drth f6idrt by robertcal46

SUMMARY

FLORIDA BEACH TOWN WRITES AMAZON TV SERIES TO LURE TOURISTS NEW CLASSROOM HELPS WYOMING WORKERS LEARN VIRTUAL REALITY LUCID AIR: THE FIRST TRUE TESLA COMPETITOR HOW BIG TECH CREATED A DATA ‘TREASURE TROVE’ FOR POLICE

08 18 50 82

HOTTEST SELLER AT GAMESTOP IS ITS OWN STOCK, $1B RAISED 30 HOUSE PANEL PUSHES LEGISLATION TARGETING BIG TECH’S POWER 38 HIT BY A RANSOMWARE ATTACK? YOUR PAYMENT MAY BE DEDUCTIBLE 70 FACEBOOK LAUNCHES PODCASTS, LIVE AUDIO SERVICE 94 DIRTY LAUNDRY IN SPACE? NASA, TIDE TACKLE CLEANING CHALLENGE 100 IN PIXAR’S ‘LUCA,’ YOUNG LIFE AS A STOLEN ADVENTURE 122 ‘HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD’ REALLY MISSES THE TARGET 130 SPIELBERG’S AMBLIN TO MAKE SEVERAL FILMS A YEAR FOR NETFLIX 138 CAN ET SEE US? STUDY FINDS MANY STARS WITH PRIME EARTH VIEW 154 MORE THAN SHOES: NIKE NAVIGATES COMPLICATED TWISTS IN TRACK 160 US HITS ENCOURAGING MILESTONES ON VIRUS DEATHS AND SHOTS 174 AS PASSENGERS RETURN TO AIR TRAVEL, BAD BEHAVIOR SKYROCKETS 180 EU INVESTIGATES GOOGLE’S CONDUCT IN DIGITAL AD TECH SECTOR 190 CHINESE BANKS PROMISE TO STEP UP CRYPTOCURRENCY BAN 198 TOKYO OLYMPICS TO ALLOW LOCAL FANS, BUT WITH STRICT LIMITS 202

MOVIES & TV SHOWS 106 MUSIC 114 TOP 10 SONGS 144 TOP 10 ALBUMS 146 TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS 148 TOP 10 TV SHOWS 150 TOP 10 BOOKS 152

FLORIDA BEACH TOWN WRITES AMAZON TV SERIES TO LURE TOURISTS

Remember that longing you felt after an episode of “Sex and the City” to shop at the characters’ favorite New York haunts and drink cosmopolitans at the same bars? Or that sense of wanderlust for the seaside cliffs of Ireland after watching “Game of Thrones?” Hollywood’s flattering spotlight has put small towns on the map, like Wilmington, North Carolina, from “Dawson’s Creek” and the woods of Senoia, Georgia, from “The Walking Dead.”

And that’s exactly what travel marketers in St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida, were hoping to capitalize on when they commissioned an original, scripted TV series, seeking to draw quarantine-weary tourists to the area’s sugar sand beaches. “Life’s Rewards” aired on Amazon Prime last month. The eight-episode show is based on a charming yet cavalier wealth manager who loses his money and uses travel rewards points to stay at the posh, pink Don CeSar hotel while rebuilding his life. Each episode is only eight to 14 minutes long, and was filmed using a local production company, director and actors. The series cost roughly a million dollars to create, with contributions from the city and the state’s tourism arm. Some of the “ad” spots woven throughout the dialogue are obvious, like the random episode about the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center. But the characters quickly pivot back to plotforwarding dialogue. It’s a quick-hit ad versus the sustained 15- to 30-second hard sell of conventional commercials. At other times, the settings feel natural, like the gay nightclub Blur or a tour of the colorful WhimzeyLand “bowling ball house” in an episode featuring a scavenger hunt. Even the countless gratuitous beach shots mostly feel believable. “I’m watching something and I’m drawn into the show because of the story line, but also the places I’m seeing in front of me,” said Steve Hayes, president of Visit St. Pete Clearwater, who noted that he and his wife frequently 10

talked about visiting Wyoming while watching their favorite show, “Yellowstone.” While sometimes awkward, the characters in “Life’s Rewards” refer to every destination in the scene by name. There were no fake dive bars or coffee shops. “You start to build, ‘Hey, this looks like a really cool place I want to visit,’ and it’s in the background,” said Hayes. “It’s not in the front where you want to go through and hit the fastforward button.” It’s too soon to gauge whether the series has impacted tourism, or even how widely it was viewed. The hospitality industry was hit hard by the pandemic, and tourist towns are eager to seize on the new willingness to travel. That’s put more pressure on destinations to market outside the box. “Every single destination in the world is now looking for that tourism boom. I think it’s more important than it ever has been,” said Alexandra Delf, executive vice president for London-based Grifco, a travel marketing firm. Movie- and TV-inspired travel is so popular that the firm is using pandemic binge shows to promote its biggest clients. Promotional ads note that scenes from Netflix’s “Bridgerton” were filmed near The Gainsborough Bath Spa. “Game of Thrones” packages at Slieve Donard Resort and Spa tout tours where notable scenes were filmed nearby, including Robb Stark’s battle camp and “Red Wedding.” With travel halted during the pandemic, scenic destinations felt even more aspirational. 12

“A lot of what we do in travel marketing is selling that dream of relaxation,” said Delf. “It gives them something to look forward to.” The production company behind the Florida show said scripted shows are a new genre for travel marketing, and that they’re already in talks to shoot some for other cities in the state. “We don’t want people to feel marketed to. We want them to feel lost in the story line and get invested in the characters like any other

show on streaming or TV, but we’re providing a positive context for our destination,” said Brianne Maciejowski, director of film and video for Odyssey Studios. Consumers retain far more from branded content compared to traditional advertising, she said. The Florida TV series ended with a cliffhanger, so a sequel is still possible. “Part of our business model is to help destinations find a voice in this entertainmentfirst world,” said Maciejowski. “There’s a lot more in our future.”

Simply Better Living

SUPERSTEAM+ BUILT-IN WALL OVEN ™

SSC2489DS

The Sharp® SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven is the start of a cooking revolution. With Wi-Fi enabled IoT features, the innovations within this steam oven are a perfect match for modern cooking needs. While regular steam only reaches 212°F, the SuperSteam+ oven can create superheated steam up to 485°F. Steam this hot can roast meats and caramelize sugars so your food can be brown and crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. With the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven, you can grill without smoke, roast without drying, and get the roasty-toasty, tasty results you desire.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Get started right away with built-in recipes and download the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven app* to enable the smart features and access custom recipes powered by SideChef.

The new Sharp SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven features Steam Bake for superior breads, and Water Bath for cheesecakes, custards and puddings.

www.sharpusa.com | simplybetterliving.sharpusa.com *Mobile Application and Home Assistant Skill available upon commercial release. © 2020 Sharp Electronics Corporation. All rights reserved. Sharp, Supersteam™ Oven and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated entities. Product specifications and design are subject to change without notice. Internal capacity calculated by measuring maximum width, depth and height. Actual capacity for holding food is less.

