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Column: The ‘Flash’ that didn’t: How many franchise ‘sure things’ will it take for the movie industry to rethink its future?

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

Michael Phillips | Chicago Tribune (TNS)“Flash,” meet pan.Last weekend at movie theaters, DC’s stand-alone superhero film “The Flash” starring Ezra Miller, twice, and featuring three Batmen (Michael Keaton most prominently), fell short of box office projections. A fiscal disappointment in the works, most certainly. Same for Pixar’s “Elemental,” another film that needs north of $500 million worldwide, and likely more, to break even on its production and marketing.This is coming off Disney’s live-action $250 million remake of “The Little Mermaid,” which has done … eh. Not a hit. Good, actually, certainly livelier than most of the animation-to-live-action adaptations. But it’s a might-see. Not a must.How much longer can this recycling continue?So much red ink this year, though some franchisees did well: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” for one. Director-writer James Gunn, now co-CEO of DC Studios, may well be what’s needed to get people interested in Superman, Batman and the rest of t...

Fox News shuffles prime-time lineup

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

Rocked by the loss of its top-rated opinion host Tucker Carlson, Fox News has overhauled its prime-time lineup in an effort to reverse its recent ratings declines.The Rupert Murdoch-owned conservative news channel announced that Jesse Watters — who has hosted a 7 p.m. Eastern program since Jan. 2021  — will move to the 8 p.m. slot previously held by Tucker Carlson. Watters will remain a co-host on “The Five.”Fox News is also moving Greg Gutfeld’s talk show “Gutfeld!” an hour earlier, to 10 p.m. Eastern. The program is often the most watched show on the network among the 25-to-54 age group coveted by advertisers.Laura Ingraham, the conservative host who has held the 10 p.m. Eastern slot, moves to 7 p.m. Sean Hannity’s nightly program remains at 9 p.m. Eastern.The new lineup takes effect July 17.Scheduling moves are rare on the top-rated cable news channel and were prompted by the sudden dismissal of Carlson, which came just days after Fox News reac...

N.W.T. power corporation fined $200K following death of worker in 2021

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — The Northwest Territories Power Corporation has been fined $200,000 for contravening the territory’s Safety Act after a worker died from injuries he sustained at a Yellowknife power plant in 2021.Michael Chinna, who was in the fourth year of his apprenticeship as a power systems electrician, was hit by falling ice outside an entrance at the Jackfish Lake diesel plant on March 5 that year. Another employee found him outside on the ground unconscious and bleeding from his ears, says an agreed statement of facts in the case.Chinna, 39, was taken to hospital in Yellowknife then sent to Edmonton where he died in hospital on March 14. An investigation by the Workers Safety and Compensation Commission of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut determined melted snow had fallen down a hole in an eavestrough at the diesel plant, causing ice to build up on the west side of the building. A column of ice broke off and struck Chinna, who was wearing required protective equipmen...

First UN investigator at US detention center at Guantanamo says detainees face cruel treatment

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The first U.N. independent investigator to visit the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay said Monday the 30 men held there are subject “to ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law.” The investigator, Irish law professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, said at a news conference launching her 23-page report to the U.N. Human Rights Council that the 2001 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania that killed nearly 3,000 people were “crimes against humanity.” But she said the U.S. use of torture and rendition against alleged perpetrators and their associates in the years right after the attacks violated international human rights law.Ní Aoláin said her visit marked the first time a U.S, administration has allowed a U.N. investigator to visit the facility, which opened in 2002.She praised the Biden administration for leading by example by opening up Guantanamo and “being prepared to address the hardest human rights issues,” and urged ot...

