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Insights Into Entertainment: Episode 33 “Conflicts and Letdowns”

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Disney doing the right thing for a young man who wanted to help out victims of Hurricane Dorian while James Cameron comments on loosing the box office top spot. A review of the biggest let downs of the D23 Expo and Bob Iger steps down from the Apple board to avoid a conflict of interest. We say good bye to movie pass as it shuts it doors, Felicity Huffman as she shuffles off to prison and Eddie Money who succumbed to cancer. Then we’ll finish up with a couple of great Insightful Picks of the week.

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Insights into Entertainment

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Speaker 1: 00:01 Insightful podcast by informative hopes sites, a podcast network

Speaker 2: 00:27

Speaker 3: 00:27 Come to insights into entertainment, a podcast series, taking a deeper look into entertainment and media, your hosts, Joseph and Michelle Waylon, a husband and wife, team of pop culture fanatics or exploring all things from music and movies to television and fans.

Speaker 2: 00:50

Speaker 4: 00:50 Welcome to insights into entertainment. This is episode 33 conflicts and let downs. I’m your host, Joseph Whalen and my talented and brilliant cohost show Whalen. Hi everyone. How are you doing today sweetie?

Speaker 5: 01:09 Good. I’m trying to multitask and yeah. Shut this fan off cause it’s making too much noise on bed in the morning. I was copying the link for our twitch users onto Facebook. So anybody that’s a Facebook user can click on twitch and watch us live as opposed to waiting till we posted on youtube and just getting the wrong cut version of the show or the live on twitch. I don’t know if that’s we might want to rethink this.

Speaker 4: 01:43 That’s also why, why your daughter was so conscientious about making sure she had her hair done and got dressed.

Speaker 5: 01:48 Oh, okay. Well appropriately because I think we’re aligned. Oh, Gotcha. Okay. Well the pressures of starting. Yeah. Wow. I guess

Speaker 4: 01:56 So today is conflicts and let downs. Episode 33 we have a feel good story here from Disney and our Disney detective regarding a young man who was very charitable for the folks in The Bahamas who suffer from Doriam. We’re not our cat, by the way. The hurricane we have a response from James Cameron on Avatar being dethroned. Then we have some of the biggest letdowns from the expo cause you know, it’s just not one of our shows. If I’m not bashing Disney.

Speaker 5: 02:38 And that’s kind of what I look for these days. I look for, you know, for, for me it’s the feel good stories. And for you it’s something all about balance, the Yang and the Yang. Then

Speaker 4: 02:51 We’re going to talk about Bob Iger stepping down from the board of Apple. And then in our entertainment news will talk about the passing of what had though been probably the worst thought out service of movie pass. I’m not sure how they ever expected the turn of profit with what they were doing, but we’ll talk about that. Then. Felicity Huffman is sentenced in her college admissions scam issues. And then we talk about the unfortunate passing of Mr Money. So we, she’ll talk about all those things and are insightful picks of the week starting now.

Speaker 4: 03:43 Go for Disney detective.

Speaker 5: 03:45 So we’ll start off with our feel good stories. So there was a boy who actually is from the Jacksonville, Florida area and he had been saving up money to go to Disney for his seventh birthday. And when the hurricane hit, he decided to use all of his money that he had to buy hotdogs and chips and drinks and actually set up a little stand and was giving them away free to anybody that, that needed food that was hit from the hurricane. So that story had, had played out. And actually he had been visited staying with his grandmother in South Carolina when he was doing this, this thing for people that were leaving from the Florida area or people that were hit you know, with the, the hurricane, you know, in South Carolina as well. While the really nice thing was that Disney heard about this and decided to surprise him.

Speaker 5: 04:55 So they actually were doing a story about him on Good Morning America and they were, you know, doing the interview inside his house and then they had him go outside. And not only were there a whole bunch of Disney cast members, but Mickey mouse was there as well to tell him, we’re giving you, you know, a vacation to Walt Disney world to use, you know, later this month. Because you know, you were so generous and you know, giving and what was really sweet was he said, you know, when they interviewed him and said, you know, what can you tell others? And he said, be strong. And if you do good things, you’ll be rewarded. So that was, that was really a sweet thing to, to see. So

Speaker 4: 05:44 No, that’s, and that’s a good life lesson to see there that, you know, when you do do good things, you know, there is, there is a reward that’s out there for you. But yeah, but it’s one of those things were like, he didn’t expect

Speaker 5: 05:58 That he didn’t intend to fate that he was doing it out of that. Right. He did it out of the kindness of his heart. And I think if there’s a little bit more of that in this world, we’ll have a much nicer world. Yeah. So tell us about James Cameron. James Cameron made his first comment since Avengers end game stomped on his 21 year long reign, a top the list of highest grossing films in history. Cameron for first held the title after his success of Titanic in 1997 and then obviously his, he tapped his own record in 2009 with Avatar, which drank 2.7 $9 billion. So in May, the Russo brothers movie Avengers obviously edged out titanic for the second place spot earning 2.2 billion at that point. And then as we’ve talked about, they decided to rerelease it in July basically to, to, to kind of just to get a job because, and obviously then it surpassed avatar.

Speaker 5: 07:05 So now the second and third place director who has been known for his cocky attitude, you know, is speaking out about losing his box office crown. However, he said though, you know, even though he, you know, he’s always been, I’m king of the world type thing, he actually said that it gives him a lot of hope. He said that end game actually demonstrated proof that people still go to the movies. Yeah, that’s true. So that really, it was more of a positive thing. He’s actually working obviously on the Avatar, the next two avatar movies back to back. He’s filming in New Zealand and he’s actually, you know, he was actually very enthusiastic, you know, because end came, you know, kind of gave him that, okay, we’re, we’re ready for the next big thing. He says that, you know, the thing that it scared him most about making avatar two and Avatar three was that he didn’t know if people were really going to be excited about sitting in a dark theater anymore with a bunch of strangers watching a movie, but now seeing how much, you know, people went to go see end game.

Speaker 5: 08:18 He’s like, all right, maybe all things are possible now. So avatar is set to actually not hit theaters until 2021, but obviously terminator, the dark feet which he is producing comes out actually in November. So he was pretty good sport. Yeah, he was really a good sport and I guess a lot of people were expecting him to kind of be, oh well, you know, look, they cheated or whatever, but well, and you know, the thing is his true competitors, which he obviously is, are driven by,

Speaker 4: 08:56 So having, being unseated right. You know, once you achieve the top goal right. Which you know, he did once, right. Titanic. Right. Then he did again with Avatar. Right. Right. What’s the drive to continue producing things that would meet that goal. Right. If you don’t have someone that’s not

Speaker 5: 09:16 Right. Exactly. Because he was number one and number two for so long and nobody could, could stop him. I’m interested to see how avatars really going to do. I personally, it was a nice film was I as Gung Ho, you know, I didn’t see the appeal that people that went and saw it, you know, it was, to me it was

Speaker 4: 09:37 Decent Scifi film. It wasn’t a saga. It didn’t warrant the fanaticism. It certainly didn’t warrant section in the Disney.