NEW CLASSROOM HELPS WYOMING WORKERS LEARN VIRTUAL REALITY

It took a few minutes to get used to. The classroom full of city of Gillette workers, not students, sat in desks facing the front of the Gillette College Technical Education Center classroom, but they also were faced in all different directions, looking almost like landlocked scuba divers. Unable to see each other but immersed in virtual reality, they smiled, spun and flailed their arms. Although they work in various city departments, they were virtually taken to a coal mine by the black virtual reality headsets strapped to their heads. 19

VR goggles protruded from their faces but inside their minds, they experienced what it’s like to stand in a coal mine from the seat of a classroom chair, the Gillette News Record reports. The blind spot training program that Gillette College Mine Safety and Health Administration Instructor Nick Ullrich walked the city workers through recently is the first of what he hopes becomes many training and teaching programs that can use the college’s new VR classroom. The room is outfitted with 20 virtual reality headsets, each one dangling above a black one-person desk and connected to an intricate network that Ullrich said is more akin to technology at Disney World than a junior college. “It is technology, so there’s so much going on with it right now,” Ullrich said. “I do feel that there’s a shift that’s happening in it from gaming to a training type tool. There are lots of places that are starting to recognize that it’s a great way to train. I feel the shift in that.” For now, the MSHA program at Gillette College plans to use it as part of the 24-hour safety training program. During classroom time, those wearing the headsets can do their blind-spot training through virtual reality, simulating what it’s like to stand next to a 12-foot tire and step into a towering piece of machinery. But long-term, there are endless virtual possibilities for not just the college, but the rest of the community. “We’re going to try and go out and help other parts of industry, not just the mining world,” he said.

BUILDING THE ROOM Ullrich is admittedly not a stereotypical computer guy. After working as a coal miner for 10 years then transitioning into workplace safety, he leaves a lot of the most technical programming aspects to Jacob Claytor, who engineered the blind spot training program and worked the computer syncing all of the VR headsets during the demonstration. “It’s actually extraordinarily new to everybody,” Ullrich said. “The people that we had come and put the tracking device in have never done a classroom like this one. They’ve done stuff for Disney World, but as far as a classroom tool, there’s really nothing like it.” While teaching his federal Mine Safety and Health Administration classes, the VR capabilities allow new miners — some of whom may have never actually stepped foot in a mine — to experience the size and scale of their new workplace, with none of the attached dangers or inconveniences. The primary program Ullrich uses now is for blind spotting training. In the tutorial, users strap on the goggles, grab a motion controller in each hand and transport virtually to a mine. “A lot of places are starting to see the benefits of using it in a training type atmosphere,” Ullrich said. The city of Gillette Safety Committee test drove the technology and were wowed. Although they were smiling and excited through the demonstration, they were there for practical purposes. 22

There are many training possibilities that VR can facilitate, and last test run caused some lightbulbs to go off in the city workers’ minds. Randy Milliron, Gillette’s safety manager, said that CDL inspection is one of the benefits that came to his mind. Before someone gets a CDL, he or she has to master a walk around inspection that he said is often what trips them up during the test. But with VR, they could do a virtual walkthrough dozens of times without wasting an instructor’s time or taking the equipment or vehicle out of use. “Well, if you put the person in virtual reality, they can do that inspection 100 times in one of our vehicles,” he said. “They’ve seen a virtual reality version, they’ve seen our truck. So, their confidence level is higher and their comfort level will be higher.” When he brought the idea to the city’s safety committee, he said the other members started reeling off ideas for how VR could be used. Confined space entry, fall protection, forklift training and even more specific training purposes for the various city divisions were all named as possible uses of VR for the city. Utilities Services Coordinator Billy Houch first introduced VR to the safety committee with his own at-home rig. After experiencing the capabilities for the new VR room firsthand, he recognized the possibilities for it in the future. “Any department can benefit in some way,” Houch said. Image: Lynne Sladky

THE POSSIBILITIES Putting the room together wasn’t cheap, and neither is developing programs for it. Through a combination of MSHA and CARES Act funding, the room cost nearly $500,000 in all. First, the walls and the room itself had to be constructed on the Tech Center’s second floor. Then the equipment and installation ran about $250,000 to $300,000. Programming the blind spot training took Claytor about three months, while also working on other projects. It may take a while to develop training programs for the city or other interested businesses, but having the capability opens up opportunities for the community’s agencies to explore what may someday become a prime method of job training. “It is becoming a bigger and bigger deal as people start to understand and use it,” Ullrich said.

“Once you use it, it’s pretty easy to see how effective it can be for people to go through it and see things in a virtual space rather than the real world.” Academically, the surface has barely been scratched as far as how VR could be implemented in different programs, courses and curricula. “I’m a pretty firm believer in it and I don’t think there’s one class in any college that could say there isn’t something to use VR for,” Ullrich said. “I think virtual reality could be used for any class that you’re teaching.” How the new technology and room will be put to use down the road is yet to be seen. However, Ullrich said the cap, or lack thereof, on its potential is already apparent. “The sky is not the limit,” Ullrich said. “There is no limit in virtual reality.” 27

HOTTEST SELLER AT GAMESTOP IS ITS OWN STOCK, $1B RAISED

GameStop raised more than $1 billion in its latest stock sale, capitalizing on a newly arrived and fervent army of online investors. The video game retailer has taken center stage among a handful of companies that have come to be known this year as meme stocks. The phenomenon has pitted smaller investors who snap up shares of beleaguered companies, against large, institutional investors who have shorted shares of those companies, or bet that shares in those companies will fall. So far, it’s the smaller investors that are taking home big gains, though certainly larger and more sophisticated investors have since jumped aboard for the ride. 31

Shares of GameStop Corp., based in Grapevine, Texas, just outside of Dallas, are up more than 1,000% this year. Another meme stock, the movie chain AMC Entertainment, is up 2,300% this year. Before becoming stars in Reddit retail investor chatrooms, both companies were under severe pressure, but for different reasons. AMC, already wrestling with thin margins, was hammered by a global pandemic that shut down its theaters and flipped the switch on incoming revenue almost overnight. Problems at GameStop run deeper because technological shifts in gaming have threatened to turn it into a relic like another once ubiquitous chain, Blockbuster Video. But GameStop is taking full advantage its surging stock price to raise desperately needed cash. The company said this week that it sold 5 million shares in the at-the-market offering, or every share it said that it might put on the market. It was the second cash haul for GameStop this year during the run-up in its stock price. In April the company said that it would sell up to 3.5 million shares in a separate offering. That offering also sold out and it raised about $551 million. The most recent capital raise neared $1.13 billion. Shares of GameStop, which could be had for about $20 early this year, were selling for close to $213 Tuesday afternoon after rising another 9% at the opening bell on word of the capital raise.

GameStop, in addition to raising capital, is also shifting direction in a bid to catch up to the changing technology that threatened the company’s existence, namely that gamers are downloading games rather than buying discs from places like GameStop. And a lot of new talent has arrived this year to try to make that happen. Ryan Cohen, the co-founder of Chewy, an online pet supply company, revealed that he had compiled a massive stake in GameStop and began agitating for change. Earlier this month, the company reshaped its executive leadership team and its board, making Cohen its chairman. Under new leadership, the company is attempting to move aggressively into digital sales and earn a loyal following in ways other than its stores that had generated enormous revenue for almost two decades. 35

HOUSE PANEL PUSHES LEGISLATION TARGETING BIG TECH’S POWER

A House panel pushed ahead Wednesday with ambitious legislation that could curb the market power of tech giants Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple and force them to sever their dominant platforms from their other lines of business. Conservative Republican lawmakers haggled over legislative language and pushed concerns of perceived anti-conservative bias in online platforms but couldn’t halt the bipartisan momentum behind the package.

