.m and will remain close until further notice to protect against the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the curfew, Restaurants and bars will no longer be allowed to accept dine-in customers after 8 p.m., but will still be permitted to offer takeout and delivery. The establishment will be provided a waiver for carry-out alcohol, officials said.NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said the following in a statement, “We have agreed (New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont) to a common set of rules that will pertain in all of our states, so don’t even think about going to a neighboring state,” he continued, “If you can’t do a party in New York City, you can’t do a party in New Jersey, you can’t do a party in Connecticut.”
The news comes after the announcement that public gatherings of more than 50 people are to be banned, this is something that Gov. Phil Murphy tweeted about a few days ago.
BREAKING: Today, I am recommending the cancellation of all public gatherings of 250+ people, including parades, concerts, and sporting events.
Murphy said supermarkets and pharmacies will not be affected, and that more New Jersey restrictions will be announced later Monday. Following the patterns set by other states, the announcements should involve the closing of public and private schools. New Jersey has seen at least 112 confirmed coronavirus cases, including two deaths while New York has the most cases of any U.S. stater. The story is still developing, and we will be updating as soon as more news becomes available.
I had the honor to attend Fueled by Culture Presents POWERSHIFT, a book launch event where author, entrepreneur, and star of ABC’s Shark Tank Daymond John talk about his journey creating his clothing brand and how those struggles inspired him to write his latest book. Before the show began, I had the pleasure of meeting other influencers and self-made entrepreneurs who were also looking for advice on how to persevere and grow their companies. The atmosphere was welcoming, and you could tell that everyone here was ready to learn from a man that was able to find success and willing to share his knowledge.
SVA Theatre NYC/ Photo by R.Martin
As the event began, Daymond John sat down to discuss the story behind his largest enterprise FUBU, his clothing line centered around American Hip Hop apparel. Daymond Johnsaw a market, not by advertising to the hip hop artists themselves, but by advertising to the people around the artist such as bodyguards. The idea was simple, to have everyone around an artist wear the same gear so that the artist would start to see the appeal and begin to wear the apparel himself. The shirts were advertised as double XL, as it was the style of the time, this allowed FUBU to reach two markets, the regular artist who wore larger shirts, and the more heavyset individual, tackling both markets at the same time is what allowed the brand to grow.
Fueled by Culture Presents POWERSHIFT/ Photo by R.Martin
It wasn’t all smooth sailing asDaymond would explain, “I needed to turn my house into a factory, I sold everything, my mom moved out, I rented out the rooms, and had to sleep on the floor. I did all this so that the rest of the house could be turned into a factory to print out shirts.” He also never left his job in Red Lobster to maintain a constant financial flow. Not only that, but with the help of other Red Lobster employees, he was able to network and move his merchandise.
Daymond John, also reflected on the current world and how social media is the largest platform to start influencing. “The danger of social media,” Daymondexplained, “social media is not about how many followers you have, but what you bring to the table before you approach anyone.” Basically, you must have a brand for yourself before you can call yourself an influencer.
He also talked about the power of negotiation, and the essential rules to be able to get the most out of negotiating. Daymond John explained when he partnered with Samsung to expand his FUBU brand; he needed to convince Samsung to maintain the same price for his product, despite Samsung wanting to lower the costs to compete with other brands. Daymond John explained, “the rule of negotiation is to figure out what is in the best interest of both parties.”
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Pre-order FIVE copies of my new book #Powershift and I'll follow you, AND record a personalized video answering a question you have for me.
Overall, Fueled by Culture Presents POWERSHIFT, was an empowering look at the mind of Daymond John, a man who managed to work hard and find success. Not by luck, but by educating himself and understanding that you need to create a brand for yourself. Even after all the struggles, you will be able to POWERSHIFT into greater success.
The saga of Harvey Weinstein seems to be coming to an end, as the disgraced former movie publisher has been sentenced to 23 years in NY prison. Weinstein was charged for third-degree rape and a criminal sex act as he maintained he simply had consensual “extramarital affairs” with the victims. For a more detailed breakdown of the case, you can take a look at our article.
Harvey Weinstein John Minchillo / AP file
On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the jury ruled to sentence Weinstein to a 23 years sentence to be served in a NY prison. Weinstein was convicted on February 24. Before Wednesday’s final hearing, Weinstein was caught reportedly telling the court he was going through “hell on earth” and was “really trying to be a better person,” this was his final attempt to try to recive a lighter sentence.
Before issuing his sentence, Judge Burke told Weinstein that he will be formally registered as a sex offender. For his conviction on the first-degree count of criminal sexual act, Weinstein was given 20 years in prison plus five years of supervised release. On the other convicted charge, third-degree rape, he was given three years in prison.
Before the sentencing Weinstein attorney Donna Rotunno told the judge, “Mr. Weinstein has a multitude of medical issues, there are lists of things that are physically wrong with him and are serious,” said Rotunno, reading a letter highlighting his medical issues. “Mr. Weinstein has a history of heart disease in his family. This is a situation that the loss of freedom…will affect his ability to get the type of medical care he will need for the list of issues he is dealing with.”