Speaker 5: 09:48 Right, right. Yeah. So it’s kind of, you know, will the Disney park help to bring Avatar to yell like more people to the movie. But the thing is like the first movie wasn’t quote unquote a kid’s movie, right. But yet you have this, you know, land in, in a Disney park that kids now know of these characters. But is that, you know, what’s the next movie? Is it going to be more of like what the first one was? Because you know, kids aren’t going to go see it yet.

Speaker 4: 10:22 First one kind of didn’t leave room for a secret either. Right. But you know what, the one thing I take away from this story is ultimately it’s the fans that benefit because, you know, love his movies or not James Cameron makes very good movies. Yup. And if this being unseated from the number one spot inspires him to go out and make more very good movies, then it’s the fans that fit from it. That is true. Very true. So we shall see. We shall so biggest let downs from d 23

Speaker 5: 10:55 So obviously there was a lot that came out that, you know, we’ve covered, you know, a couple of different times about d 23 the expo that happened last month in California. And this was kind of an interesting article because there was so much speculation as to, you know, rumors of, Oh, is this gonna Happen? Is this gonna Happen? And this was a interesting little article I’m on all ears.net that kind of put everything you know, together in one spot. So one of the things that people had been, you know, teasing about or or rumors were flying around was that in world showcase and Epcot that a new country was going to be showing up. And obviously that’s not happening. I guess for years there had been rumors of Brazil coming or other countries coming in right. They need Atlantis. And Epcot is getting such a major overhaul, it’s really going to be a completely different park. They’ve already started, you know, construction on a lot of it. So while obviously all of that good stuff is coming in, people were very surprised again that, you know, these other couple of things that people had been hearing about, nothing was, was brought up. So obviously Brazil being one of them. Then there was also talk that maybe in Mexico there was going to be some sort of coco attraction, you know, coming in and they do have stuff about the movie in there. Yeah.

Speaker 4: 12:32 Of any kind of character, a meet and greets for cocoa or

Speaker 5: 12:36 I think they do. I did see a picture somewhere. So I don’t know if it’s, you know, something that they switched over or if it’s, you know, like a permanent thing or if it was temporary.

Speaker 4: 12:45 So was the thought here that they were gonna Redo cause they have the three amigos ride.

Speaker 5: 12:50 Right, right. So I guess people were thinking, oh well let’s get rid of the three Amigos. But my whole thought is every time you have a new movie come out, you can’t Redo, you know, arrived just because you had, you know, this, this one movie come out. And I guess that’s kind of, you know, like okay, when they changed frozen, you know, and they, they changed you know, that they brought that ride in. It was Kinda like, did you have to, because Epcot and I guess, you know, for me Epcot was always kind of a non character. You know, it was kind of more of a generic area. It was more about the countries and the culture, not molding it to characters. But now you have, you know, Molana coming in, you know, so it, it seems like the trend is obviously to, to capitalize more on bringing the, the characters in.

Speaker 5: 13:44 Well, and that’s, and that’s obviously, you know, what happens. So to, you know, for people to be like, well, Coco is not coming. It’s like, well, but you have all these other things, you know, so does every country have to have a character? And it almost seems like that’s what, you know, some people were, were hoping for. The other thing that people were very surprised about was that there were no new experiences really for magic kingdom or animal kingdom. Now the tron light cycle ride is under construction, but that was announced at last year’s expo. So pretty much it kind of seems like magic Kingman just had a huge, well and that’s the, and that’s what I was, was going to say was that okay, magic kingdom is still under construction in some areas. From stuff, you know, from previous years that, you know, they’re still finishing up.

Speaker 5: 14:39 And again, they did the whole expansion of fantasy land not that long ago. You know, but they were kind of, you know, in this article they were, they were making joke of, well, you know, they got rid of stitches, great escape. So now you have that whole area that, you know, they, they basically opened it up as a character meet and greet where you have this whole, okay, there’s always been a ride there. Are you going to put something there? But I’m sure there’s something that, you know, fans don’t know about going to magic kingdom and having two thirds of the park shut down for construction. Right. Right. On paying full price to get into a park that I don’t have a full park for. So no, I’m perfectly fine if they decide not to do any more construction in these parts.

Speaker 5: 15:23 Yes, dear. And the other thing was that there’s still been no talk of a nighttime parade. Once the main street electrical parade left. They haven’t had a nighttime parade. They just have the nighttime fireworks. And I guess when you used to have a nighttime parade that would actually kind of help to get some of the guests proud, regularly keep, you know, as soon as people saw that, okay, we’ll leave, we don’t need to stay for the fireworks. Where now all you have is the fireworks. Well that it also got people away from the rides in it. True. Helped them manage your, your ride lines too. Right. So, you know, there was no talk about that. But again, I’m sure there’s something, you know, that’s in the works that, you know, we just don’t know about. But again, it was an interesting, you know, little article, you know, to, to kind of throw in.

Speaker 5: 16:15 So, so, you know, oh no, I don’t think aside from the lack of a new road showcase pavilion, I don’t think any of these things were huge. Letdowns about nice to see a new world showcase. And that’s the thing is that I think, you know, there was so much more that came out, you know, with everything else that there’s definitely something for everybody, you know, with what’s coming. So, and like you said, what they’re doing at Epcot. I mean, it’s an extensive remi. Oh my God. Yeah. NACA complexity for that probably is not, it’s not going to look like anything. You know, if you’ve ever been to Epcot before, it’s going to look completely different. The theming is going to be different, you know, the physicallness of it, you know, where there once was a big giant fountain is now going to be, you know, Aggressi knoll and things like that.

Speaker 5: 17:06 So I can’t help but see, Kennedy will you cigarettes, you know, that’s really shouldn’t be associated with Disney though. Anyway. so my friend and yours, Mr Doer, paid Bob Iger, your most favorite person in the world. See, I had to throw this in. Normally we just stick to like three stories. I saw this one yesterday and I was like, you know what, I got to throw this in. So this one is really just, just for you. I appreciate that. So a Walt Disney chairman and CEO are our favorite. Bob Iger has now stepped down from Apple’s board of directors. The iPhone maker announced in the sec filing on Friday afternoon that as of the 10th he will no longer be a member of the board. He had said that it had been an extraordinary privilege to have served on the Apple Board for eight years.