The drafting session and votes by the House Judiciary Committee are initial steps in what promises to be a strenuous slog through Congress. Many Republican lawmakers denounce the market dominance of Big Tech but don’t support a wholesale revamp of the antitrust laws. The Democratic-majority committee made quick work of arguably the least controversial bills in the package, which were approved over Republican objections. A measure that would increase the budget of the Federal Trade Commission drew Republican conservatives’ ire as an avenue toward amplified power for the agency. The legislation, passed 29-12 and sent to the full U.S. House, would increase filing fees for proposed tech mergers worth more than $500 million and cut the fees for those under that level. A second bill would give states greater powers over companies in determining the courts in which to prosecute tech antitrust cases. Many state attorneys general have pursued antitrust cases against big tech companies, and many states joined with the U.S. Justice Department and the FTC in their antitrust lawsuits against Google and Facebook, respectively, last year. The measure drew many Republican votes and was approved 34-7. The panel then dug into a complex measure that would require online platforms to allow users to communicate directly with users on rival services. Proponents said it also would give consumers more power to determine how and with whom their data is shared.

The advance of the massive, bipartisan legislation comes as the tech giants already are smarting under federal investigations, epic antitrust lawsuits, near-constant condemnation from politicians of both parties, and a newly installed head of the powerful FTC who is a fierce critic of the industry. The legislative package, led by industry critic Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., targets the companies’ structure and could point toward breaking them up, a dramatic step for Congress to take against a powerful industry whose products are woven into everyday life. If such steps were mandated, they could bring the biggest changes to the industry since the federal government’s landmark case against Microsoft some 20 years ago. The Democratic lawmakers championing the proposals reaffirmed the case for curbing Big Tech as the committee began digging into the legislation. It “will pave the way for a stronger economy and a stronger democracy for the American people by reining in anti-competitive abuses of the most dominant firms online,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the Judiciary Committee chair. “Each bill is an essential part of a bipartisan plan to level the playing field for innovators, entrepreneurs and startup — and to bring the benefits of increased innovation and choice to American consumers.” Conservative Republicans laid down their markers. They insisted that the proposed legislation doesn’t truly attack anti-competitive abuses by the tech industry because it fails to address anti-conservative bias on its social media platforms. 42

And they previewed a fight over legislative definitions. The legislation as drafted would apply to online platforms with 50 million or more monthly active users, annual sales or market value of over $600 billion, and a role as “a critical trading partner.” The new proposals “make it worse,” insisted Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the panel’s senior Republican. “They don’t break up Big Tech. They don’t stop censorship.” The legislation’s definition of which online platforms would fall under stricter antitrust standards could mean that companies such as Microsoft, Walmart and Visa would soon be included, Jordan suggested. “Who knows where it will end?” he said. President Joe Biden’s surprise move last week elevating antitrust legal scholar Lina Khan to head the FTC was a clear signal of a tough stance toward the tech giants. It was top of mind for the conservative Republicans objecting to the new legislation. Khan played a key role in the Judiciary Committee’s 2019-20 sweeping investigation of the tech giants’ market power. The four companies deny abusing their dominant market position and assert that improper intervention in the market through legislation would hurt small businesses and consumers. In a letter to committee leaders Tuesday, a top Apple executive said the proposed legislation “would undermine consumers’ ability to choose products that offer state-of-the-art privacy and security” and would hamper innovation and weaken competition.

Lauded as engines of innovation, the Silicon Valley giants for decades enjoyed minimal regulation and star status in Washington, with a notable coziness during the Obama administration, when Biden was vice president. The industry’s fortunes abruptly reversed about two years ago, when the companies came under intense federal scrutiny, a searing congressional investigation, and growing public criticism over issues of competition, consumer privacy and hate speech. Biden said as a presidential candidate that dismantling the big tech companies should be considered. He also has said he wants to see changes to the social media companies’ long-held legal protections for speech on their platforms. The legislative proposals also would prohibit the tech giants from favoring their own products and services over competitors on their platforms. The legislation was informed by the 15-month Judiciary antitrust investigation, led by Cicilline, that concluded the four tech giants have abused their market power by charging excessive fees, imposing tough contract terms and extracting valuable data from individuals and businesses that rely on them. The legislation also would make it tougher for the giant tech companies to snap up competitors in mergers, which they have completed by scores in recent years. Democrats control the House, but they would need to garner significant Republican support in the Senate for legislation to pass. The chamber is split 50-50 with the Democrats’ one-vote margin depending on Vice President Kamala Harris being the tiebreaker. 47

LUCID AIR: THE FIRST TRUE TESLA COMPETITOR

Tesla might be the first company that springs to mind when you’re in the market for a new electric vehicle, but California-based startup Lucid should not be underestimated. The firm unveiled its breathtaking Lucid Air vehicle last year, offering up to 1065bhp and a claimed maximum range of 517 miles, and last month teased its proprietary operating system that will connect drivers across the United States and around the world. The future is coming.

THE WORLD’S MOST AERODYNAMIC LUXURY CAR Lucid’s debut model, Air, has been described by its engineers as the world’s most “aerodynamic luxury car,” with a drag coefficient of just 0.21; that’s 0.01 less than the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class to give you some perspective. The model offers an unrestricted top speed of more than 230 miles per hour (that’s around 370 kilometers per hour), which makes it the

fastest electric production car on sale. By comparison, the Rimac C Two can reach a top speed of 415 kilometers per hour, but Rimac will only make 150 of them, and they’ll retail for around $2.4 million when they eventually enter manufacturing. The Lucid Air, on the other hand, is a consumer vehicle designed to be sold en masse: it’s the first real Tesla competitor. Although breakneck speeds should not be a priority in modern saloons, Lucid has said that the Air could cover a quarter-mile sprint in 9.9 seconds, making it the first EV saloon to break the ten-second barrier, and what’s more impressive is that the company has confirmed it can be achieved on a “consistent, repeatable basis,” rather than just on warm days on a clear stretch of tarmac. The company has confirmed that the model will be sold in four trim levels, with the standard starting at just $52,100 - it will feature a single electric motor and offers a 240mile range from a 75kWh battery pack supplied by Samsung. A Touring model, on the other hand, offers power of up to 612bhp, range to 406 miles and the list price is $87,500, whilst the Grand Touring offers 789bhp and costs around $130,000 after tax breaks. For those looking for the most souped-up model, the 1065bhp output is priced at $161,500. It’s called the Dream Edition, can reach 0-60mph in 2.5 seconds, is a four-wheel drive, and offers bespoke interior design trimmed in leather and eucalyptus wood with 21-inch wheels. Lucid has said its top-spec model will be strictly limited edition but hasn’t revealed numbers. What’s most impressive about the Lucid Air is that each model is capable of offering 300 miles of range on a 20-minute charge at a DC fast 54

charger, making it the “fastest-charging electric vehicle ever offered” and serving let another blow to Tesla. As consumers are more conscious of their time and range than ever before, these figures will be most welcome. The model first premiered back in 2016, and very little has changed since then, with the EV retaining its distinctive wraparound front light bar, using a ‘microlens array’ system that features thousands of digitally controlled ‘light channels’, and thanks to the model’s long, low silhouette, overhangs and curved edges, the Air lives up to its name and offers aerodynamic efficiency, evident when compared to similar-spec models from other auto manufacturers.

