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Netflix will allocate 2 percent, or about $100 million, of its cash holdings to financial institutions and organisations that directly support African American communities in the United States, the streaming giant said on Tuesday. The company said in a blog post it will start with $35 million, of which $25 million will be moved to a new fund, "Black Economic Development Initiative", and $10 million will go to Hope Credit Union for creating opportunity in underserved communities. The move comes as US companies face increasing pressure from investors, consumers and workers to take action against widespread racial inequality after the death of African American George Floyd in police custody. “This capital will fuel social mobility and prosperity in the low- and moderate-income communities these groups serve,” Netflix said on Tuesday. CNBC notes that this decision was announced a week after the streamer's CEO Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin donated $120 million...

Jim Carrey is not doing well at all. At the start of the novel Memoirs and Misinformation , we find Carrey, its protagonist, in the midst of an existential crisis, crushed by self-doubt, and confined to his Los Angeles home, where he subsists on a diet of Netflix, YouTube, and TMZ . His successes as an actor, in projects both comedic and dramatic, are distant objects in the rearview mirror, and now he is fixated on his own inevitable demise, and the eventual end of the universe. So begins a satirical adventure in which Carrey plumbs the chasms of Hollywood’s self-obsessed culture. While he searches for meaning in his life and career, this Carrey is also trying to choose among starring roles in a Mao Zedong biopic and studio movies based on children’s toys; contending with catastrophic wildfires, an all-female cadre of eco-terrorists and a UFO invasion; and rubbing elbows with the likes of Nicolas Cage, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins. The Jim Carrey of Memoirs and Misinformatio...

As Kareena Kapoor Khan completes two decades in the Hindi film industry on Tuesday, the Bollywood star says she is overwhelmed by the love and support she has received since her debut Refugee . Directed by JP Dutta, the romance drama, which released on 30 June, 2000, marked Khan and Abhishek Bachchan's debut in Hindi films.  Refugee  was Dutta's follow-up to the 1997 blockbuster Border and was moderately successful at the box office. Khan took to Instagram and shared a picture of the first shot from the film. Here is her post View this post on Instagram My first shot was at 4 am... I woke up this morning at 4, looked in the mirror, and said to myself that this was the best decision I could have ever taken. 20 years of hard work, dedication, and self-confidence... ❤️ I am extremely grateful to all my fans for all your love, support, and strength... Thank you #JPDutta for my life in the movies... @bachchan for being the sweetest ...

The findings of a global digital overview released this January noted that over 4.5 billion people were using the internet at the start of 2020. There were over 3.8 billion active social media users, and “the latest trends suggest that more than half of the world’s total population will use social media by the middle of this year,” the report observed. Those numbers, while telling, don’t even begin to paint a picture of just how much social media has come to shape modern life. An acknowledgement of the phenomenon occurred a decade ago, when 30 June was declared “World Social Media Day”. Incidentally, The Social Network — about Facebook’s founding — was released that same year. But for the definitive film about social media, we probably need to look to Matt Spicer’s 2017 black comedy, Ingrid Goes West . Ingrid Thorburn (Aubrey Plaza) battles an undisclosed mental health condition.  When Ingrid pepper spays a social media influencer for not sending her a wedding invite — full dis...

In the climactic sequence of Shrek 2 (2004), Prince Charming is trying to seduce Princess Fiona as Fairy Godmother sings Bonnie Tylor's popular track ' Holding Out For A Hero.'  " Where have all the good men gone?, " she sings in the background. When Charming attempts to kiss, and Fairy Godmother finishes the song with "I need a hero," Fiona's husband Shrek barges in to rescue the princess. This chain of events entails all the subversions the makers of Shrek 2 incorporated into the narrative of the animated film. One of its directors, Kelly Asbury, passed away on Monday at the age of 60 after a battle with cancer. He was a Disney veteran, who worked as a story artist and visual development artist in animated fairy tale films like The Little Mermaid (1989) and Beauty and the Beast (1991) among others. But when he got down to Shrek , the idea was to flirt with the expectations of Disney fairy tale fans and turn the tropes from those stories on the...