Speaker 5: 18:08 And I have the utmost respect for Tim Cook and his team at Apple and my fellow board members. Apple is one of the most the world’s most admired companies known for the quality and integrity of its products and its people. And I am forever grateful to have served as a member of the company’s board. He actually had started serving in 2011. And it was actually very instrumental in acquiring Pixar from the late apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2006. And also it resulted in jobs joining Disney’s board of directors at that time. So the two companies have obviously been, you know, intertwined for, for a while. But because Disney is set to launch Disney plus and apple is joining Apple TV, or apple is launching apple TV plus now they’re going to be competitors. So he kinda figured, let me step back. And

Speaker 4: 19:10 You know, the interesting takeaway that I get from this, there was a lot of speculation about Disney possibly partnering with apple on their two launches and bundling them together because apple literally has no back catalog to launch with. So apple is launching with a small handful of original programming that they’re doing and nothing else. And based on the keynote at the iPhone event this past week, apple almost smells desperate for adoption. So they’re giving away a month of it for free, which everyone expected. They’re charging $6 a month as opposed to the $9 a month that was originally speculate, keeping it competitive with Disney pricing. And the real kicker here is if you buy a new apple product, a iPhone, iPad, macbook, whatever, they’re giving you a year’s worth of apple TV, they are desperate to get adoption. And I just don’t think they’re gonna put up a competitive product. Compare it to, I mean, Disney Disney is launching as many or more original programming than apple. Plus you’ve got the entire Disney back catalog, including Pixar marvels, star wars, Disney, everything. Yeah. For the same price. Right.

Speaker 5: 20:48 And we even, you know, we’re both Disney visa cardholder members. We even got in the mail, there was a discount, not only, so we had talked last week about the three year discount now they were even offering a two year subscription deal. So it kind of almost sounded that same thing of not a lot of people were signing up for the three years, let’s sign up for something, you know, for the the two year as well. So, you know, I think they’re also, you know, they’re probably not as worried as obviously apple, you know, is if you’re saying that they’re doing, you know, all of this giveaway stuff.

Speaker 4: 21:31 Yeah. An apple really is not even providing a compelling reason to subscribe to their stuff except for maybe three shows.

Speaker 5: 21:40 Right. I was going to say, I think there was one, the one show that, you know, I saw that was like, oh, that looks interesting. That’s going to be on apple TV plus. And that was it. That was

Speaker 4: 21:50 The one show. And it’s the, basically they sign up a couple of big name people, right? Right. Oprah and Spielberg, Jennifer Aniston and a few big names. Right. And they’re, they’re banking on celebrity names to draw people to a service that has no content. Right.

Speaker 5: 22:07 At least with Disney plus we know that they’re, you know, they’ve been very forthcoming with, you know, everything that they’re gonna have to offer and you know, sweetening the pot,

Speaker 4: 22:20 Original programming will grande people like you and I with the marvel and the star wars selections that they have and a lot of the listeners of the podcast too. Yeah. Yeah. But does not offering anything. And this tells me, you mean apple, I’m sorry, apple. Apple is not offering anything and just tells me that Disney is not even entertaining the thought of bundling with apple at this point time. So any hope they might have had there is,

Speaker 5: 22:46 Yeah. And the thing is apple plus launches on November 1st. And really like you said, besides one or two shows, you haven’t heard anything about it. Yeah.

Speaker 4: 22:57 It’s kind of contrary to what they did with Apple News, where with news they became a central clearing house for all these other new services. Whereas with apple plus they’re partnering with no one literally, right. They’re going their own with no back catalog to even offer anyone . So anyway, so that’s it for Disney detective. This, what is it for Disney? All right. We will come back with entertainment news now that they fixed our lower third, so it’s actually grieving the right episode.

Speaker 4: 23:38 So tell us about movie pants.

Speaker 5: 23:40 So honestly I didn’t even know movie pass was still around. So that’s how, you know, in the, no I was so on Friday movie pass notified the remaining subscribers that it would be shutting down the service effective September 14th because its efforts to recapitalize movie pass had not been successful to date from the parent company. So the parent company basically said that they were still trying to find funding, you know, to, to fix the funding operations of it, but they were unable to predict if or when movie pass would continue. So even with, you know, the demise of this, this service actually kind of spurred off other versions. So other theaters are actually doing their own version. So AMC actually had launched its stubs, a list program, which let subscribers see three movies weekly for 1995 a month, and they’re up to a 900,000 subscribers.

Speaker 5: 24:52 So within, you know, the last year movie pass had been having some issues. They kind of were changing their, their membership of how much you could see in August of 2018 they’re, you know, one movie a day was priced at nine 95 a month, but then that obviously wasn’t economically, you know substainable so they changed the plan and then it became nine 95 a for three movies a month. And then it changed to 1495 and it just kept, you know, the plan just kept changing around, you know, so much that, you know, they just really weren’t making, you know, any money plus theaters weren’t offering it as much as you know, the, the theaters own branded, you know, version of it. So it Kinda, you know, sounded like a good idea and just unfortunately couldn’t, couldn’t laugh. So

Speaker 4: 25:51 See, this is a case of situations where you don’t have to be, you know, a rocket scientist in business to look at what your business plan is and no one’s not gonna work. There are things that you look at like what was it, the frozen yogurt place, another great example. So you’re charging, you know, x amount per ounce with all these other things on top of it that drives the price up, hoping that people aren’t going to use those. You know, when you looked at movie passes business model, when they first launched it was immediately unsustainable. Number one, you’re reselling somebody else’s services. And once they catch onto the fact that they can do this in bulk, instead of charging individually and hoping people show up once a month, they’re going to launch it themselves, which is exactly what they did. And for the price that you’re charging, there’s no way you’re going to be able to sustain that.

Speaker 4: 26:51 You figure, what does it cost for a single person to get into a movie anywhere from 15 to what, $20 at this point. So how are you possibly going to partner with movie theaters? You’re going to charge 10 bucks a month and allow them potentially to see 30 movies at 10 bucks a month. How do you think, where do you think you’re, that person that’s going doesn’t have TV, doesn’t have cable, whatever. This is their form of entertainment. You know, they either go before work or after work and if they’re paying $10 for the month, I’m guessing they’re probably not buying pop porn, you know? Right. Either they’re not, you know, so there’s me enough to send another, you know, 30 bucks on food. They’re probably sneaking their food in. So really you’re making pennies. If that, even, even if that person only goes to the movie once, if the, if the theater is charging $15 let’s say it’s even charging 10 okay, alright, so let’s be consumer conservative and say the movie theaters charging 10 bucks, you’re charging that person 10 bucks.