IT’S WHAT’S ON THE INSIDE THAT COUNTS In describing the interior of the Lucid Air, the company makes a bold statement: “Cabin? More like a mansion.” The interior has been designed to offer a light, airy feel, featuring thin window pillars and a glass roof that’s reminiscent of a Tesla. Each trim level comes with five seats as standard, but it’s possible to swap out the rear seats for two ‘executive’style chairs as an optional upgrade, making it the ideal choice for business. A 34-inch curved screen is included in the front of the cabin and you’d be forgiven for thinking that it floats. It offers 5K display quality, rivaling most in-home cinema systems, and features a retractable ‘pilot panel’ touchscreen which allows the drier to control systems and functions such as climate control, battery performance, and incar entertainment, ideal for those long state-tostate journeys. 59

Like any modern automaker, Lucid offers drivers the choice of a bunch of exciting and innovative features. Despite the Air’s mid-size interior, it’s spacious and offers proportions akin to a full-size sedan, and comes with “ultra-luxe features” for the modern user including massaging seats. Yep, you read that right! The vehicle ingeniously maximizes storage in what it says offers “SUV-levels” of space. The clamshellstyle decklid opens to reveal a large bi-level trunk, while beneath the hood you’ll find an enormous frunk - around four times larger than other electric cars. There a number of other storage spots inside the cabin, like generous door pockets, and a bonus compartment behind the retractable Pilot Panel. It’s interesting to note that not all of the controls on the Air are digital - which makes a nice change and sets a new precedent. Indeed, there are precision-milled physical buttons that are used for the ribbed steering wheel functions and climate control, and a partnership with Amazon means that Alexa voice-recognition software comes as standard, useful for phone calls, music streaming, smart home control, and navigation; convenient and easy to use.

INTRODUCING LUCID UX One of the reasons why Tesla has managed to carve a name for itself in recent years is not only its pricing and hardware but awardwinning proprietary software. Lucid aims to do the same, and last month unveiled Lucid User Experience, something it calls the “constellation of technology designed for intuitive, effortless, and elegant interaction with Air.” Speaking of the launch, Derek Jenkins, Senior VP of Design and 60

Brand, Lucid Motors, said that Lucid UX was a “truly innovative human-machine interface that is easy-to-use and aesthetically beautiful,” that “retains specific aspects of a traditional physical interface and pairs those with an innovative digital form factor that’s highly advanced and ergonomic, providing intuitive access to all vehicle systems.” The result is something that looks - and performs - like magic. Lucid says that its software was designed to be “warm and inviting” with a graphical interface that’s themed on the interior of the Lucid Air, inspired by California. It’s a user interface that combines touchscreens wraith physical touchpoints, like the climate controls and window switches, which offer clear tactile feedback. Unifying the digital and physical also extends to the 21-speaker Surreal Sound system, which also features the world’s first integration of Dolby Atmos. The system will direct sound with precision throughout the interior of Lucid Air, creating an incredible in-car audio experience and offering directional auditory cues for alerts, notifications, and warnings to the driver and passengers. Lucid UX comes with Alexa built-in as standard, and Apple CarPlay is supported with a wireless connection - great news! For those with Android phones, Android Auto will be offered, too, and music streaming services Spotify and iHeartRadio are baked into the ecosystem for entertainment. Lucid said that its cutting-edge, lightning-quick foundation centered around a Lucid Ethernet Ring means that processors can be linked and communicate at gigabit speeds, and thanks to integrated mobile and WiFi connectivity, every Lucid Air can receive Over-the-Air (OTA) software 63

updates, and owners can stay connected to their vehicles wherever they are with a dedicated iOS and Android application, setting climate controls and preloading navigation. The Air serves as Lucid’s first foray into electric vehicles, and CEO, Peter Rawlinson, who previously worked on the Tesla Model S, says that the car is a “halo car for the entire industry, one which shows the advancements that are possible by pushing the boundaries of EV technology and performance to new levels”. In December, construction wrapped up on the first Lucid factory in Arizona, known as Lucid AMP-1 (Advanced Manufacturing Plant). It’s the first greenfield, dedicated EV factory to be built in North America. The company will begin rolling out its first Air models later this year, and the facility can deliver up to 30,000 units per year. When manufacturing reaches full capacity, more than 400,000 vehicles will be produced per year, beginning with its Lucid Air Dream Edition, followed by the Grand Touring and Touring models, and new models coming in the years ahead. Whether you’re a Tesla diehard or you’re a recent EV convert, there’s no denying that Lucid’s expansion in the US is a good thing for consumers. Not only does it offer access to more affordable, luxury EV cars that are better for the environment, but it pushes the likes of Tesla even harder to stay at the top of their game, innovating, cutting costs, and ultimately delivering more to consumers.

HIT BY A RANSOMWARE ATTACK? YOUR PAYMENT MAY BE DEDUCTIBLE

As ransomware attacks surge, the FBI is doubling down on its guidance to affected businesses: Don’t pay the cybercriminals. But the U.S. government also offers a little-noticed incentive for those who do pay: The ransoms may be tax deductible. The IRS offers no formal guidance on ransomware payments, but multiple tax experts interviewed said deductions are usually allowed under law and established guidance. It’s a “silver lining” to ransomware victims, as some tax lawyers and accountants put it. 70

Image: Susan Walsh

Image: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds

But those looking to discourage payments are less sanguine. They fear the deduction is a potentially problematic incentive that could entice businesses to pay ransoms against the advice of law enforcement. At a minimum, they say, the deductibility sends a discordant message to businesses under duress. “It seems a little incongruous to me,” said New York Rep. John Katko, the top Republican on the House Committee on Homeland Security. Deductibility is a piece of a bigger quandary stemming from the rise in ransomware attacks, in which cybercriminals scramble computer data and demand payment for unlocking the files. The government doesn’t want payments that fund criminal gangs and could encourage more attacks. But failing to pay can have devastating consequences for businesses and potentially for the economy overall. A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline last month led to gas shortages in parts of the United States. The company, which transports about 45% of fuel consumed on the East Coast, paid a ransom of 75 bitcoin — then valued at roughly $4.4 million. An attack on JBS SA, the world’s largest meat processing company, threatened to disrupt food supplies. The company said it had paid the equivalent of $11 million to hackers who broke into its computer system. Ransomware has become a multibillion-dollar business, and the average payment was more than $310,000 last year, up 171% from 2019, according to Palo Alto Networks. The companies that pay ransomware demands directly are well within their rights to claim a deduction, tax experts said. To be tax 73

