Metrotainment

Category: News

  • Sprint Planning To Ride On Jay-Z 4:44 Album Success

    Sprint Planning To Ride On Jay-Z 4:44 Album Success

    Sprint is about to turn in a fortune from its $200 million investment in music streaming service Tidal. Music lovers wishing to gain access to Jay Z’s, upcoming album 4:44 legally will have to switch to the network or subscribe to one of Tidal’s packages

     Sprint-Tidal Project

    The much-awaited album will be the first major project between Tidal and Sprint. The agreement is reminiscent of the release of the rapper’s 2013 album ‘Magna Carta Holy Grail’ that was exclusively available to Samsung Galaxy devices for some time.

    The length of time that the album will be available to Tidal and Sprint customers is still unclear.  It is also unclear the kind of impact that the move will have on the album’s ratings, given that Sprint and Tidal don’t command huge user bases compared to other platforms. However, it underscores how serious the fourth largest carrier in the U.S is, about pursuing growth opportunities in the music industry.

     Free Tidal Subscription Offer

    Sprint push into the music industry is taking shape the company having unveiled a six-month Tidal free trial subscription to its users. The service normally costs $19.99 a month. Once the six-month free trial ends, customers will have to pay $10 a month to access any premium Tidal content.

    “More than two-thirds of mobile subscribers stream music an average of 45 minutes per day, making our partnership with Tidal a natural fit for Sprint. [..]We’re providing our customers and anyone who signs up for Sprint a complimentary six-month trial of Tidal HiFi so they can experience all the unique and exclusive content Tidal has to offer,” said CEO, Marcelo Claure.

     Sprint partnership should help Tidal bolster its subscription base as it continues to push for market share against the likes of Spotify and Apple Music. However, Jay-Z upcoming album remains the real deal in the two companies push to strengthen their customer bases. Some of the top selling artists whose content are exclusively available on the music streaming service include Beyoncé, Alicia Key and Kanye West.

     Sprint stock was down by 3.23% in Friday trading session to end the week at $7.80 a share.

  • Carrie Fisher’s Death Closely Linked To Drug Use And Sleep Apnea

    Carrie Fisher’s Death Closely Linked To Drug Use And Sleep Apnea

    Carrie Fisher’s death has been linked to sleep apnea and other causes including drug use. This is according to the listing released on Friday by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. A number of the top news reporters went after some officials working with the office seeking to understand more. Unfortunately, the officials declined to comment. A statement releases after described the manner of death as undetermined.

    The released report has been described by top analysts as vague especially in terms of role the drugs played in the actor’s death. Billie Lourd, Fisher’s daughter issued her statement to People magazine Friday night. She cited that her mother had indeed died from substance use.

    While speaking to journalists, Lourd said, “My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.”

    Todd Fisher, who is the late star’s brother, dismissed the brief statement released by the coroner Friday saying that it offered nothing new. He stated that her sister’s battle with drugs and bipolar disease compromised her health for many years and finally she was no more. He added that he would have loved to grow old with her, but her death never came as shock to anyone.

    Experts said that drug use had the potential to exacerbate sleep apnea with potentially fatal results; however the report did not clear the matter surrounding the unfortunate incidence. A lot of people still do not understand if indeed Fisher took any drugs on that day when she suffered the cardiac arrest while trying to make an international flight.

    Sources indicate that a longer and indeed more detailed report might be out by Monday.

    According to latimes.com , the 60-year old Fisher after collapsing during her 11-hour flight from London to Los Angeles International Airport had quickly been rushed to hospital by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. This of course took place on Dec. 23.

    This is not the first time that drug abuse is claiming a top actor’s life. Over the years, the world has lost a lot of actors to drug abuse regardless of the fact that a lot of anti-drug campaigns continue to be spearheaded.

  • Feds Investigate An International Corruption Scandal In Line With The Production Of Films

    Feds Investigate An International Corruption Scandal In Line With The Production Of Films

    The U.S. government is closely making a follow up on the case tied to assets believed to have been diverted by a number of the top officials in Malaysia. The latest reports indicate that feds filed a complaint that sought to seize rights to the Dumb and Dumber To and Daddy’s Home.

    The government insists that indeed a lot of the money that was channeled towards the production of these films is tied to foreign corruption. The feds will soon scrutinize the various gifts given a couple of celebrities. These include the high-valued paintings such as the one that Leonardo DiCaprio once enjoyed. It is at the moment in government’s possession.

    In the previous year, a similar complaint was forwarded at the California federal court. This was in line with the Wolf of Wall Street which was directed by Martin Scorsese. The feds have uncovered that the film was funded using assets from a fund called 1Malaysia Development Berdhard (1MDB).After that, they were diverted into the shell companies.