In response to the sentencing, Tina Tchen, president and CEO of the Time’s Up Foundation, issued the following statement: “First and foremost, we are grateful for the courage and strength of Mimi Haleyi, Jessica Mann, Annabella Sciorra, Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young, who bravely testified in court, and we remain in solidarity with the more than 100 survivors who suffered abuse, harassment, and rape at the hands of Harvey Weinstein. The trauma of sexual assault and harassment is lifelong — we can only hope that today’s sentence brings all of the survivors of Harvey Weinstein some measure of peace.”
The statement continued: “We also hope that these women take pride in knowing the impact they have had on our culture at large. Whether by inspiring more survivors to come forward and seek help, changing how the justice system responds to sexual violence, or leading corporate boards to hold more CEOs accountable for toxic workplace culture, the social change catalyzed by these survivors has been nothing short of transformational.”
As mentioned before in our other article, the trail of Harvel Weinstein is one of the most significant movements of the last five years. Not only to the film industry, but the #METOO has had a long-lasting effect on business and politics. While the end of Weinstein’s trial marks the end of what started this movement, the #METOO movement is still going forward and will be seen as an essential movement in our culture going forward.
The rumor mill is spinning again this time for Thor: Love and Thunder. The fourth Thor movie is set the shake up the formula bigger than Thor: Ragnarock did. Takai Watiti is back to direct the latest Thor movie, with a Natalie Portman returning (after being gone since Thor 2), and Tessa Thompson also returning as Valkyrie. The plot revolves around Valkyrie now in charge of Asgard, after Thor left to join the Guardians of the Galaxy, she is in search for a new queen.
While making the rounds to promote his new movie Bloodshot, Vin Diesel in an interview with Comicbook.com was ask if we would see the Guardians of the Galaxy in Thor: Love and Rock. He responded, “Thor will also, the director talked to me about Thor will incorporate some of the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Diesel told ComicBook.com. “That’ll be very interesting, nobody knows, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”
Vin Diesel in the press room for People”s Choice Awards 2016 – Press Room, The Microsoft Theater (formerly Nokia Theatre L.A. Live), Los Angeles, CA January 6, 2016. Photo By: Emiley Schweich
While this might not mean anything, it is important to point out that despite being called Thor: Love and Thunder, the movie centers around Valkyrie. However, in the comic, Jane (Natalie Portman’s character) took on the mantle of Thor, this could fit into the return of Jane in the movie. It is also important to point out that this would mark the first appearance of the Guardians after Avengers Endgame. The planed Guardians 3 was scrapped after director James Gunn was removed from the project. However, after fan backlash, Gunn returned to film the movie. As of now, there is no release date for the third Guardians, but James Gunn tweet wrapping up production on Suicide Squad 2 (a DC film). What do you guys think? Should the Guardians appear in Thor: Love and Rock, or should we wait for an actual stand-alone film.
Thor: Love and Thunder is set to release November 5, 2021 and is directed by Taika Waititi. Starting Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Tessa Thompson
The live-action reboot of Mulan is set to premiere on March, 27 and it is the latest in a long line of Disney live-action remakes. These remakes are meant to bring some of Disney’s classics and reintroduce them to a new audience. While the majority of these movies are a financial success with Lion King and Aladin both breaking the 1 billion mark, that doesn’t necessarily translate to a strong critical response with both movies also getting panned by critics for being unnecessary. Mulan aims to combine the best of both worlds with a strong opening and an excellent critical response. After a strong campaign along with the Superbowl trailer, Mulan is poised for a strong opening weekend.
Ahead of the release, Mulan early screening already started building up positive buzz:
I’ve seen MULAN twice now and I must say it is grrrreat. Easily Disney’s best live action reboot. I think it’s also Disney’s first battle epic? It is beautiful & absorbing & rich & empowering. The cast is excellent and Niki Caro’s direction is just breathtaking.
Just saw the premiere of @mulan and it is truly a beautiful story of a woman with a mission to remain Loyal, Brave and True. You will not regret seeing this in theaters! 🙌🏻 Get ready to be inspired! #mulanmovie#disney#mulan
#Mulan is exciting, vibrant, emotional, and different from the animated version. It's definitely its own thing, which I dug – a more mature Disney film, featuring stunning production design & fight choreography. Director Niki Caro & star Liu Yifei are the big stand-outs, imo pic.twitter.com/p6IEQUDNBu
According to the early buzz, Mulan seems to be an excellent retelling of the original Disney classic. This is great to hear because after seeing the first trailers, I feared that the movie was taking itself too seriously. However, if the early response is to be believed, Mulan stands on its own as a fantastic movie.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that Mulan’s early buzz might not translate to box office success, the Coronavisur has already forced theater shutdowns, and NY in a state of emergency. These hurdles have already hurt the box office results of Onwards. Mulan is set to premiere March 27, directed by Niki Caro. Starting Yifei Liu, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Gong Li, and Yoson An.