Speaker 4: 28:02 So they go and see one movie and your profit margin is lost immediately once they see one movie. Right? And, and what this model is, is they tried to implement a Netflix model. So with Netflix, when Netflix model was based on DVDs and not streaming Netflix based, their model on the fact that you weren’t going to return your DVDs quickly, right? So they knew that if you rented more than, I think the threshold was like five movies a month, they were going to lose money. So what that flix did was they started putting essentially the lays into the process. So if you would rent one movie and send it back the same day, then it might take an extra two days to get the next movie. And they would increase that delay time and processing so that you couldn’t get more than five movies a month. And eventually when people caught onto that, Netflix had the chains or pricing model to go with one movie a month, two movie month type thing so that they weren’t losing money. Okay. So they try movie pass, essentially tried to implement the same thing at theaters. The problem was Netflix had the licensing rights to the movies that they were doing it with, whereas movie pass didn’t, you were counting on partnering with theater, the theater chains, and when the theater chains realized they weren’t making money, but they could make money if they implemented their own model, just knocked you out of business. Right, right. So this does not come as a surprise to me at all. If

Speaker 5: 29:42 Anything, I’m shocked that it lasted as long as it did. Yeah. And like I said, I didn’t even realize it was still even around because I knew of the individual programs at the theaters, you know, so, so not that we go to the movies enough that this is going to affect this, but this is one of those, saw this one coming down the road, you know, kind of glad I didn’t, you know, invest or get involved with the service. So. So the hammer drops for Felicity Huffman. Tell us about that. Well, this was a story we talked about months ago when, when everything broke with the whole scandal of, you know, the rich and famous, you know, paying you know, for sat scores for their kids to be able to get into better colleges. And finally Felicity Hoffman was sentenced on Friday to 14 days in prison for the crime of paying $15,000 to boost her daughter’s sat scores.

Speaker 5: 30:42 The judge had also ordered her to serve 250 hours of community service after a year of probation and paying a fine of $30,000. The sentence actually came, you know, kind of as a surprise. From where they, you know, basically she was saying that, you know, her excuse was, I was just trying to be a good mother and you know, the outrage in this case, you know, as a system that’s, you know, basically distorted by money and privilege in the first place. And you, you know, and the judge said, you took a step of having one more advantage to put your child ahead. A Hoffman is ordered to report to prison on October 25th. The prosecutor had argued that she should be sentenced to one month behind bars. A message must be sent. And imprisonment is the only way to send that message.

Speaker 5: 31:35 Said the assistant us attorney arguing that anything less would show that the rich get preferential treatment in prison. Everybody has to wear the same clothes. Prison is a great leveler. A Hoffman gave, you know, her tearful Boohoo who, you know, I was frightened. I was stupid. I was so wrong. I’m deeply ashamed of what I had done. You know, her attorney, you know, you know, asked for a sentence of one year of probation and community service. You know, and he basically said, you know, a sentence of probation is, you know, his real punishment. Hoffman actually agreed to a pleat to plead guilty in April. And she is one of 33 parents that are actually being sweat that got swept up in the whole operation varsity blues. Which was actually a wide ranging FBI investigation into cheating in elite colleges.

Speaker 5: 32:30 She wrote a letter to the judge last week where she apologized, you know, and wanted to give an explanation, you know, she was, she, you know, wanted to get her daughter into a good school to study acting because of her low test scores. Okay. You know, and she said, in my desperation to be a good mother, I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot. Really. You know. The other thing is she was giving her a fair shot at cheating. Yeah. You know, and if she was trying to get into school to study acting and her test scores were too low, then go to a different school, go, go to some other school. And I hate to tell you, most actors don’t, you know, become, you know, great actors because of what school they went to.

Speaker 5: 33:20 It’s, it’s purely on talent. You could go to a horrible school, you know, most actors, you know, never went to school for acting. It’s it’s a raw talent that they, that they have. So, you know, the, the biggest thing to that that kind of, you know, ticked me off and was that, you know, there’s, there’s a couple of memes going around where, okay, she got this 14, 14 days where there’s a mother who was homeless and was using her babysitter’s address for her child to go to a school and she got five years in prison for that. So here’s a woman who could, you know, she could go to any college she wanted to. She, you know, sky’s the limits. You know, if her mom has enough money to pay for sat scores, even with the bad sat scores, you can still get into, you know, some sort of college and she gets 14 days with a, you know, a slap

Speaker 4: 34:15 . Yeah. I mean clearly this, the, the punishment here was a slap on the wrist. And the, the crime itself, you know, the, what annoyed me was that the defense tried to betray this as a victimless crime and we weren’t hurting anyone. We weren’t stealing any money, blah, blah, blah. Well, in reality, you’ve got kids who don’t have the benefit of having a celebrity mother with money who worked their asses off to get the grades to earn the right to go to those colleges who were denied because of this.

Speaker 5: 34:48 Right? Because of somebody’s fake sat scores that might’ve beat somebody out by five points. And yet you have somebody who, you know, maybe has a single parent works three jobs and you know, the kid themselves works multiple jobs to be able to, you know, to go to school and they’re the ones that,

Speaker 4: 35:10 You know, she is not the only one that’s guilty here. I think the system itself needs to be indicted because a system that allows this type of a wholesale selling of sat scores and not forcing you to test into a college is a complete mistake. Because at that point in time, what are you a mercenary at that point? Right. You know, here I’m going to go to one site, an sat score, and now assuming that’s an accredited score, I can now shop that around to all the other colleges. Right. You know, the colleges themselves need this. The college system itself needs to be more balanced. It’s clearly at this point in time, lopsided in that if someone can get away with this, now I’m 30, some parents obviously got caught in this case that tells me a 30, some parents got caught here. How many more? Hundreds or thousands more are doing this every year around the country. Yeah. Yeah. And we have a system in place that allows it to happen. So while yes, take this person, make an example of them, fix the damn system.

Speaker 5: 36:21 Right, right. So she was obviously, you know, one of the ones that actually took the play. The other actress Laurie La Loughlin hadn’t pleaded any or hadn’t taken a plea deal. So she’s, you know, nothing’s happened with her case yet. She’s basically waiting to appear in court.