New Zealand: A tiny pacific island nation that’s making world headlines in 2020, and for all the right reasons. Having been historically clubbed together with, or sometimes even mistaken for, Australia (much to the chagrin of New Zealanders!), the country has finally built a very exclusive reputation for itself. Being Covid-free, or very nearly so, at a time when the rest of the world is still on fire – is no mean feat. Just like all other countries who have managed to contain the spread of this deadly disease, New Zealand too implemented a strict lockdown to achieve this; among the strictest in the world.  But as the lockdown slowly eased, catch-ups with friends & family, enjoying outdoor activities, and flocking to public places were among the first social behaviours seen in New Zealanders. A recent rugby game saw Auckland’s Eden Park stadium packed to capacity – a phenomenon not witnessed for a long time, even pre-lockdown. Malls and popular outdoor spots started to s...

Actor Aamir Khan has informed that some of his staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. The infected people were quarantined and taken to the medical facility by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials. (Click  here  to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak) The actor wrote on Twitter that “the rest of us have all been tested and found negative.” The Dangal star said that he was taking his mother to get tested and urged his followers to pray that she came out negative too. Check out the post pic.twitter.com/TATvKCf6gf — Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) June 30, 2020 Aamir thanked BMC for taking care of his staff and fumigating and sterilising the entire society. He also expressed gratitude towards doctors, nurses, and staff at Kokilaben Hospital for being caring and professional with the testing process. The Rang De Basanti actor lives with wife Kiran Rao and their son Azad Rao Khan at his Mumbai residence. Aamir’s daughter Ira Khan joined them du...

A star-studded recreation of the iconic film The Princess Bride is coming to mobile video platform Quibi. Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas, Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Jack Black, Rob Reiner, and more are set to appear, as per Fox News . The reimagining of The Princess Bride, which will be broken into Quibi's 10-minutes-or-less segments, was filmed at home by its stars while in quarantine and started airing from Monday, 29 June,  Vanity Fair reported . The program is set to raise funds for the World Central Kitchen, which has provided food relief amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak) Filmmaker Jason Reitman told the outlet, "The week that the stay-at-home order came through in California, I just woke up one of the first mornings, I think like most people did, feeling as though, 'All right, I need to be able to do something of value.'" "I just thought, can we remake an entire movie at home? And, I had seen ...

Sooryavanshi and 83,  two of the most highly-anticipated films, had their releases pushed back due to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. Now, PVR Cinemas has announced the new release dates. While the Akshay Kumar-led  Sooryavanshi will hit cinemas on Diwali, 83's release is set for Christmas. Here is the post Exciting times ahead.. Gearing up to release Rohit Shetty's Sooryavanshi on Diwali and Kabir Khan's 83 on Christmas this 2020! pic.twitter.com/JojLypeiro — P V R C i n e m a s (@_PVRCinemas) June 30, 2020 Reliance Entertainment Group CEO Shibashish Sarkar confirmed this development to Bollywood Hungama .  He said the company hoped the situation would revert to normal by the festival season. Hindustan Times writes there were speculations that Sooryavanshi and 83 might be out on OTT, but director Kabir Khan had said his sports drama has been made to be experienced on the big screen. "We are ready to wait for things to get normal a...

Colin Kaepernick is joining with Emmy-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay on a Netflix drama series about the teenage roots of the former NFL player’s activism. Colin in Black & White will examine Kaepernick’s high school years to illuminate the experiences that shaped his advocacy, Netflix said Monday. “Too often, we see race and Black stories portrayed through a white lens,” Kaepernick said in a statement. “We seek to give a new perspective to the differing realities that Black people face. We explore the racial conflicts I faced as an adopted Black man in a white community, during my high school years.” Kaepernick, born to a white mother and Black father, was adopted in Wisconsin by a white couple who moved to California when he was a child. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback began kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racial inequality, drawing both support and criticism, with his detractors including President Donald Trump. Kaepernick be...