deductible, businesses expenses should be considered ordinary and necessary. Companies have long been able to deduct losses from more traditional crimes, such as robbery or embezzlement, and experts say ransomware payments are usually valid, too. “I would counsel a client to take a deduction for it,” says Scott Harty, a corporate tax attorney with Alston & Bird. “It fits the definition of an ordinary and necessary expense.” Don Williamson, a tax professor at the Kogod School of Business at American University, wrote a paper about the tax consequences of ransomware payments in 2017. Since then, he said, the rise of ransomware attacks has only strengthened the case for the IRS to allow ransomware payments as tax deductions. “It’s becoming more common, so therefore it becomes more ordinary,” he said. That’s all the more reason, critics say, to disallow ransomware payments as tax deductions. “The cheaper we make it to pay that ransom, then the more incentives we’re creating for companies to pay, and the more incentives we’re creating for companies to pay, the more incentive we’re creating for criminals to continue,” said Josephine Wolff, a cybersecurity policy professor at the Fletcher School of Tufts University. For years, ransomware was more of an economic nuisance than a major national threat. But attacks launched by foreign cybergangs out of reach of U.S. law enforcement have proliferated in scale over the past year and thrust the problem of ransomware onto the front pages.

Image: David Zalubowski

In response, top U.S. law enforcement officials have urged companies not to meet ransomware demands. “It is our policy, it is our guidance, from the FBI, that companies should not pay the ransom for a number of reasons,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testified this month before Congress. That message was echoed at another hearing this week by Eric Goldstein, a top official at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency. Officials warn that payments lead to more ransomware attacks. “We’re in this boat we’re in now because over the last several years people have paid the ransom,” Stephen Nix, assistant to the special agent in charge at the U.S. Secret Service, said at a recent summit on cybersecurity. It’s unclear how many companies that pay ransomware payments avail themselves of the tax deductions. When asked at a congressional hearing whether the company would pursue a tax deduction for the payment, Colonial CEO Joseph Blount said he was unaware that was a possibility. “Great question. I had no idea about that. Not aware of that at all,” he said. There are limits to the deduction. If the loss to the company is covered by cyber insurance — something that also is becoming more common — the company can’t take a deduction for the payment that’s made by the insurer. The number of active cyber insurance policies jumped from 2.2 million to 3.6 million from 2016 to 2019, a 60% increase, according to a new report from the Government Accountability 76

Image: Lynne Sladky

Office, Congress’ auditing arm. Linked to that was a 50% increase in insurance premiums paid, from $2.1 billion to $3.1 billion. The Biden administration has pledged to make curbing ransomware a priority in the wake of a series of high-profile intrusions and said it is reviewing the U.S. government’s policies related to ransomware. It has not provided any detail about what changes, if any, it may make related to the tax deductibility of ransomware. “The IRS is aware of this and looking into it,” said IRS spokesperson Robyn Walker.

HOW BIG TECH CREATED A DATA ‘TREASURE TROVE’ FOR POLICE When U.S. law enforcement officials need to cast a wide net for information, they’re increasingly turning to the vast digital ponds of personal data created by Big Tech companies via the devices and online services that have hooked billions of people around the world. Data compiled by four of the biggest tech companies shows that law enforcement requests for user information — phone calls, emails, texts, photos, shopping histories, driving routes and more — have more than tripled in the U.S. since 2015. Police are also increasingly savvy about covering their tracks so as not to alert suspects of their interest. That’s the backdrop for recent revelations that the Trump-era U.S. Justice Department sought data from Apple, Microsoft and Google about members of Congress, their aides and news reporters in leak investigations -- then pursued court orders that blocked those companies from informing their targets.

In just the first half of 2020 -- the most recent data available -- Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft together fielded more than 112,000 data requests from local, state and federal officials. The companies agreed to hand over some data in 85% of those cases. Facebook, including its Instagram service, accounted for the largest number of disclosures. Consider Newport, Rhode Island, a coastal city of 24,000 residents that attracts a flood of summer tourists. Fewer than 100 officers patrol the city -- but they make multiple requests a week for online data from tech companies. That’s because most crimes – from larceny and financial scams to a recent fatal house party stabbing at a vacation rental booked online – can be at least partly traced on the internet. Tech providers, especially social media platforms, offer a “treasure trove of information” that can help solve them, said Lt. Robert Salter, a supervising police detective in Newport. “Everything happens on Facebook,” Salter said. “The amount of information you can get from people’s conversations online -- it’s insane.” As ordinary people have become increasingly dependent on Big Tech services to help manage their lives, American law enforcement officials have grown far more savvy about technology than they were five or six years ago, said Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group. That’s created what Cohn calls “the golden age of government surveillance.” Not only has it become far easier for police to trace the online trails left by suspects, they can also frequently hide their requests by obtaining gag orders 85

from judges and magistrates. Those orders block Big Tech companies from notifying the target of a subpoena or warrant of law enforcement’s interest in their information — contrary to the companies’ stated policies. Of course, there’s often a reason for such secrecy, said Andrew Pak, a former federal prosecutor. It helps prevent investigations getting sidetracked because someone learns about it, he said —“the target, perhaps, or someone close to it.” Longstanding opposition to such gag orders has recently resurfaced in the wake of the Trump-era orders. Apple in 2018 shared phone and account data generated by two Democratic members of the House Intelligence Committee, but the politicians didn’t find out until May, once a series of gag orders expired. Microsoft also shared data about a congressional aide and had to wait more than two years before telling that person. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president, last week called for an end to the overuse of secret gag orders, arguing in a Washington Post opinion piece that “prosecutors too often are exploiting technology to abuse our fundamental freedoms. Critics like Cohn have called for revision of U.S. surveillance laws drawn up years ago when the police and prosecutors typically had to deliver warrants to the home of the person being targeted for searches. Now that most personal information is kept in the equivalent of vast digital storehouses controlled by Big Tech companies, such searches can proceed in secret. “Our surveillance laws are really based on the idea that if something is really important, we store it at home, and that doesn’t pass the giggle 86

test these days,” Cohn said. “It’s just not true.” Many tech companies are quick to point out that the majority of the information they are forced to share is considered “non-content” data. But that can include useful details such as the basic personal details you supply when you register for an account, or the metadata that shows if and when you called or messaged someone, though not what you said to them. Law enforcement can also ask tech companies to preserve any data generated by a particular user, which prevents the target from deleting it. Doing so doesn’t require a search warrant or any judicial oversight, said Armin Tadayon, a cybersecurity associate at advisory firm the Brunswick Group. If police later find reasonable grounds for conducting a search, they can return with a warrant and seize the preserved data. If not, the provider deletes the copies and “the user likely never finds out,” Tadayon said. In Newport, getting a search warrant for richer online data isn’t that difficult. Salter said it requires a quick trip to a nearby courthouse to seek a judge’s approval; some judges are also available after hours for emergency requests. And if a judge finds there is probable cause to search through online data, tech companies almost always comply. “Most of the companies do play ball,” Salter said. “We can speak with people, get questions answered. They’re usually pretty helpful.” Nearly all big tech companies — from Amazon to rental sites like Airbnb, ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft and service providers like Verizon — now have teams to respond to such 89

requests and regularly publish reports about how much they disclosed. Many say they work to narrow overly broad requests and reject those that aren’t legally valid. Some of the most dramatic increases in requests have been to tech companies that cater to younger people. As the messaging app Snapchat has grown in popularity, so have government requests for its data. Snap, the company behind the app, fielded nearly 17,000 data requests in the first six months of 2020, compared to 762 in the same period of 2015. Salter said the fact that we’re all doing so much online means police detectives need to stay tech-savvy. But training courses for how to file such requests aren’t hard to find. For those worried about the growing volume of online data sought by law enforcement, Salter said: “Don’t commit crimes and don’t use your computer and phones to do it.” “Judges are not going to sign off on something if we don’t have probable cause to go forward,” he said. “We’re not going to look at people’s information without having something to go on.” But Cohn said more tech companies should be using encryption technology to make all personal information, including metadata, virtually impossible to decipher without a user key to unlock it. Until then, she said, police can short circuit constitutional protections against unreasonable searches “by just going to the company instead of coming directly to us.”