Speaker 4: 36:45 That’s right. So, and the thing is she’s facing much stiffer penalties because when she decided not to take the plea, they lopped three or four other much more serious charges on top of her. Right. Where if she’s convicted of those, she’s looking for an extended period of time in jail, not just, you know, 14 days. Yeah. So, and I’m also curious to see, and they didn’t announce this yet, cause it’s up to the prison system where she going to prison, what country club is she going with? Joe Sears, you know, 15 days. Is there going to be the same country club that Martha Stewart spent time at? Right. And that’s another problem. You know, the college just needs to be fixed, but so does the penal system. Yep, sure does. So let’s talk a little bit about Mr money.

Speaker 5: 37:32 So unfortunately this was, you know, some sad news that came out yesterday morning was that Eddie money the singer of, you know, two tickets to paradise and other various songs passed away at the age of 70. He’s known for being a singer, songwriter of baby hold on. Two tickets to paradise shaken. Take me home tonight. You know, soundtracks for, you know, from the 80s. You know, he unfortunately passed away on Friday the 13th in a statement provided by his family. It reads the money, family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We can’t imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever in through his music. He actually had revealed that he had stage four cancer. And there was actually a reality show that he started in April of 2018 and called real money and it actually was following, you know, his, his health struggles and his treatments, you know, that he was going through at the time. So very, very sad.

Speaker 4: 38:51 It is a, and you know, the, the one thing I wanted to mention here was he had a very down to earth realistic view. You know, he was optimistic at one point. One article I read, he said, you know, cancer is not like it was in the fifties and sixties. People survive it all the time. He says, but you know, whether I survived, there should knots up to God and I’m going to live life like I’ve got one day at a time and he’s gonna you know, I’m gonna, I’m gonna take all the days that I can get out of it. Yeah. So I think when he was diagnosed, he kind of knew what was going on. And, and he took the time with the show cause he did the show with his kids. Right. and he took the time to, to better his relationship with his kids. And you know, as a father you couldn’t ask for more than that with the time you have left. Yeah, absolutely. So it’s a shame to see him go and then is it for entertainment news this week we will come back with our insightful picks of the week. Okay.

Speaker 4: 39:59 See it helps when I turn the volume back off. When you don’t get a transition, then you go, there’s something going. Something shopping. Should we have it in here? I don’t hear anything.

Speaker 5: 40:09 We’re like our, our, our blind cat dory. Oh yeah. No, I think I hear something.

Speaker 4: 40:15 So go for insightful picks dear.

Speaker 5: 40:19 So my insightful pick this week is not Netflix. It’s not a movie. It’s not a documentary. It’s not a TV show. It’s a musical group.

Speaker 4: 40:29 A musical group. Wow, that’s new for you. Well,

Speaker 5: 40:33 I figure you did your, your little youtube music person. So I’m going to do my little youtube music person. So postmodern Jukebox who is also widely known as p m j is a rotating musical collective founded by a ranger and PNS Scott Bradley in 2011 a postmodern jukebox is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially from the 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. A postmodern jukebox has amassed 1.2 billion youtube viewers and 4 million subscribers, which I happen to be one of them. Each week, postmodern jukebox releases a new video on youtube. Although originally they were mostly filmed in Scott’s living room sets, kind of became more elaborate over time. So band has covered songs by Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, the white stripes and since their beginnings of a small group of friends making, you know, music in his basement of, you know, his, his house in Queens, New York, they’ve now been featured with at least 70 different performers and have actually toured on six different continents from their website.

Speaker 5: 42:01 Scott had posted ever since I was a kid in middle school, I knew I was something of an old soul. While my friends listened to nineties pop hits, I would listen to old jazz and Motown records and spent hours upon hours attempting to figure out their inner workings on the piano. Listening to these recordings truly transported me. I appreciated the creativity, the skill, and of and above all the natural talent that went into their creation. He started out as a jazz musician and, you know, couldn’t really get his niche. But then, you know, again, started listening to modern songs and trying to figure out how he could make them a jazzy version. And it’s, it’s really fascinating to just listen to certain songs and you’re like, wait a second, I know this song. Why do I know the song? And it’s because it’s, you know, it’s completely different.

Speaker 5: 42:56 He does jazz, he does swing, you know, the one song, you know, he does it as a Mariachi, you know, it’s just, you know, the videos are fun because he’ll have, you know, the, the people dress in period clothing, you know, as well. And, you know, it’s just, you know, all around, I’ve, you know, enjoy, you know, every song. You know, that, that they’ve put out. They’ve actually been to Philly a couple of times. I, you know, haven’t been able to see them. I’m sure it would be, you know, a, a fun concert to, to, to say so if you’re a fan of, you know, jazz or, you know, old time music but modern music, you know, with a twist, definitely check them out. They’re on Spotify. Youtube has a whole bunch of play lists. And it is postmodern jukebox. Cool.

Speaker 4: 43:53 Good pick. Thank you.

Speaker 4: 44:00 So just to make sure that we’re giving love to Netflix, mine this week will be a Netflix pick you even want to watch and I’ll get into that. Okay. Okay. So this was your suggestion. It’s the spy, so inspired by real life events. The spy is an espionage thriller set in the 1960s and based on the life of Ellie Cohen and Israeli clerk turned into Israeli’s top Massaad spy, Syria portrayed by Sasha, Bruh, Baron Cohen and Cohen goes deep undercover inside Syria on a perilous years long mission to spy from Assad. And the reason I was not interested in seeing this is that I am not a fan in any way of anything to date that Sasha Baron Cohen has done. So it has been very difficult for me to watch this show because the show itself is well written and well produced. But I can’t help but see him in these difficult Jean’s bond style situations and picture Bhorat, you know it’s, it’s difficult for me even seeing this shows well done as it is to, to unders to, to see him in a role other than the ridiculous roles that he’s carved out for himself so far.

Speaker 4: 45:30 So that’s why I had a problem initially watching this cause much like watching a Nicholas cage, moving and seeing Nicholas cage play exactly the same character in every movie that he’s in. It’s difficult for me to see someone like, Oh Cohen do something and not see him in that iconic role that he created. However, that aside the show is very well done. It is based on historical accounts. The, and, and what I always love about these, cause this is setting in the, in the 60s, late fifties, early sixties. And the sets, the, the, the costumes, the cars, everything that s you know, that you see they go out of their way to convey that time period and they do a fantastic job. So just from a historical standpoint, it’s nice to see that snippet of history. It’s not the best spy thriller I’ve ever seen.