Akshay Kumar said theatres have the "first birthright" over movies and though he's excited his upcoming Laxmmi Bomb will stream digitally, he feels sad it couldn't release on the big screen. The horror-comedy is set to stream on Disney+Hotstar, bypassing a theatrical release as screens remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The streamer announced its slate of seven films which will have a direct-to-digital release, including Ajay Devgn's Bhuj: The Pride of India , Abhishek Bachchan starrer The Big Bull , and Sadak 2 , featuring Alia Bhatt. In a virtual press conference, Kumar said OTT release was the only wise option in the current scenario. "To be honest, today I am excited for this platform. But yes, I'll say that I am also sad for theatres. After all, movies are theatres first birthright. But in the current situation, everyone's safety is of utmost priority. "Today with theatres being shut and people watching movies on OTT platf...

A UK High Court judge ruled Monday that actor Johnny Depp violated a court order by failing to disclose evidence relating to his drug use to lawyers for British tabloid The Sun , which he is suing for libel. Judge Andrew Nicol deferred a decision on whether to throw out Depp’s claim against The Sun as a result. He said he would rule as soon as possible. Depp is suing the newspaper’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, and Executive Editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article claiming the actor was violent and abusive to his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Depp strongly denies being violent, and the emotionally charged case has drawn in celebrities including Depp’s ex-partners Vanessa Paradis and Winona Ryder and Heard’s former paramour Elon Musk. The trial is due to open at the High Court in London on 7 July. But The Sun’ s lawyers argue the case should be dismissed because Depp failed to disclose text messages he exchanged with an assistant showing that he tried to buy “MDMA and other narcotics”...

The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards will still go ahead despite the coronavirus outbreak, making it the first major awards show to occur in a physical venue since the pandemic. An MTV spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday, 29 June, that the show will take place 30 August at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement during a briefing on Monday, explaining that “the event will follow all safety guidelines, including limited or no audience" at the 19,000-seat indoor venue. MTV said some VMA performances would take place at unspecified New York landmarks. It was not clear how many performances would be live. The youth TV network said in a statement that details and potential options for the show would come later “based on the science and data in New York.” Award shows traditionally feature large numbers of performers, guests, audiences, and stage crews, and have been relegated to online or prerecorded...

The Indian government passed a directive on Monday to ban 59 apps that had Chinese links. TikTok, one of the most popular social media platforms, also came under the radar, and was included in the list of rejected apps. Home to multiple social media sensations, TikTok has had a tumultuous run in Indian waters. The government took up a similar stance of banning the app once before, but it returned with renewed vigour, making millions sway to comedy clips and lip-sync videos. Next to YouTube, in terms of followers and popularity, TikTok gave rise to several Indian stars who boasted followers ranging from a few thousand to several million. Here’s a list of Indian TikTok stars Manjul Khattar Known for his numerous grooming videos on men, Manjul Khattar’s TikTok account reflects 14 million followers. After being a well-known face on social media (since he had already opened a YouTube channel before people began feeling his presence on TikTok), Manjul bagged commercial brands like One Pl...

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Monday, 29 June, announced he was taking a “hard pause” on when movie theatres in the city can reopen, citing an increase in coronavirus cases. Los Angeles County is the biggest movie theater market in the United States. “We have hit a hard pause on opening any more businesses such as movie theatres, bowling alleys, playgrounds, concert halls, theme parks or other entertainment venues,” Garcetti said at a news briefing. He did not give a date for when movie theaters in Los Angeles might be given the green light to reopen. The theatre business has been devastated by the coronavirus shutdowns that began in mid-March, laying off tens of thousands of employees and borrowing funds to stay afloat. Garcetti said the rise in coronavirus cases in Los Angeles in the last few days meant that it was “time for a collective course correction.” Meanwhile, AMC Theaters, the largest chain in the US, is pushing back its plans to begin reopening theaters by two we...