Diego Luna talks filming ‘Andor’ final season and the prospects for Latino actors in the Emmys race

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Diego Luna has mixed emotions about the looming end of his Star Wars series “Andor.”“I am very excited filming, all the time I feel that we are approaching the end and, therefore, the process is lived with a certain melancholy,” the Mexican actor said in a recent interview by video call during a break in shoots in Great Britain for the acclaimed series’ second season.Luna knew the series, about a Rebel spy introduced to fans in 2016’s “Rogue One,” was meant to last only two seasons. But he’s not looking forward to the end.“There is also an inevitable part of saying how sad it is to leave this team, to leave this dynamic, to leave this time living here,” he said.The show has taken a thriller approach to telling the backstory of Cassian Andor, a thief-turned-spy for the rebels resisting the brutal Galactic Empire of the original “Star Wars” trilogy.Luna’s portrayal of Andor’s survive-at-all-costs ethos has made placed him on many shortlists for a drama series actor ...

Chicago business executive and philanthropist Jim Crown killed in Colorado racetrack crash

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

WOODY CREEK, Colo. (AP) — Jim Crown, an executive and philanthropist who recently announced an effort to rally other business leaders to help fight violent crime in Chicago, died Sunday in a car crash on a racing track in Colorado. He was 70.Crown, a grandson of industrialist Henry Crown and the chief executive of Henry Crown & Co., was involved in a single-vehicle accident at the Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, the Pitkin County coroner’s office said in a news release.“The official cause of death is pending autopsy, although multiple blunt force trauma is evident,” said the coroner’s office, which classified the death as accidental.Crown’s father, financier Lester Crown, said his son “was driving a race car, and it hit a wall going around a curve,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.“There never was a finer human being in every way,” Lester Crown said. “He was the leader of our family both intellectually and emotionally, and he looked out for everybod...

Woman in 20s seriously injured after being struck by bus in Brampton

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

A woman has been rushed to a local hospital with serious injuries after she was struck by a bus in Brampton.Peel Regional Police were called to the Queen Street and West Drive area around 1 p.m. on Monday.Paramedics tell CityNews a woman in her 20s was located at the scene with life-threatening injuries and was rushed to a trauma centre.The woman was struck by a bus, police said.Police said westbound traffic on Queen Street is being diverted as Queen is closed from Dixie Road to Highway 410.COLLISION:– Queen St/West Dr #Brampton– Female struck by a bus– Female transported to a trauma center– Westbound traffic on Queen St being diverted– Use alternate routes– C/R at 1:08pm– PR230206910— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) June 26, 2023

Search underway for missing Chicago man diagnosed with autism

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating a missing 21-year-old who has been diagnosed with autism.Tyreik Avants, 21, was last seen near the intersection of 41st Avenue and Drexel Boulevard in Chicago's Oakland neighborhood on Monday, June 26. Search underway for missing Irving Park teen Avants is described as 5-foot-6, weighing 110 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a t-shirt, dark colored pajama pants, and walking barefoot.Avants has been diagnosed as autistic. He can speak, but is known to go long periods of time without speaking.Anyone with information regarding Tyreik Avants' whereabouts are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-747-8380.

Photos show suspect accused of robbing 68-year-old victim on Blue Line

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police seek a male following his alleged involvement in an armed robbery on the CTA Blue Line, the department said Monday.Mass Transit detectives are seeking the public's help in identifying the suspect seen on surveillance video robbing a 68-year-old victim in the 600 block of S. Clinton. According to police, the offender approached the victim by the turnstiles and after a brief confrontation, took the victim's phone and fled.  The offender's age range is 30-40 years old. Anyone with information may leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com.Tipsters may also contact (312) 745-4706.

Old Navy is giving away gas in major US cities – how to qualify

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:52:45 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Old Navy is helping some lucky Americans fill up their tanks before Independence Day this year, starting Monday.Drivers in five cities – Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville and New Orleans – can take advantage of the deal at select gas stations. Some of the gas gift cards will also be given away on social media."While road trips are a beloved family ritual that spark lifelong memories, travelers have become more hesitant to hit the open road amid high fuel costs," Old Navy said in a news release. "As an iconic American family brand, Old Navy aims to aid families traveling for Independence Day, making it easier to hit the open road to celebrate the nation’s birthday." Will the cost of a vacation ever go down? While the average price of fuel is around $3.57 – a whopping $1.33 less than this time a year ago – gas is far from cheap, with the cost of fuel over $4 a gallon in seven states as of Monday.The promotion couldn't come at a better time as the cost of taking a vacat...