    As a matter of fact, part of the money was moved to Red Granite which is run by CEO Riza Aziz, the stepson of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. The controversy is getting more complex with time. Of $4.5 billion allegedly misappropriated, some top reliable sources indicate that a section went “to finance the co-conspirators’ lavish lifestyles, including purchases of artwork and jewelry, the acquisition of luxury real estate and luxury yachts, the payment of gambling expenses, and the hiring of musicians and celebrities to attend parties.”

    In May, a number of the federal prosecutors spoke to the California federal judge citing that the U.S. government was in active talks in efforts to arrive at a favorable agreement with Red Granite Pictures.

    One of the complaints revealed that indeed Shell Company summoned Aabar-BVI, incorporated in Abu Dhabi and had maintained about $1.367 billion from the 1MDB fund. A lot of people are looking forward to what comes out of the active discussions that Red Granite is spearheading. It seeks to resolve the civil cases. According to Usatoday.com, it seems to be cooperating fully.

  • Obama Describes His Bond To Jay Z

    Obama Describes His Bond To Jay Z

    Jay Z has become the first hip-hop artist to make it into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Jay Z was presented with the award by U.S’s first black president Barack Obama. As mentioned in his speech, the two share a lot of similarities and share what Obama termed as special type of friendship.

    The most outstanding and immediate thing that perhaps the two have in common is the fact that neither of the two was physically present at the event. Obama used a prerecorded video to give his speech. Obama name and passed a message of congratulations to all the inductees before he finally turned to Jay Z who he termed as “a true America original.” “I like to think Mr. Carter and I understand each other,” Obama said. “Nobody who met us when we were younger men would have expected us to be where we are today.” Obama went on to highlight some of the problems that affect both of them who how, in their own ways managed to overcome them.

    Obama admitted that they are both family men and so much into their daughters. In reference to Beyoncé acknowledged the close relationship she has with Michelle Obama adding that the two even seem to be more popular than Obama himself and Jay Z.

    It is particularly interesting and surprising to see Obama speaking about Jay Z. The two are not only close friends, but have a lot of respect for each other. Obama admitted that he could be the only U.S president who brought Jay Z’s music to the Oval Office. He also admitted sampling several of Jay Z’s lyrics to use in many of his speeches. “My President,” in which Jay Z raps, “Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther could walk/Martin Luther walked so Barack Obama could run/Barack Obama ran so all the children could fly.” Additionally, in a tweet, Obama said he used several of Jay z’s lyrics while putting final State of the Union address.  He closed by saying he drew a lot of inspiration in what Jay Z said about initiating change and staying true to oneself.

  • Fans Come Out In Large Numbers To Pay Tribute To The Legendary Adam West Following His Demise

    Fans Come Out In Large Numbers To Pay Tribute To The Legendary Adam West Following His Demise

    A large number of fans flocked in Los Angeles to give tribute to the late Batman actor Adam West. With some in costumes, they cheered as Mayor Eric Garcetti and Police Chief Charlie Beck switched on the iconic signal and eventually made a splash of a yellow oval with a bat silhouette high up on City Hall’s wall.

    West had been playing the Caped Crusader in the campy 1960s TV series and his death which occurred early last week has sparked emotion among his fans. He was 88 at the time of his death. The top actor for many years kept his fans glued to the TV and that it was indeed sad that they had lost such an amazing actor.

    During his lifetime, West kept reminding everyone that they all had a heart of gold. Garcetti affirmed that Batman was indeed one of a kind and that there would never be another like him. The attendees could see from the display the red Bat-Phone like the one Gotham City’s Commissioner James Gordon used in his chats with West in the TV series.

    According to Abcnews.go.com, Batman’s wife and children as well attended the event .Burt Ward is the real name of the character that played Robin on the show and he was given an opportunity to speak. He appeared quite emotional. He said that it was quite unfortunate that they had lost the star at the time they needed him the most especially on the advisory role.

    He also referred to him as a man that had great respect and love for the family institution and that he would be missed a great deal. His love for his fans and humanity in general was unending and that the void left behind was huge.

    Before the lighting, a lot of people lined up all making efforts to tale photos with two sharp-finned Batmobiles parked on the sidewalk. Some could be seen wearing capes and others the Batman masks. Those that decided to wear T-Shirts had the Batman TV logo printed on them. Katie Aiani revealed that she looked up to late iconic actor. She grew up watching him and drew much inspiration from him. A 30-year-old costume designer, Chad Evatt described West as a legend. He had played the role of Batman for the longest period ever and that of course commanded great respect.

  • Bill Cosby Jury Still Deadlocked After Four Days of Deliberation

    Bill Cosby Jury Still Deadlocked After Four Days of Deliberation

    After the jury in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case admitted that it was deadlocked on all the three charges, it withdrew into their hotel for four days of deliberation. This came barely hours after the judge had directed the jurors to try and reach an outside-court solution. The jury will return on Friday for a fifth day deliberation.