Speaker 4: 46:38 There, and again, it’s based on historical accounts. It’s not the historical accounts, it’s not a documentary. So as a result, they wind up intertwining a little bit of drama and interpersonal relationships that frankly, I think the historical accounts are interesting enough that you don’t need to put that in. So a lot of times it’s a distraction. You know, one of the things that the show hinges on and from what I understand, it will truly come to fruition at the end. Cause it’s only a mini series. It’s six episodes episodes. Yeah. So it’ll play itself out at the end prominently. But it’s this relationship between Cohen and his wife and the separation that they have. And how are they still flash back and they show you how she’s conducting her life. He’s conducting his, and they’ll do these contrasts where, you know, she’ll be sitting at the table and the one activity that they focus around is bread and butter, right?

Speaker 4: 47:46 You know, which I thought creatively was interesting that they established that bread. Butter is family time, right? And they established that in episode one. So whenever you see the bread, the butter come out on the table there, right? Then you kind of know what set, and they take it a step further where she’s in her apartment in Israel, he’s in his condo or whatever in Syria, and the bread butter comes out in both locations and then you see the side by side. So you do a great job of tying the two together for that aspect of the storyline. Right? Right. and they show that, you know, these, these real life people that were intelligence agents weren’t James Bond. They people that had families that had obligations, that had desires, right? So they do a very good job of humanizing what movies typically do as the superhero figures. So it’s, it’s very well done from that perspective. So six episode meeting series released on September six, and it’s available for streaming now on Netflix, the spy. Good pick. Thank you. And I think that will do it for us for today. Any after thoughts? No after thoughts. All right. We will be going to retro con. So we do have an entrance.

Speaker 5: 49:15 I guess we kind of do have an after thought. Unfortunately, if you’re watching this on Monday, you’ve missed it. Okay. We’re aligned now. So it’s relevant if you happen to be watching this live and you’re in the Philadelphia area, a retro con is a small little toy show, pop culture, pop culture, a convention that they do in the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in oaks. So it’s a little, little bit of a drive. But you know, they usually have some really good vendors have some, some celebrities like

Speaker 4: 49:59 Gil Gerard is going to be there. If you don’t, no one remembers guild Gerard. He used to play buck Rogers in the 1980s. Yeah, I was going to say there’s only like

Speaker 5: 50:07 Three or two celebrities that are there. There was another, there was a wrestler that was gonna be there, who was the wrestler, I can’t remember, but it’s killed your hard getting killed. You are just to go see guild Gerard and you know, and it’s kind of small. It’s, it’s a smallest venue so you can definitely do it in, you know, a couple of hours. So it’s today and tomorrow we’ll be going obviously tomorrow to a C so we’ll probably have pictures and stuff for, for next week. For next week.

Speaker 4: 50:38 I put a little little segment together with pictures, so, but that’s it. Just a reminder. You can get us on our website@wwwinsightsintothings.com. You can get the audio podcast@podcastdotinsightsintheentertainment.com. You can get us on youtube, the video of the show@ayoutubedotcomslashinsightsintothingsandyoucangetusonfacebookatfacebook.com slash insights into things podcast. You can email us at comments, at insights into things.com

Speaker 5: 51:15 Send an owl or a carrier pigeon. We’ll get that too.

Speaker 4: 51:22 And you get us on Twitter at insights underscore things. I think that’s everything, right? Am I missing anything?

Speaker 5: 51:29 I think that’s everything. I hope the assumption that I can tolerate. And that’s it. We are out. We’ll see you guys next week. Have a good week everyone. Bye.

