Acclaimed 1970s soul singer, Bill Withers died on Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 81. His death was announced in a statement by his family, which said he died of “heart complications.”
Withers is known for his smooth baritone vocals and soulful arrangements. He was already in his 30s when he released his first album, Just as I Am, in 1971. The album included the hit “Ain’t No Sunshine” which reached the Billboard Top 10.
His hit “Lean on Me,” an anthem of friendship and support, hit No.1 in 1972. Withers is also known for hits like “Use Me” (1972), “Lovely Day” (1977), and “Just the Two of Us” (1981). After his 1985 album Watching You Watching Me, Withers stopped recording and performing due to frustration with the music business.
“He spoke honestly to people and connected them to each other,” the statement by his family read. “In this difficult time, we pray his music offers comfort and entertainment as fans hold tight to loved ones.”
According to a recent Live Q&A on Instagram via Screenrant Dwayne, The Rock Johnson revealed that plans are already moving forward for the sequel to last year’s The Fast and Furious Present Hobb and Shaw. The spinoff focused on Hobb (Introduced in Fast 5) and Shaw (Introduced in Fast 7) as the unlikely duo team up to stop a criminal superpower man played by Idris Alba. The movie is a massive departure from the original series (granted you could say that about every movie past Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift). However, that didn’t stop the movie from becoming one of the most successful films of the franchise and 2019, in general, earning 700 million worldwide.
Before this, the only confirmation of any plans for future sequels came from Fast & Furious writer Chris Morgan previously confirmed the plan is to bring back the spinoff’s mystery villain, the director of the Eteon organization in the future. Chris Morgan also wrote Hobbs & Shaw. When speculating why there hasn’t been much news about the project, the conclusion is the busy schedule of each actor (especially The Rock). However, with Hollywood pretty much on lockdown, major Hollywood projects have been put on hold.
During the Live Q&A. The actor confirmed, “We are developing now the next film, the next [Hobbs & Shaw] movie, and I’m pretty excited about it.” He went on to say he and the rest of the Hobbs & Shaw team “Just gotta figure out the creative right now, and the direction we’re going to go” before thanking fans around the world for making the first movie “a huge success.”
While this is good news for the franchise going forward, keep in mind that with Hollywood in lockdown, there is no way of knowing how long it will take for any of this to go through. As of now, no movie has debuted on theaters, while other movies are releasing digitally. The latest film in the Fast and Furious franchise F9, was placed on hold with no real release date given.
IOC president Thomas Bach said in his statement: “I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government, and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge.
Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori (center table) made the announcement at a news conference on Monday
“Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”
International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons added: “When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport.
“With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games 512 days away, the priority for all those involved in the Paralympic movement must be to focus on staying safe with their friends and family during this unprecedented and difficult time.”
As we explained before, while the Olympics are massive events that draw the entire world, they create enormous schedule shifts for other events. The World Athletics Championships, originally set to take place in Oregon, USA, between 6 August – 15 August 2021, will now be postponed until 2022.
Tickets are still valid for people who bought them earlier, and they are entitled to refunds if they wish.
Tokyo 2020 organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said he had proposed the 23 July to 8 August time frame to the IOC, and that Bach had agreed, following consultations with the international sports federations.
“A certain amount of time is required for the selection and qualification of athletes and for their training and preparation, and the consensus was that staging the rescheduled Games during the summer vacation in Japan would be preferable,” Mori said.
“In terms of transport, arranging volunteers and the provision of tickets for those in Japan and overseas, as well as allowing for the Covid-19 situation, we think that it would be better to reschedule the Games to one year later than planned, in the summer of 2021.”
Despite changing their dates, the 2020 Olympics are still keeping the title. Keeping the title is probably meant to keep the consistent pattern of the games. The Olympics is the largest event to be canceled due to the Coronavirus. The world has been on a standstill as countries are locking down their borders, along with quarantine orders. The hope is that by the time the Olympics return, the world is back to normal.
With China re-opening its Hubei district (where the coronavirus originated), and the country also taking further steps to contain the virus. Other moves are being made to bring back a sense of normality; one of these steps is to bring back movie theaters. China closed down most of its theaters back in January during the early days of the outbreak. According to The Hollywood Reporter, China is starting to re-open approximately 600-700 movie theaters.
