December 25, 2016

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Entertainment December 25, 2016

Christmas Day in Movie Culture: Darth Vader and Kylo Ren's Holiday Shenanigans, Marvel Yule Logs and More

Here are a bunch of little bites to satisfy your hunger for movie culture:

Star Wars Holiday Special of the Day:

Darth Vader and little Kylo Ren bond during the holidays in this funny Christmas-themed Star Wars parody (via Geek Tyrant):

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Yule Logs of the Day:

Instead of the boring old yule log this holiday, you can put one of Marvel’s varieties on in the background. Below is one from the Milano from Guardians of the Galaxy and there are more from Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Ms. Marvel here.

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Christmas Carol Cover of the Day:

The cast of Sing join Paul McCartney for an a cappella rendition of “Wonderful Christmastime” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon:

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Movie Map of the Day:

Mental Floss filled in a map of the U.S. with each state’s favorite Christmas movies (via Geekologie):

Movie Debate of the Day:

CNN gets to the bottom of whether or not Die Hard is actually a “Christmas movie” with help from critic David Edelstein:

Supercut of the Day:

Darth Blender’s latest is not the usual gag gift but a nice montage of good and bad Christmas movies:

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Vintage Newspaper Ad of the Day:

In case you have any doubts that Gremlins is a Christmas movie, here’s a great ad from the 1984 holiday season:

Love this 1984 #Gremlins newspaper ad featuring ‘Stripe Claws’ & ‘Gizmo’! @joe_dante @zwgman @AmblinEnt pic.twitter.com/6zqRubhTDa

— Jon Donahue (@JonDonahue) December 6, 2016

Filmmaker in Focus:

John Woo is heavily represented in Fandor’s supercut tied to the “two turtle doves” part of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” See their other supercuts based on the song at Vimeo.

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Movie Homages of the Day:

See if you can find all 20 movies referenced in this animated action movie starring Santa Claus (via Geek Tyrant):

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Macualey Culkin and Joe Pesci seem to get along during the making of Home Alone while writer/producer John Hughes can be seen in the background:

Alternate Ending of the Day:

Above Average imagines a different way It’s a Wonderful Life could have gone in this parody of the classic film’s ending:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Imagine a time before A Christmas Story played in theaters let alone marathons on television by watch the holiday classic’s original trailer from 1983:

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and

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Business December 25, 2016

For Global Investors, 'Uncertainty' Over Business Climate Under Trump

The Trump International Golf Club in Dubai is part of the president-elect’s real estate empire. Trump has said his sons would run his companies while he’s president. Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images

It can take decades for a country build up a name as a good place to do business, and the U.S. consistently ranks among the best. But some economists say its reputation for trustworthiness could be challenged if President-elect Trump makes good on threats to rip up international agreements.

“The U.S. is consistently among the top five, the top 10 countries in the world in terms of the environment for doing business. And this is mostly because of the rule of law and the transparency of government,” says Simeon Djankov, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and former chief economist at the World Bank.

He warns that America’s solid reputation could quickly disappear if President-elect Trump carries through with some of his campaign promises. He points to the Paris climate accord, signed by world leaders a year ago. Djankov says there was an underlying expectation in the global business community that an international contract would be honored when the next U.S. president took office.

“Suddenly the president-elect says, ‘Well, I don’t like this agreement, I may not abide by it,’ ” he says. “This business is thrown into panic, already they have spent maybe hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars abiding by this new regulation, now it’s for nothing, so to speak.”

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Scuppering such agreements can erode trust with international investors, says Ray Fisman, a professor of economics at Boston University.

“If there’s one thing that deters investment, it is uncertainty,” he says. “And we’re seeing uncertainty. You don’t quite know what you’re in for if you consider doing business in the U.S.”

It’s still unclear whether there will be a bright line between Trump’s business dealings and the White House. His children have sat in on meetings with world leaders and advisers. Trump has said his sons would run his companies while he’s president — but he could still make money off his name used on properties across the world.