FACEBOOK LAUNCHES PODCASTS, LIVE AUDIO SERVICE

Facebook is launching podcasts and live audio streams in the U.S. this week to keep users engaged on its platform and to compete with emerging rivals. Facebook says it is allowing public figures with verified accounts to start live audio rooms and invite anyone else to speak. A handful of podcasts will be available to people in the U.S. at first and the company plans to add more down the line. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has appeared on the video streaming app Clubhouse in the past, hosted his own live audio room on his Facebook page last week. 94

“Live Audio Rooms and podcasts rolling out in the US is just the beginning of our audio journey,” wrote Fidji Simo, head of the Facebook app, in a blog post. “Looking ahead, we are working with creators who will use our audio tools to further develop and launch Soundbites — short-form, creative audio clips.” But podcasts and live audio have also been an outlet for racism, misinformation and extremist material. Live audio is particularly difficult to moderate, compared with traditional social media posts. Facebook, which announced its audio plans to push into audio streams in April, says its rules apply to live audio and podcasts and anyone can report offending material. “In addition, our broader integrity and safety work and the tools we have built for proactively and automatically identifying harmful content are great building blocks, but we plan to adapt tech and processes as we learn more,” the company said in a prepared statement. The company says that it may also retain live audio after it is no longer live to enforce its policies, which will be done both by human moderators and machine learning.

100

DIRTY LAUNDRY IN SPACE? NASA, TIDE TACKLE CLEANING CHALLENGE

How do astronauts do laundry in space? They don’t. They wear their underwear, gym clothes and everything else until they can’t take the filth and stink anymore, then junk them. NASA wants to change that — if not at the International Space Station, then the moon and Mars — and stop throwing away tons of dirty clothes every year, stuffing t hem in the trash to burn up in the atmosphere aboard discarded cargo ships. 101

So it’s teamed up with Procter & Gamble Co. to figure out how best to clean astronauts’ clothes in space so they can be reused for months or even years, just like on Earth. The Cincinnati company announced this week that it will send a pair of Tide detergent and stain removal experiments to the space station later this year and next, all part of the galactic battle against soiled and sweaty clothes. It’s no small problem, especially as the U.S. and other countries look to establish bases on the moon and Mars. Rocket cargo space is tight and expensive, according to NASA, so why waste it on new outfits if their clothes could be kept looking and smelling fresh? When you figure an astronaut needs 150 pounds (68 kilograms) of clothes in space per year, that quickly adds up, especially on a three-year Mars mission, said Mark Sivik, a chemist specializing in fabric and home care technology for P&G. There’s also the health — and ick — factors. Space station astronauts exercise two hours every day to counter the muscle- and bonewithering effects of weightlessness, quickly leaving their workout clothes sweaty, smelly and stiff. Their T-shirts, shorts and socks end up so foul that they run through a pair every week, according to Leland Melvin, a former NASA astronaut and NFL player. “After that, they’re deemed toxic,” said Melvin, who’s serving as a spokesman for the project. “They like have a life of their own. They’re so stiff from all that sweat.” 102

103

104

While NASA and the other space station partners have looked into special antimicrobial clothes to prolong wear, it’s not a long-term solution. In its initial experiment, P&G will send up detergent custom-made for space in December so scientists can see how the enzymes and other ingredients react to six months of weightlessness. Then next May, stain-removal pens and wipes will be delivered for testing by astronauts. At the same time, P&G is developing a washerdryer combo that could operate on the moon or even Mars, using minimal amounts of water and detergent. Such a machine could also prove useful in arid regions here on Earth. One of the many design challenges: The laundry water would need to be reclaimed for drinking and cooking, just like urine and sweat are currently recycled aboard the space station. “The best solutions come from the most diverse teams,” Melvin said, “and how more diverse can you be than Tide and NASA?”

105

by Jimmy Giannopoulos Genre: Action & Adventure Released: 2021 Price: $14.99

16 Ratings

Movies 106

&TV Shows

Rotten Tomatoes

The Birthday Cake A decade after his father’s mysterious death, Gio (Shiloh Fernandez) brings a cake to a memorial event held at the home of his uncle, mafia boss Angelo (Val Kilmer). However, it starts dawning on Gio what genuinely happened to his father all those years ago.

FIVE FACTS: 1. Ewan McGregor also appears in this film as a long-trusted friendly priest, Father Kelly. 2. McGregor reportedly took only three days to film his scenes. 3. In the story, the cake is baked by Gio’s mother Sophia, who is played by Goodfellas’ Lorraine Bracco. 4. David Mazouz also appears in The Birthday Cake, as the younger Gio. 5. Kilmer and Mazouz have both previously played Batman – the former in 1995’s Batman Forever and the latter in the late-2010s TV series Gotham.

The Birthday Cake - Official Trailer

107

An Interview with David Mazouz-’ The Birthday Cake’

108

109

Siberia Having abandoned his former life, Clint (Willem Dafoe) now runs a bar at a snowbound roadhouse in Siberia, where he is one of the few people who speaks English. His mysterious hallucinations lead him to a nearby cave where he searches for answers.

FIVE FACTS: 1. This film is not to be confused with the 2018-released, Keanu Reeves-starring romantic crime thriller of the same name. 2. The new Siberia movie is the sixth collaboration between Dafoe and director Abel Ferrara. 3. Defoe and Ferrara acted together, for example, in the 2016 experimental film Sculpt. 4. In January 2020, it was announced that Siberia would have its world premiere at that year’s Berlin International Film Festival.

by Abel Ferrara Genre: Thriller Released: 2021 Price: $9.99

10 Ratings

5. Variety critic Guy Lodge called Siberia a “beautiful, unhinged, sometimes hilarious trek into geographical and psychological wilderness that will delight some and mystify many others.”