    During the fourth deliberation, admitted that they are unable to get a solution on any of the charges. Cosby watched calmly as the jury which is white dominated with five women and seven men filled the courtroom. As of Thursday, the jury had been deliberating over the case for around 40 hours.

    A mistral request by the defense was turned down by the judge terming it inappropriately timed. In a response to the jury’s grim missive, the judge reminded the members that it is their responsibility to try and reach an agreement in some of the charges.

    The jury was selected last month and isolated during the trial period. The jury is deliberating on three accounts of assault charges against the entertainer. Cosby is looking at 10 year in jail for each charge if found guilty. Although the hung jury can initiate the possibility of a retrial, such an outcome would be a blessing to Cosby.

    As has always been the case during the trial, Cosby left the courtroom with his publicist, Andrew Wyatt and retreated into one of the courthouse rooms where he has been waiting during the entire deliberation process. While addressing the media, Wyatt said Cosby was feeling weary and exhausted but expressed optimism in the outcome.

    Cosby is facing accusations of assaulting Andrea Constand who was by then the operations manager for women’s basketball team at Temple University. Cosby was a member of the board of trustee and a major booster. He has denied all the charges and maintained that his relationship with the victim was romantic and consensual. The incident is said to have happened after Constand went to Cosby’s home located outside Philadelphia in 2004. There are many similarities in the events of that night as accounted by both parties. However Cosby maintains that it was consensual, an allegation that Constand has denied.

  • Hillary Clinton Says ‘Wonder Woman’ Is ‘Right Up My Alley’ In Video Message At Crystal + Lucy Award

    Hillary Clinton Says ‘Wonder Woman’ Is ‘Right Up My Alley’ In Video Message At Crystal + Lucy Award

    Politics took centre stage at the Women in Film’s Crystal + Lucy Awards that featured Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Kamala Harris. In a video message, Clinton lauded the director of ‘Wonder Woman’ Patty Jenkins for creating the forum. Clinton also used the podium to dig into the Trump administration equating it to a massive international disaster.

    Clinton honored Elizabeth Banks, a recipient of Crystal + Lucy Award and one of her vocal supporters in last year’s election. Dan Rather, who was honored with Norma Zarky Humanitarian Award praised Clinton for being a true champion of American value. He said WIF leaders have always made their voices heard whenever there “boorish” behavior from the political class.

    Kirsten Schaffer, the WIF Los Angeles exec director said the country is divided culturally and politically. He advocated for use of art and Hollywood to increase the cohesiveness among the citizenry.

    In order to increase the number of female participants in Hollywood, Schaffer announced that Women in Film will be partnering with APM Music to launch a library exclusively for women composers. APM Music is one of the major creative music studios and music production library.

    During the awards, Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, the co-presidents of Sony Pictures Classics were honored with the inaugural beacon award in recognition of their role in advancing women’s art work from Jacki Weaver. Bernard noted that the showbiz industry drew a lot of support and inspiration from Clinton’s presidency. “If you support a woman to run the country, you should support women to run your film,” he said.

    Barker noted that Sony has given a strong consideration to the contribution of women in the Hollywood industry. He added that they have managed to work with a many women and their potential and ability has been outstanding.

     The award recognized Nair with the BMW Dorothy Arzner trophy for her role as Lupita Nyong’o’s director. Michelle Obama introduced Lucy honoree Tracee Ellis Ross and was presented with her award by Aisha Tyler. Ross noted that although a lot of progress has been made, there is still more work ahead to ensure continued progress of women in the industry.

  • Comedy Shows Take A Swipe At Jeff Sessions’ Testimony

    Comedy Shows Take A Swipe At Jeff Sessions’ Testimony

    Late Show host Stephen Colbert has hilariously termed Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions’ appearance before Congress as “America’s favorite new reality TV show.” Sessions’ session with Congress was largely revealing and was characterized by unwillingness to open up about the matter as well as claims of bad memory.

    The show was largely characterized by jokes about Sessions’ size with Colbert terming him the “last surviving Little Rascal Jeff Sessions.” Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” also joked about Sessions’ standing to take an oath and later used a graphic picture to portray the Attorney General as “The D.C. Hobbit.” ”If there’s one thing we know about magical creatures, if you ask them a question they don’t like, they’ll just make up rules to why they can’t answer,” he joked.

    “Jimmy Kimmel Live” made a comic improvement of Sessions’ boring testimony by using it as a sound track to a Bugs-and-Daffy exchange in the cartoon series “Looney Tunes”. This gave birth to what the show termed “testimony the whole family can enjoy.”