Show Notes

  • Introduction
    • Insights Into Entertainment Episode 33 “Conflicts and Letdowns”
    • My talented and brilliant co-host Michelle Whalen
  • Disney Detective
    • The boy who spent his Disney vacation savings to feed Dorian evacuees gets a surprise trip to Disney World
    • https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/09/us/boy-hurricane-dorian-evacuees-disney-world-trnd/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1lWA37mD_Sz0rt7lK0YTp8vs-gwLQC-ZnX19wBu2se8z086IRrR0q-i-g
    • https://cnn.it/2lQuFo2 
      • It seems Jermaine Bell will get his Disney wish after all.
      • After using the money he’d saved for a trip to the Florida theme parks to buy food for Hurricane Dorian evacuees, Disney magic makers surprised Jermaine with a free vacation.
      • Jermaine’s original plans to visit Disney were dashed when Dorian struck the Carolinas last week. Staying with his grandmother in Allendale, South Carolina, he spent what money he’d been saving for a trip to the theme parks on hundreds of hot dogs, chips and water to feed evacuees for free.
      • It was meant to be a trip to celebrate his 7th birthday. He didn’t give up on his dream entirely. He just knew that giving back took priority.
      • “I just wanted to be generous,” he told CNN last week.
      • It seems Mickey took notice. Less than a week after closing up his hurricane hot dog stand, Disney employees showed up outside of an interview with “Good Morning America” to deliver his gift in person. He even got a hug from the Mouse himself.
      • “When Mickey came out, I was just really happy,” he said in a video from Disney.
      • Jermaine and his family will visit the Orlando parks sometime later this month when he’s not in school. But knowing he helped hundreds of people makes it worth the wait.
      • “Be strong, and if you do good things, you will be rewarded,” he said.
    • James Cameron reacts to ‘Avatar’ losing box office top spot to ‘Avengers’
    • https://nypost.com/2019/09/11/james-camerons-reacts-to-avatar-losing-box-office-top-spot-to-avengers/?fbclid=IwAR168_lnRTsWF5qPRYGM9Jqe9U2TWK4z8zKSpzEzvkdXLSSxzub_4KtOjV0
    • http://bit.ly/2kgISdt 
      • Filmmaker James Cameron made his first comments since “Avengers: Endgame” stomped on his 21-year-long reign atop the list of the highest-grossing films in history.
      • Cameron first held the title after the success of his 1997 work “Titanic.” He topped his own record in 2009 with “Avatar,” which raked in $2.79 billion.
      • In May, Anthony and Joe Russo’s “Avengers” flick edged out “Titanic” for the second spot on the list, having earned $2.2 billion at that point.
      • Come July, “Endgame” surpassed “Avatar.” Now, the second- and third-place director — notorious for his cocky attitude — is speaking out about losing his box office crown.
      • However, the measured response from the guy who infamously bellowed “I’m the king of the world!” at the 1998 Oscar telecast might surprise some.
      • “It gives me a lot of hope,” the filmmaker told Deadline Wednesday. ” ‘Avengers: Endgame’ is demonstrable proof that people will still go to movie theaters.”
      • Cameron, who’s working on back-to-back follow-ups to “Avatar” in New Zealand, said he hopes the enthusiasm for “Endgame” transfers to his new sequels — when they’re ready.
      • “The thing that scared me most about making ‘Avatar 2’ and ‘Avatar 3’ was that the market might have shifted so much that it simply was no longer possible to get people that excited about going and sitting in a dark room with a bunch of strangers to watch something,” he told the entertainment outlet.
      • Now, he has hope.
      • “Will ‘Avatar 2 and 3’ be able to create that kind of success in the zeitgeist? Who knows. We’re trying. Maybe we do, maybe we don’t, but the point is, it’s still possible.”
      • “Avatar 2” is set to hit theaters in 2021. Can’t wait that long for a Cameron? He produced a sequel, “Terminator: Dark Fate,” that’s out Nov. 1.
    • The Biggest Letdowns from D23 Expo 2019
    • http://allears.net/2019/09/10/the-biggest-letdowns-from-d23-expo-2019/?fbclid=IwAR3Adle_JOaIFb5I73ObN2fhNofzFfITaNp7Izee9OaEBHYZ29NyUQs8Jl8
    • http://bit.ly/2lOty8w 
      • NO NEW WORLD SHOWCASE PAVILION
      • We have been waiting for a new World Showcase pavilion for what seems like forever (it’s been over 30 years, so IT IS!). And while rumors have swirled around for YEARS that a Brazilian pavilion would be joining the World Showcase line up, it didn’t happen yet again. We were really hoping that we’d have the opportunity to experience a new culture, new foods, and new attractions, whether that was Brazil or another country. But it looks as if we will have to keep waiting!
      • NO COCO ATTRACTION
      • Now, there were a TON of announcements for Epcot. From new Mary Poppins and Moana attractions to the formation of neighborhoods, Disney has a lot in store for this Park. But we were really hoping that Coco would make its way to the Mexico Pavilion. This is another long-running rumor that still has not come to fruition and honestly, we’re a little bummed!
      • NO NEW EXPERIENCES FOR MAGIC KINGDOM OR ANIMAL KINGDOM
      • Though Disney is adding a new TRON Lightcyle Run attraction to Tomorrowland in Magic Kingdom, it was interesting that no new experiences were announced for Magic Kingdom OR Animal Kingdom. I mean, when are we going to get a new attraction in the Stitch’s Great Escape area, people?! 
      • NO ANNOUNCEMENT OF RENOVATIONS IN MAGIC KINGDOM
      • We were also really disappointed that Disney will not be renovating a few attractions and lands around Magic Kingdom. We don’t think anything needs a total overhaul, but it would be nice if a few classic attractions got the facelift they deserve before the Park’s 50th anniversary!
      • NO NIGHTTIME PARADE FOR MAGIC KINGDOM
      • But of all the unannounced things that could’ve come to Magic Kingdom, we were really shocked that Disney STILL isn’t bringing a nighttime parade to Magic Kingdom. They have not had a nighttime parade offering since Main Street Electrical took its final bow YEARS ago. And Disney World could really use this to help assist with the crowd levels at night. 
    • Disney’s Bob Iger Resigns From Apple’s Board as Companies Launch Competing Streaming Services
    • https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/bob-iger-apple-board-1203335594/
    • http://bit.ly/2kfkqcs 
      • Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger has stepped down from Apple’s board of directors, the iPhone maker announced in a SEC filing Friday afternoon. Iger left the board on September 10, according to the filing — the same day that Apple announced the launch date and pricing of its upcoming subscription streaming service Apple TV Plus.
      • “It has been an extraordinary privilege to have served on the Apple board for 8 years, and I have the utmost respect for Tim Cook, his team at Apple, and for my fellow board members,” Iger said in a statement. “Apple is one of the world’s most admired companies, known for the quality and integrity of its products and its people, and I am forever grateful to have served as a member of the company’s board.”
      • Iger had joined Apple’s board of directors in 2011. He had previously been instrumental to Disney acquiring Pixar from late Apple CEO Steve Jobs in 2006, which also resulted in Jobs joining Disney’s board of directors.
      • But while the two companies had long been intertwined at the helm, plans to launch competing streaming services were increasingly putting Apple and Disney at odds. Disney is set to launch its Disney Plus service on November 12, whereas Apple TV Plus will launch on November 1.
      • As the two companies enter the global streaming market, they aren’t just competing for consumer dollars, but also for programming rights. By some reports, Apple has allocated as much as $6 billion for Apple TV Plus content.
      • The increasingly competitive hunt for top-tier talent among a handful of well-capitalized media giants came to the forefront this week when Warner Media struck a massive deal with J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company following an intense bidding war. Abrams had been a director for Disney’s “Star Wars” franchise, and also recently produced a limited series for Apple TV Plus.
      • Iger’s decision to leave Apple’s board didn’t come as much of a surprise to industry observers: Board members who also hold executive positions at other companies frequently leave their posts when such conflicts of interest arise. For instance, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings left Facebook’s board of directors earlier this year just as Facebook was dialing up its media investments. Both Hastings and Iger would have otherwise been forced to recuse themselves from key decisions, ultimately making it harder for them to serve as board members.
      • Apple didn’t immediately respond to a question about succession plans for Iger’s now-vacant board seat.
  • Entertainment News
    • MoviePass Shuts Down, With Parent Company Citing Failure to Raise Funds
    • https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/moviepass-shuts-down-1203335464/
    • http://bit.ly/2kAan24 
      • On Friday, MoviePass notified remaining subscribers that it would be shutting down the service effective Sept. 14, 2019, because “its efforts to recapitalize MoviePass have not been successful to date,” parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics announced.