Rotten Tomatoes

110

Siberia (2021 Movie) Official Trailer – Willem Dafoe

111

112

Abel Ferrara on ‘Siberia,’ His Willem Dafoe Partnership, His Upcoming Ethan Hawke Thriller, More

113

Gucci Mane - Shit Crazy (feat. BIG30) [Official Video]

114

Music

Ice Daddy Gucci Mane “I wanted the whole project to feel very indicative of the chapter of my life that I’m in right now,” country star Brett Young explained to Apple Music about his third studio album, which takes in various subjects along the lines of parenthood and nurturing a long-term relationship. Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap 17 Songs Price: $9.99

30 Ratings

FIVE FACTS: 1. Gucci’s previous studio album, Woptober II, peaked at seventh position on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 2019. 2. In the almost two years since then, Gucci has devoted much of his time to nurturing the fruits of his own label, 1017 Records. 3. Ice Davis is Gucci’s first child with his wife, Keyshia Ka’oir. 4. His baby boy also appears on the new album’s cover art, marking the first time he has been publicly revealed. 5. Lil Uzi Vert collaborated with Gucci on the latter’s 2019 album Delusions of Grandeur, and returns for Ice Daddy.

115

116

Gucci Mane & BigWalkDog - Poppin [Official Video]

117

Back of My Mind (Apple Music Edition) H.E.R. “Back of My Mind is accepting the vulnerability – being able to quiet the noise around me and listen to my own voice,” the up-and-coming R&B talent H.E.R. reveals in the short behindthe-scenes film exclusive to the Apple Music edition of her debut studio album.

FIVE FACTS: 1. Although she has long used the H.E.R. moniker, the artist’s real name has been reported as Gabi Wilson. 2. “You have easy access to what everyone’s doing 24/7 and [the mystery] was kinda my way of getting away from that,” Wilson has explained to Billboard. 3. Ironically, the name “H.E.R.” is an acronym for “Having Everything Revealed”. 4. Wilson was born to a black father and Filipino mother and grew up in the San Francisco Bay area. 5. In the short film, H.E.R. describes the album as “the many layers that make me, me. It’s all of the things that we’re kind of afraid to share, afraid to say, afraid to do.”

118

Genre: R&B/Soul Number of Songs: 21 Price: $10.99

90 Ratings

H.E.R. - Slide (Official Video) ft. YG

119

H.E.R. - Damage (Official Video)

120

121

,1 3,;$5¶6 µ/8&$ ¶ <281* /,)( $6 $ 672/(1 $'9(1785(

Disney and Pixar’s Luca | Official Trailer | Disney+

122

A brisk and bright sun-dappled fable of above-ground adventure and below-thesurface identity, Enrico Casarosa’s “Luca” — a summery, shimmering fish-out-ofwater fairy tale — is one of Pixar’s most pure and condensed enchantments. Pixar has plunged into the sea before, of course, in the aquatic “Finding Nemo” and “Finding Dory.” Lushly detailed waters have been sprinkled through many of the studio’s films, from the rushing river of “The Good Dinosaur” to the frothy seaside surf of “Piper.” One personal favorite: how, after the frantic Paris chase in “Ratatouille,” the diminutive Chef Skinner bobs furiously in the Seine. But in “Luca,” we’re in the ocean to look longingly upon another world, which happens to be our own. Luca Paguro (Jacob Tremblay) is a 13-year-old sea monster who lives off the coast of the Italian Riviera. He’s a farm boy, like many protagonists before him, with dreams of another, forbidden realm — only Luca shepherds goatfish, instead of goats, on rolling underwater pastures. To him, the surface is a magical, unknowable place that he’s only heard rumors of from his grandmother (Sandy Martin), who’s quickly shushed by his protective parents (Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan). But curiosity and the urgings of another, more land-accustomed sea monster, Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer), compel Luca to swim up to a beach and stride ashore. He watches Alberto do it first. When Luca gets up the nerve, the transformation is immediate. Fin turns to foot. Tail disappears. And a very sea-legged boysteps forward, swiftly falling on his face and flopping on the ground like a fish. 123

124

Disney and Pixar’s Luca | Teaser Trailer

125

Friendship Featurette | Disney and Pixar’s Luca | Disney+

126

Walking comes quickly enough, though, and through Luca’s eyes we see the wonders of surface-dwelling anew — the blue sky, the swaying trees, the rustling grass. Luca and Alberto (who already has a fort with collected treasures) rush to frolic in all the fun of being human. Luca, feeling guilty, keeps saying he’s about to rush home. But he can’t help himself. In “Luca,” young life is a stolen adventure. They don’t have everything quite figured out. Alberto, more confident and reckless than Luca, calls a phonograph a “magic singing lady machine” and believes the stars in the night sky are little glittering anchovies. But they are absolutely certain of one thing: the Vespa is the single greatest human invention. That draws them to the nearby town of Portorosso (the name seems a nod to the great and most European of the Studio Ghibli canon, “Porco Rosso”), a quintessential Italian hamlet with a village fountain and a “La Strada” poster on the wall. It’s the late 1950s. They quickly recognize an unexpected danger. Portorosso is adorned with pictures of slayed and slaughtered sea monsters. The whole town lives in fear of them — a concern mirrored by Luca’s family who quake at the thought of “land monsters.” Revealing their true natures would be suicidal, and all it takes is a water balloon or a bit of rain to ruin their human disguises. Still, that doesn’t stop Luca and Alberto from entering a triathlon with the hope of winning a Vespa, or from befriending a village girl, Giuilia (Emma Berman), with a fearsome fisherman father (Marco Barricelli).

127

It would be easy to label “Luca,” which arrives Friday on Disney+, “minor Pixar.” Its visuals, while beguiling, don’t push new digital ground the way many Pixar animations have. There isn’t an existential journey into the mind, beyond the grave or into the heavens. It’s a couple of kids coming of age over a sun-kissed summer. But I think the modesty of “Luca” is part of what makes it great. As much as Pixar’s recent output (“Soul,” “Onward,” “Coco”) has been daringly conceptual, it has sometimes felt as though the studio and its artists are too focused on charting new narrative territory. “Luca,” Pixar’s shortest feature since its first (“Toy Story”), is modest, straightforward and classical. It feels like Pixar’s page out of Italo Calvino’s “Italian Folktales.” Casarosa’s film comes and goes like a soft summer breeze, but that doesn’t stop it from being utterly charming and, by the time of its magnificent final shot, a little devastating, too. In sweet sea monsters that just want to do what other kids do, “Luca” finds a simple and beautiful metaphor for all those who feel like they need to hide themselves to fit in. It left me, anyway, with a fish-eating grin. “Luca,” a Walt Disney Co. release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for rude humor, language, some thematic elements and brief violence. Running time: 95 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.