“An estimated 600 to 700 Chinese movie theaters open for business,” and now to boost business, all four Avengers movies, Avatar, Inception, and Interstellar will be re-released. Hollywood Reporter explained that a source at one of China’s nationwide cinema operators told them that “whenever the DCPs reach the cinemas,” the films will be available to them. In addition to this, the article notes that the Hollywood studios re-releasing their films in China will still “receive their usual 25 percent share of sales.”
Releasing some of the biggest blockbusters of the last 10 years (and Avatar) will allow nostalgic fans to go to the theaters. As for local filmmakers according to The Hollywood Reporter:
“Over the past week, China’s Film Bureau has introduced measures to help address the bottleneck. In a deal hashed out with Chinese studios last week, state-backed distributor China Film Group said it would allow local theaters to rerelease a raft of past local blockbusters — including Wolf Warrior 2, The Wandering Earth and Wolf Totem, among others — while giving cinemas the right to keep 100 percent of ticket revenue.”
The closed down of theaters has had a strong impact in different markets such as Italy. Movies such as No Time to Die, F9, and Sonic The Hedgehog had their international release days postpone. While this news doesn’t mean that we will start seeing newer movies arrive in theaters, it is a step in the right direction. The only way for studios to see if the theater openings are worth bring the newer movies to them is all going to come down to how much revenue will be made. While 600-700 theaters is a large number, it is not enough to justify new movies trying to break even.
Recently Troll 2: World Tour was announced to release both theatrical and digitally at the same time. Black Widow stars are also campaigning for Black Widow also to be released digitally. While I am on board with movies being available for both theater and streaming at the same time, there is something magical about experiencing a movie in theaters for the first time.
The Prince of Whales has tested positive for coronavirus, Clarence House has announced. “Prince Charles, (71), is displaying mild symptoms, but otherwise remains in good health, ” a spokesman said, the Duchess of Cornwall, 72, has been tested but does not have the virus.
Prince of Wales, 71, tests positive for coronavirus and has mild symptoms "but otherwise remains in good health" https://t.co/cQWwM4rHmP
As of now Charles and Camilla are self-isolating at Balmoral.
It is essential to point out that it takes up to 14 days for symptoms of the coronavirus to manifest. According to Buckingham Palace, the Queen last saw the prince, the heir to the throne, on March, 12, but was, ‘in good health.’ The Duke of Edinburgh was not present at that meeting, and that the Queen was now, “Following all the appropriate advice with regards to her welfare.”
A Clarence House statement read: “In accordance with government and medical advice, the prince and the duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland. The tests were carried out by NHS is Aberdeenshire, where they met the criteria required for testing,” the statement continued, “it is not possible to ascertain from whom the prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks.”
According to reports, the Prince is following government procedures by staying in self-isolation. However, he is still active and in good spirits. As for the Queen, she is in good health and is taking all the proper steps to maintain her health. The American government has recently closed all travel between the U.S and U.K to control the outbreak of coronavirus. The number of coronavirus deaths in the U.K. stands at 427, with more than 8,000 confirmed cases of the virus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered a “complete” lockdown of India.
Modi said the lockdown would start at midnight local time, would last for a minimum of 21 days, and would apply to all of India’s 36 states and territories.”You have seen the worldwide situations arising from the coronavirus pandemic in the news. You have also seen how the most powerful nations have become helpless in the face of this pandemic,” Modi said in a live televised address to the nation on Tuesday evening ahead of the deadline.
The order marks one of the biggest lockdowns too date, with India having the world’s second-largest population. Much like America, essential workers are still allowed to go to work. However, all shops, commercial establishments, factories, workshops, offices, markets, and places of worship will be closed, and interstate buses and metros will be suspended. Construction activity will also be on a halt during this period. As for the financial impact that this might have on their economy Modi, on Tuesday, pointed out countermeasures that are in place to prevent this. Deadlines to file tax returns have been extended by three months, charges on minimum bank balances have been waived, and no fees will be charged for using other banks’ ATMs.The threshold for invoking insolvency has been raised to $131,000 from $1,300.
On the other hand, China announced that it was lifting its lockdown on the province of Hubei, where the coronavirus pandemic began. Allowing its 60 million residents to leave, ending nearly two months of lockdown.
With America also going under lockdown, it almost feels surreal that almost the whole world is closing down. With that said, China’s lift on Hubei at least gives hope that the lockdown will soon end.