      • “The company is continuing its efforts to seek financing to fund its operations,” the statement said. But, it added, “The company is unable to predict if or when the MoviePass service will continue.”
      • In addition, Helios and Matheson said its board has commenced a review of strategic and financial options, including a potential sale of the New York-based company in its entirety or a business reorganization.
      • Even with MoviePass’ evident demise, the service has spurred theater chains including AMC Theatres, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark to launch their own rival subscription plans. Last month, AMC said its Stubs A-List program, which lets subscribers see three movies weekly for $19.95 a month, had hit 900,000 subscribers.
      • For more than a year, MoviePass has had trouble keeping the lights on. Just before the July 4 holiday, it said it was suspending service for several weeks in order to fix technical issues and finish work on a new version of its app. In August, it claimed to have restored service to “a substantial number of our current subscribers.”
      • Meanwhile, also last month, MoviePass confirmed that a security issue may have left customers records exposed online, including credit card info.
      • In August 2018, MoviePass eliminated the popular one-movie-per-day plan, priced at $9.95 per month — an offer that proved to be economically unsustainable. It replaced that with a new $9.95 plan letting subscribers see just three movies each month, but that evidently was not a viable path to profitability either. This year, it rolled out a refashioned “unlimited” option, for $14.95 per month, to again allow customers to see one movie daily but warning that movie choices would be restricted based on “system-wide capacity.”
      • For full-year 2018, Helios and Matheson’s net loss more than doubled, to $329.3 million, on revenue of $232.3 million, according to its most recent financial filing. The company acquired control of MoviePass in 2017. Helios and Matheson’s shares were delisted from the Nasdaq on Feb. 12, 2019, after its stock price failed to meet the exchange’s $1-per-share minimum requirement, and have been available in over-the-counter trading.
      • Helios and Matheson is being investigated by the New York Attorney General, which is looking into whether the company misled investors. The company also is the target of a class-action lawsuit by MoviePass subscribers claiming the change in the “unlimited” plan was a deceptive “bait-and-switch” tactic.
    • Felicity Huffman Sentenced to 14 Days in Prison in SAT Cheating Case
    • https://variety.com/2019/biz/news/felicity-huffman-sentence-college-admissions-1203335133/
    • http://bit.ly/2kcMM78 
      • Felicity Huffman was sentenced on Friday to 14 days in prison for the crime of paying $15,000 to boost her daughter’s SAT score.
      • Judge Indira Talwani also ordered her to serve 250 hours of community service and a year of probation, and pay a $30,000 fine. The sentence came as a surprise, as Talwani had been skeptical of prosecution arguments leading up to the hearing.
      • “Trying to be a good mother doesn’t excuse this,” Talwani said in issuing her verdict. “The outrage in this case is a system that is already so distorted by money and privilege in the first place… You took the step of having one more advantage to put your child ahead.”
      • Huffman was ordered to report to prison on Oct. 25.
      • Prosecutors had argued that she should be sentenced to one month behind bars.
      • “A message must be sent and imprisonment is the only way to send that message,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen, arguing that anything less would show that the rich get preferential treatment. “In prison everyone wears the same clothes. Prison is the great leveler.”
      • Huffman gave a tearful apology before the sentence was rendered.
      • “I was frightened, I was stupid and I was so wrong,” she said. “I am deeply ashamed of what I have done.”
      • Her attorney, Martin F. Murphy, asked for a sentence of one year of probation and community service.
      • “A sentence of probation is real punishment,” he argued.
      • Huffman agreed to plead guilty in April to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. She was one of 33 parents ensnared in the initial sweep of Operation Varsity Blues, a wide-ranging FBI investigation into cheating in elite college admissions.
      • Huffman wrote a letter to the judge last week, in which she apologized and sought to give an explanation. She said she was panicked by the fear that her daughter would not get into school to study acting because of her low test scores.
      • “In my desperation to be a good mother I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot,” she wrote.
      • Rosen countered that argument in court on Friday.
      • “With all due respect to the defendant, welcome to parenthood,” he said. “Parenting does not make you a felon. It does not make you cheat.”
      • Her husband, actor William H. Macy, told the court in a letter that Huffman has received no acting offers or auditions since the scandal broke.
      • “Felicity’s only interest now is figuring out how to make amends and help her daughters heal and move on,” he wrote.
      • Rosen was skeptical that Huffman’s career would be seriously impaired by the charges. “She is extraordinarily talented,” he said. “She’ll be just fine.”
      • Huffman is the first parent to be sentenced in the cheating case. Others, including actress Lori Loughlin, have refused to take the government’s plea offer.
    • Eddie Money, ‘Two Tickets to Paradise’ Singer, Dies at 70
    • https://variety.com/2019/music/news/eddie-money-dead-dies-1203334855/
    • http://bit.ly/2lPsz7W 
      • Eddie Money, the prolific singer and songwriter whose songs “Baby Hold On,” “Two Tickets to Paradise,” “Shakin’” and “Take Me Home Tonight” soundtracked popular music in the 1980s, died Friday (Sept. 13). He was 70.
      • A statement provided by his family reads: “The Money Family regrets to announce that Eddie passed away peacefully early this morning. It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our loving husband and father. We cannot imagine our world without him. We are grateful that he will live on forever through his music.”
      • Money recently revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.
      • A reality television series about Money and his family, “Real Money,” had aired on AXS TV starting in April 2018. It chronicled his life at home, on the road and with his family, as well as his health struggles.
  • Insightful Picks
    • Michelle
      • Postmodern Jukebox, also widely known by the acronym PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. Postmodern Jukebox has amassed over 1.2 billion YouTube views and 4 million subscribers.
      • Each week, Postmodern Jukebox releases a new video on YouTube. Although originally most were filmed casually in Bradlee’s living room, sets became more elaborate over time. The band has covered songs by artists ranging from Lady Gaga and The Strokes to Katy Perry and the White Stripes. Since their beginnings as a small group of friends making music in a basement in Queens, New York, Postmodern Jukebox has gone on to feature 70 different performers and tour six continents.
      • https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=98&v=8EbLlgKFk9c
      • “Ever since I was in middle school, I knew I was something of an old soul. While my friends listened to ’90s pop hits, I listened to old jazz and Motown records and spent hours upon hours attempting to figure out their inner workings on the piano. Listening to these records truly transported me — I appreciated the creativity, skill, and — above all — natural talent that went into their creation. Years later, as a musician living in New York City, I formed Postmodern Jukebox as way to bring the classic sounds I loved back into the mainstream, and to build a platform to celebrate real, unadulterated, deserving talent.
      • Today, it’s been five years since Postmodern Jukebox performed its first show, and our family has grown to include nearly fifty singers and another fifty instrumentalists, all of whom now have the opportunity to perform the classic genres they love for the audiences who appreciate them. The vocalists sing every note live, without any tuning help. The musicians make every sound you hear on stage and in my living room with the instruments you see them playing. That doesn’t matter to everyone, but it matters to us and I believe it matters to our fans. We do it the old fashioned way and we love every second of it.
      • Thanks to our millions of fans around the world, Postmodern Jukebox has become the rotating collective of musical outcasts that have somehow found a home and there are still many incredible, undiscovered talents out there that I really am excited to share with you. And its my promise to continue to share with you, the best natural performers from around the world, and give them a platform they deserve in this wonderful, musical universe we call Postmodern Jukebox.
      • –Scott Bradlee
      • Creator, Postmodern Jukebox
    • Joe
      • The Spy
      • Netflix
      • Inspired by real life events The Spy is an espionage thriller set in the 1960’s and based on the life of Eli Cohen, an Israeli clerk-turned-into Israel’s top Mossad spy in Syria, portrayed by Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen goes deep undercover inside Syria on a perilous, years-long mission to spy for Mossad.

        The six-episode miniseries, released on September 6, 2019 and is available for streaming now on Netflix, was