128

129

130

‘HITMAN’S WIFE’S BODYGUARD’ REALLY MISSES THE TARGET

Toward the end of “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” there’s a scene where Ryan Reynolds is repeatedly smashing a man’s head into a jukebox aboard a yacht, as sometimes happens. Each time the bloodied head goes in the machine, it triggers a new song. Until it lands on “The Sign” by Ace of Base. “You’re lucky,” Reynolds says to his unconscious rival before walking away to commit more mayhem. “I love this song.” That single scene beautifully captures the essence of the sequel to 2017’s “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” — overly violent, disarmingly cute and overly self-referencing. 131

Fans of the original will get the in-joke about “The Sign” but the sequel itself will not likely make new fans. It suffers from what many sophomore films fall prey to: Same basic idea, but just make it bigger. So if the first’s plot was getting a witness to the Netherlands to testify about an European war criminal, the second is about saving the very existence of Europe itself. If the first had a star like Salma Hayek tucked in, the sequel is her elevation to co-star and the massive additions of Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman. Director Patrick Hughes returns for the overstuffed sequel but this time has trouble balancing the violence with the heart. Too many characters — a Boston Interpol agent and a rival bodyguard, among them — are blended into an unhinged 007-style plot with a tendency to veer uncomfortably personal. Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson again play frenemies and their exchanges still crackle with electricity (and lots of potty language.) Reynolds is bodyguard Michael Bryce, a careful, safe professional (“Boring is always best,” is his motto) who has found himself on hard times. Jackson is Darius Kincaid, a shoot-first, reckless hitman. If “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” was a bromance between these two, “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” is a threesome, thanks to the scene-stealing role of Kincaid’s wife, played with insane energy by Hayek. She’s as lethal and profane and impulsive as her husband. (“Your mouth needs an exorcism,” a shocked Bryce tells her). But the effect is that this talented trio are unbalanced and awkward; three is definitely a crowd. 132

Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021 Movie) Teaser

133

If there was a stylish chic in the first film, it’s gone in the second, which sometimes seems cloying in its attempt to recreate the first. In addition to Ace of Base, returning this time are repeat references to: “Hello” by Lionel Richie, a gaggle of nuns, the deadly use of a penknife, a Richard E. Grant cameo, someone ejected from a car for not wearing a seatbelt and the leads getting kidnapped by having their heads put in a bag. “This feels familiar,” cracks Bryce. We know the feeling. The plot puts Reynolds, Jackson and Hayek speeding across Italy to stop a madman from crippling Europe by destroying its electrical and data infrastructure, or something like that. The madman is played by Banderas who has forgone chewing the scenery in favor of swallowing whole chunks of it nosily while dressed like Liberace mated with “a set of curtains” (Actual dialogue more colorful).

134

Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021 Movie) Trailer

135

The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021 Movie) Official Clip “Who Were You Talking To”

136

For some reason the writers — Tom O’Connor and Phillip Murphy and Brandon Murphy — have added an amnesia twist, a digression into fertility, a weird drug trip on a mood stabilizer and an ill-conceived exploration of parenthood and family legacy. Plus, they wasted the skills of Freeman in a nebulous, confusing role, which is inexcusable. The film is best when it winks at the viewer — Reynolds at one point gets into a vehicle and says “here’s the car chase” — or goes silly over-the-top, as when both our heroes and the villain kindly reference the 1987 Goldie Hawn film “Overboard,” which Banderas calls “a minor classic.” But no one — not even fans of the first film — will find this second one to be any sort of classic at all. “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard,” a Lionsgate release, is rated R for “strong bloody violence throughout, pervasive language and some sexual content.” Running time: 118 minutes. One star out of four.

Online: thehitmanswifesbodyguard.movie

MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

137

SPIELBERG’S AMBLIN TO MAKE SEVERAL FILMS A YEAR FOR NETFLIX

Image: Chris Pizzello

138

Steven Spielberg, a filmmaker synonymous with big-screen enchantment, has set a new deal with Netflix in which his production company, Amblin Partners, will make multiple feature films per year for the streaming giant. The partnership, one long courted by Ted Sarandos, Netflix chief content officer, is

139

a major get for the company that, amid increasing competition, brings perhaps the most beloved film director more officially into the streaming fold. The deal announced this week doesn’t specifically include any movies to be directed by Spielberg. This December, he will release “West Side Story” theatrically with Disney’s 20th Century Studios. Amblin has a separate deal with Universal Pictures for theatrical releases. “At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways,” Spielberg said in a statement. “This new avenue for our films, alongside the stories we continue to tell with our longtime family at Universal and our other partners, will be incredibly fulfilling for me personally since we get to embark on it together with Ted, and I can’t wait to get started with him, Scott, and the entire Netflix team.” Amblin, which takes its name from a 1968 short by Spielberg, has helped produce a wide variety of films outside of those made my Spielberg, including “1917” and “Green Book.” The two companies have previously worked together on TV series and the Aaron Sorkin movie “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” a film co-produced by Amblin that was sold by Paramount Pictures to Netflix during the pandemic. Spielberg has sometimes been seen as against a streaming future for movies. A Deadline Hollywood headline announcement wondered: “Hell Freezes Over?” 140

141

But Spielberg in 2019 argued against the antistreaming impression associated with him. Reports around then circulated that Spielberg believed streaming releases — which he compared to made-for-TV movies — should vie for Emmys, not Oscars. “I’m a firm believer that movie theaters need to be around forever,” Spielberg said that year. He clarified that big screen or small screen, “what really matters to me is a great story and everyone should have access to great stories.” “However, I feel people need to have the opportunity to leave the safe and familiar of their lives and go to a place where they can sit in the company of others and have a shared experience — cry together, laugh together, be afraid together — so that when it’s over they might feel a little less like strangers,” Spielberg wrote in an email to the New York Times. “I want to see the survival of movie theaters. I want the theatrical experience to remain relevant in our culture.” The lines have also blurred since then. While Netflix has given exclusive theatrical runs of a week or more to some of its most prominent releases, traditional studios like Disney and Warner Bros. have embraced more hybrid release models that send movies simultaneously to streaming services. “Steven is a creative visionary and leader and, like so many others around the world, my growing up was shaped by his memorable characters and stories that have been enduring, inspiring and awakening,” said Sarandos. “We cannot wait to get to work with the Amblin team and we are honored and thrilled to be part of this chapter of Steven’s cinematic history.” 142

Image: Krisztian Bocsi

143

144

FANCY LIKE

Walker Hayes

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN

CreedenCe ClearWater revival

LIL BIT

nelly & Florida GeorGia line

GOOD 4 U

olivia rodriGo

ASTRONAUT IN THE OCEAN

Masked WolF

LEVITATING (FEAT. DABABY)

dua lipa

KRYPTONITE

3 doors doWn

BRING ME TO LIFE

evanesCenCe

LEAVE BEFORE YOU LOVE ME

MarsHMello & Jonas BrotHers

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

lynyrd skynyrd

145

146

BLUE

Joni MitCHell

SOUR

olivia rodriGo

BACK OF MY MIND (APPLE MUSIC EDITION)

H.e.r.

IN THE HEIGHTS (ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK)

lin-Manuel Miranda

INSIDE (THE SONGS)

Bo BurnHaM

COUNTRY STUFF

Walker Hayes

INSIDE (THE SONGS)

Bo BurnHaM

MAMMOTH WVH

MaMMotH WvH

CHRONICLE: THE 20 GREATEST HITS

CreedenCe ClearWater revival

BLUE 50 (DEMOS & OUTTAKES)

Joni MitCHell

147

148

SOLAR POWER

lorde

SCARS IN HEAVEN (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)

CastinG CroWs

ERES MIO (OFFICIAL VIDEO)

tHalia

BUTTER

Bts

FANCY LIKE

Walker Hayes

BUTTER (HOTTER REMIX)

Bts

BUTTER (COOLER REMIX)

Bts

JIREH (FEAT. CHANDLER MOORE & NAOMI RAINE)

elevation WorsHip & MaveriCk City MusiC

FREEDOM

Jon Batiste

THOT SHIT

MeGan tHee stallion

149