May 18, 2017

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Entertainment May 18, 2017

Today in Movie Culture: Armie Hammer as Shazam, 'Alien' Franchise Recap and More

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

Dream Casting of the Day:

Dwayne Johnson wants Armie Hammer to play Shazam opposite his Black Adam, so BossLogic shows us what they’d look like:

Forgot to post the @armiehammer X @TheRock pieces I did for @ComicBook I dying to get some news on this film pic.twitter.com/UVPrOiW5Eq

— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) May 17, 2017

Franchise Recap of the Day:

Get ready for Alien: Covenant by watching this history of the Alien franchise from Distractotron (via Film School Rejects):

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Movie Science of the Day:

Also in honor of the new Alien movie, Kyle Hill explains the biology of the Xenomorphs:

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Behind the Scenes Video of the Day:

In his latest Alien: Covenant set visit video, Adam Savage shares a look at the movie’s creature and special effects:

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Fan Art of the Day:

For our third celebration of the Yondu Mary Poppins bit from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 this week, here’s some excellent art from Wooden Plank Studios (via Geek Tyrant):

“IS HE COOL?!” #GuardiansoftheGalaxyVol2#GuardiansOfTheGalaxy#Marvel#fanart#disney#MaryPoppins#iamgroot#immarypoppinsyallpic.twitter.com/QuGbz4QBMx

— Wooden Plank Studios (@WoodenPlankST) May 10, 2017

Cosplay of the Day:

In the latest edition of Tyrants of Cosplay, meet a mashup of the Joker and Boba Fett and a mashup of Harley Quinn and Slave Leia from Return of the Jedi:

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Vintage Image of the Day:

Frank Capra, who was born 120 years ago today, directs James Stewart and Jean Arthur on the set of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in 1939:

Actor in the Spotlight:

Johnny Depp gets animated and talks about his youth in this adaptation of a 2009 Esquire interview:

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Supercut of the Day:

Enough hero worship, here’s a supercut showcasing the greatest bad guys in cinema:

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Classic Trailer of the Day:

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Cannes premiere of Far and Away. Watch the original trailer for the classic Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman pairing below.

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and

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Business May 18, 2017

U.S. Treasury Department Imposes Sanctions on Venezuelan Supreme Court

A protester demonstrates against the Venezuelan government outside the Organization of American States during a special meeting in April. The Trump administration has imposed economic sanctions on members of the country’s Supreme Court.

Jose Luis Magana/AP

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Jose Luis Magana/AP

The U.S. Treasury Department is freezing the assets of eight members of Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice as a result of rulings that the U.S. says have usurped the power of that country’s democratically elected National Assembly.

The sanctions were announced in a statement by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin:

“The Venezuelan people are suffering from a collapsing economy brought about by their government’s mismanagement and corruption. Members of the country’s Supreme Court of Justice have exacerbated the situation by consistently interfering with the legislative branch’s authority. By imposing these targeted sanctions, the United States is supporting the Venezuelan people in their efforts to protect and advance democratic governance in their country.”

As reported in the Two-Way, the economic and political crisis in Venezuela has sparked weeks of unrest.

In March, the Venezuelan Supreme Court temporarily dissolved the National Assembly and assumed the powers of the legislature. The high court is dominated by loyalists of President Nicolas Maduro.

That action, which was later reversed in the face of international criticism and street protests, was one of a half-dozen rulings by the court that U.S. officials say “interfere with or limit the National Assembly’s authority.”

Among those sanctioned is Maikel Jose Moreno Perez, president of the Supreme Court. His assets within U.S. jurisdiction and those of seven other justices have been frozen and U.S. citizens are prohibited from doing business with them.

The announcement came not long after President Trump addressed the Venezuelan crisis in remarks at the White House with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

“When you look at the oil reserves that they have, when you look at the potential wealth that Venezuela has, you sort of have to wonder, why is that happening? How is that possible? But it’s been unbelievably poorly run for a long period of time. And hopefully that will change,” said Trump.

This is not the first time the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan leaders. In February, the target was Vice President Tareck El Aissami, whom U.S. officials accuse of being involved in international drug trafficking.

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Health May 18, 2017

Fact Check: 'We Don't Have Health Care In This Country,' Trump Says

In a news conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in the White House on Thursday, President Trump said the Affordable Care Act “is collapsing.”

Andrew Harnik/AP

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Andrew Harnik/AP

President Trump gave a eulogy on Thursday for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

“Obamacare is collapsing. It’s dead. It’s gone,” Trump said in a news conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

“There’s nothing to compare it to because we don’t have health care in this country,” he went on.

That left some Obamacare customers scratching their heads — figuratively — on Twitter.

Doktor Zoom, for example, wondered why he’s still paying a premium.

Damn, Obamacare is dead and gone? Funny, i’m still paying my premium, seeing my doctor, and filling my prescriptions. I could be wrong.

— Doktor Zoom (@DoktorZoom) May 18, 2017

In fact, we do have health care in this country — quite a lot of it. The U.S. spent about $3.2 trillion on health care in 2015, or nearly $10,000 per person. It accounts for 17.8 percent of GDP.

But the president wasn’t talking about health care per se. He was talking about Obamacare, which Republicans are trying to replace with legislation currently in the hands of the Senate.

Even the picture of the current health law isn’t as bad as Trump tried to paint it, though. In the years since the Affordable Care Act went into effect, the uninsured rate fell toabout 10 percent, the lowest level in U.S. history. About 10 million people have bought insurance through the exchanges created by the health care law. Another 10 million got coverage through the expansion of Medicaid.

.@realDonaldTrump: “#Obamacare is dead…a fallacy…nothing there…it’s gone.” I;m sure the 20+million ppl on it will disagree w/u. #trump

— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) May 18, 2017

That’s not to say the Obamacare marketplaces aren’t struggling. In some states insurers are pulling out of the markets because they’re losing money, as Trump pointed out.

“Aetna just pulled out. Other insurance companies are pulling out,” he said.

That’s true. Aetna pulled out of all the Obamacare exchanges. In some states — Tennessee and Iowa, for example — there are areas that risk having no insurer at all. And premiums have been rising across the country.

Still, the overall Obamacare picture isn’t so stark.

Standard & Poors, for example, said last month that insurance companies that offer health plans on the exchanges are losing less money than ever, and the markets are becoming more stable. The Kaiser Family Foundation says more than half the population has the choice of three or more insurers if it wants to buy a policy on the exchanges. And most people who get insurance through the Affordable Care Act receive subsidies to offset the rate increases.

Several insurance companies, however, have said the uncertainty caused by Republican efforts to repeal the law have led them to either pull out of the markets or raise their rates for next year.

So when Trump says, as he did today, “Obamacare is a fallacy. It’s dead,” that’s not exactly true.

But he hopes to help make it so.

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