    The AG’s comments about “secret innuendo” concerning his actions as well as his declaration that despite recusing himself from any inquiries into the presidential campaign, he cannot recuse himself from defending himself against false allegations.

    On “Saturday Night Live” guest Kate McKinnon elaborated her process of imitating the AG and gave an impression of the entire testimony. The “Tonight Show” hosted by Jimmy Fallon also featured games. Together with Heidi Klum, the invented the “randomly selected, never-before-seen” dances on the spot which included the “Speed Bowling,” “Fork in the Garbage Disposal” and “Invisible Hulu Hoop”.

    On ” The Late Late Show,” Jane Krakowski, Iggy Azalea, Kate Mara and Lily James engaged in a round of “Flinch,” in which participants were stood behind a glass and avoided spilling a martini when unexpected water balloon where fired at each. A minor theme of the show involved odd drinking habits. The host took a sip of what whiskey and said “Oh, sweet darkness, cover me. Ready to watch the Senate.” In a comic joke, Meyers said “secretly pour whiskey into my mug while no one’s looking.” He took a drink, and made a face.

  • ‘Cars 3’ At Its Best As Time Comes For Lightning McQueen To Face Up To A New Chapter

    ‘Cars 3’ At Its Best As Time Comes For Lightning McQueen To Face Up To A New Chapter

    Pixar Animation Studios has some exciting news for the players. It has introduced three films already. However, it leaves behind a lot of unanswered questions. A lot of people wish to know what the interiors look like among other concerns.

    As a matter of fact, the game exhibits the cycle of life and death in a rather detailed manner. In fact, in the “Toy Story” series it is even brought out more clearly. But the surprising aspect is that the aluminum-thin world of “Cars” sticks out as an exception.

    Some top critics have criticized the fact that the movies and their windshields-eyed cars lack any of the existential soul of “Inside Out.”In spite of the fact that they remain Pixar on cruise control, they are remain dazzlingly animated and lovable to most of the players.

    A lot of kids, especially the boys love them. That is one of the reasons behind Pixas continued manufacture a long this line. According to Abcnews.go.com, reproduction continues to be a foggy issue. But the desirable development is that following the wayward European trip of the scattershot “Cars 2,”there seems to be more under the hood of “Cars 3.”

    It is indeed true that the colorful shine may be quite luring to the eyes. However, this still remains to be the used-car lot of Pixar’s high-octane fleet. “Cars 3” despite the fact that it lacks the magic of Pixar’s more tender touchstones makes different users pine for the halcyon summers of “Ratatouille” or “WALL-E.”All the same, we remain pessimistic about any change in regards to any development being made.

    Pixar chief John Lasseter and Previous “Cars” director recently gave their perspectives. They ceded the directing to veteran Pixar storyboard artist Brian Fee for “Cars 3,” which according to reliable sources usually finds an aging Lightning McQueen being beaten in races by the new pack of metrics-optimized young racers. The arrogant Jackson Storm (Armie Hammer) happens to be one of these racers.

    Lately, there was a bad crash and McQueen hopes to train his way back to the top and a lot of the players are eager to see what happens there after.

  • Bill Cosby Trial Ends With No Judgment

    Bill Cosby Trial Ends With No Judgment

    Bill Cosby trial on sexual assault has been going on for several days in the past week and by Tuesday, after long hours of deliberations; the jurors closed the case with no verdict. Cosby is accused of three counts of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home some 15 years ago in his home.

    Cosby is at risk of being convicted on three counts of drugging and sexually abusing Andrea Constand more than 13 years ago. The verdict on the 79-year-old well-known US entertainer could see the man be jailed for up to 10 years behind the bars together with a fine of $25,000 on each count of the assault.

    About 60 women have recorded statements accusing Cosby in the past for being a serial sexual abuser who allegedly drugged the victims with sedatives before assaulting them sexually for a span of more than 40 years in various states within the US.

    As Cosby’s trial for his alleged sexual assault of Constand comes close to an end, many people who have doubted the judgment are convinced that the entire ordeal is about the white Americans fighting the blacks.

    Many people have criticized Cosby’s case including Kanye West who tweeted recently that Cosby is innocent, and Tariq Nasheed who convinced his followers of Twitter that the allegations are more of a ‘white supremacy witch hunt’.

    Cosby has maintained that his sexual encounter with Constand was consensual. While most of his complainants are women of color, Constand is white. The narrative is that Cosby is a black man and yet he enjoyed sex with a huge number of white women, thus the unbelievable blowback on him.

    Though there have been incidences of racism and unfair accusations of the American whites against the blacks, the Cosby’s case is different and there could be more truth to the story. The comedian is a rich and renown black American who could afford the defense attorney to bail him out of the case. Cosby has even confessed committing the crime. Many women who accused him pointed to his fame and money as the core reasons why they didn’t bring out the matter earlier.