“We should not forget that perceptions are important,” says Alejandro Salas, a director at Transparency International, which produces an index every year looking at the impact of perceived corruption on international investment in more than 160 countries.

Salas says the higher level of corruption, the less attractive a country is to investors, and vice versa. The U.S. ranked 16th last year, tied with Austria. Salas says that may change because Trump appears to disregard many rules and regulations.

“The fact that there could be so much conflict of interest, the fact that he says as far as the conflict of interest laws don’t apply to the president, that’s very dangerous,” Salas says.

The American system of checks and balances will help hold the government accountable, Salas says. For now, investors will give the new president time and latitude to settle into the job. Meanwhile, the stock market is going gangbusters.

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Sports December 25, 2016

Avid Runner Switches Up Route In The Spirit Of Christmas

Owen Delaney is an avid runner who decided to make his runs a little more festive this year. He used his GPS app to create Christmas-themed art.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHUCK BERRY’S “RUN RUDOLPH RUN”)

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Owen Delaney is an avid runner. A couple weeks ago, he looked at a map of his local park in London and he saw all the normal things – trails, a fountain but also an opportunity.

OWEN DELANEY: It just popped into my head the idea of running in the shape of Rudolph’s face.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “RUN RUDOLPH RUN”)

CHUCK BERRY: (Singing) Run, run, Rudolph. Santa’s got to make it to town.

CHANG: He used Strava, a social network that allows athletes to manually plot their routes and – if they’re feeling creative – to draw some GPS art. And by GPS art, we mean he deliberately ran a route in the shape of a picture. The first picture he did was Rudolph with the park fountain as a nose. And he went on from there.

DELANEY: Then Santa’s face, then the sleigh, I think – a Christmas tree, snowflake. I did another reindeer face in a different park that didn’t work so well. And today I did Christmas stockings for my two kids and a carrot to leave out for Rudolph (laughter) and a glass of sherry for Santa.

CHANG: But it wasn’t always easy. He can’t stop to correct his work. Delaney says he has to do the run all in one go. And sometimes, he has to veer off the beaten path just a little bit.

DELANEY: If you look at the Santa one, the eyes are a little bit messy ’cause that wasn’t on paths. That was out through the bracken and the fields.

CHANG: After today, Delaney says he plans to return to his regular runs. But who knows what the future holds?

DELANEY: Maybe something for Easter, something for New Year perhaps. We’ll have a think on the New Year after Christmas and come up with some ideas maybe.

CHANG: He almost makes running sound festive.

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Entertainment December 25, 2016

See New, Bloody 'Alien: Covenant' Trailer: In Space, No One Can Hear You Bleed

Alien: Covenant

Prometheus faced the difficult challenge of reigniting the Alien franchise after 15 years of anticipation, which were filled only by two disappointing spin-off movies (Alien vs. Predator, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem). Ridley Scott and company decided to explore the origin of an advanced civilization in a story that was set some 30 years before the events in the original Alien.

The movie was certainly ambitious, which means that there was a lot of story to set up, not only with a new alien civilization, but also the state of mankind in the future. By and large, Prometheus delivered thoughtful ideas, while also providing fans with with the pulse-pounding action and gruesome thrills that we’ve come to expect from the series.

Watch the crazy new red-band trailer below. (Warning: NSFW)

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Alien: Covenant picks up the story 10 years later and as the latest official photo reveals, it’s definitely going to be bloody.

224612072104 pic.twitter.com/pA2x6TNiR9

— Alien Anthology (@AlienAnthology) December 22, 2016

Will Alien: Covenant be more of a straight-ahead action movie? Or will it incorporate more horror elements? Time will tell.

Here’s the official premise: “The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.” The cast is led by Michael Fassbender and Katherine Winston and includes Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz and Jussie Smollet. James Franco has also indicated that he’ll be playing a supporting role.

Alien: Covenant will burst into theaters on May 19.

Alien: Covenant

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