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'Spaceballs' sequel, 'Thomas Crown Affair' previewed at CinemaCon, however no Bond updates

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'Spaceballs' sequel, 'Thomas Crown Affair' previewed at CinemaCon, however no Bond updates

The solid and filmmakers behind the “Spaceballs” sequel together with Bill Pullman and Rick Moranis introduced a bit of levity to CinemaCon Wednesday night time in Las Vegas, with an irreverent presentation and first have a look at the satire.

“With Hollywood studios merging willy nilly like middle aged couples at a swingers party, Amazon acquired MGM and opened the vault,” a voiceover stated within the “Spaceballs” sizzle reel, with the picture on the display screen exhibiting Warner Bros. and Paramount, making Amazon MGM the one studio to publicly reference the pending acqusition on the convention to date.

Mel Brooks, in a video message, introduced the title, “Spaceballs: The New One.”

“It’s just like the old one, but it’s newer,” Brooks stated.

He defined that it was not known as “Spaceballs: The Search for More Money” as a result of, he stated, he discovered the cash. It was in his basement. Also, he stated, he could not be at Caesar’s Palace with everybody as a result of he was seeing Phish on the Sphere.

Moranis’s look on stage evoked an enormous response from the gang, however he solely bought just a few phrases out — a part of the bit was that everybody would preserve interrupting him, and so they caught to it. The movie is anticipated in theaters subsequent yr.

“Spaceballs” was only one a part of the large Amazon MGM Studios presentation to theater homeowners, which additionally included first seems at Peter Farrelly’s Sylvester Stallone biopic “I Play Rocky” and Michael B. Jordan’s “The Thomas Crown Affair.”

The newly minted greatest actor Oscar winner for his twin efficiency in “Sinners,” Jordan directs and stars within the romantic artwork heist, alongside Adria Arjona. Jon Batiste additionally performed a little bit of the rating he’s composing for the movie.

“I’ve been daydreaming about making this movie for years,” stated Jordan.

He watched the 1999 model when he was 12 and stated “It left a very big impression on me.”

For his model, he stated, he needed to carry the fashion, sophistication and rebel he liked in each of the earlier variations, but additionally to make his character “someone you can root for.”

Amazon MGM Studios was acquired warmly by the exhibitors within the viewers on the heels of their greatest theatrical launch to date, and their promise to launch 15 motion pictures a yr by 2027. “Project Hail Mary” continues to do large enterprise, with over $515 million in world field workplace earnings. It was so well-liked that it is going to be returning to IMAX theaters for one week beginning Friday.

Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller even made a shock look, with Ryan Gosling, to thank the exhibitors for enjoying the movie of their theaters.

“This movie is now the biggest original movie of the year because you believed in it,” Miller stated.

The studio previewed their summer time He-Man film “Masters of the Universe,” starring Nicholas Galitzine, and the household movie “The Sheep Detectives,” additionally with Galitzine, Hugh Jackman and Nicholas Braun. Pete Davidson additionally confirmed up with David Leitch for his or her gonzo motion pic “How to Rob a Bank.”

“This movie is totally (expective) insane,” Davidson stated.

Later, they confirmed first seems at Henry Cavill in “Highlander” and Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson within the adaptation of the Colleen Hoover psychological thriller “Verity.”

One franchise that didn’t have any news to share was James Bond. Amazon paid $8.45 billion for MGM in 2021, at the very least partially due to the attract of 007. Just final yr the joint studio introduced it had taken the inventive reins of the franchise after a long time of household management with longtime Bond custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli agreeing to step again. They additionally employed Denis Villeneuve to direct the primary movie of the brand new period, with Amy Pascal and David Heyman producing.

But valuable little is thought about their plans for the following Bond film past that, together with who may play the dapper agent.

Courtenay Valenti, Amazon MGM’s head of movie, stated “We’re taking time to do this with care and deep respect.”

© Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.

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Illegal Poppy Found in Fukuoka Flower Park

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Illegal Poppy Found in Fukuoka Flower Park

FUKUOKA, Apr 17 (News On Japan) –
A species of poppy containing narcotic compounds was discovered earlier this week standing alone amongst about a million nemophila flowers in full bloom at Uminonakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka City.

The cultivation of the flower with out official permission is prohibited below Japanese regulation.

The identical park additionally found Atsumigeshi in 2025, marking the second consecutive yr the unlawful plant has been discovered there.

Why the prohibited species appeared within the flower subject stays unclear. A park official beforehand stated the seeds could have been unintentionally blended into imported seeds or fertilizer.

Yohei Kaneko, a senior researcher on the Fukuoka Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences, stated the plant’s robust means to unfold may be an element.

‘Seeds might connect to car tires or the soles of footwear and be carried to varied locations,’ Kaneko stated.

Park officers stated the found plant has already been incinerated.

Source: FNN

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Christopher Nolan brings ‘The Odyssey’ to CinemaCon

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Christopher Nolan brings ‘The Odyssey’ to CinemaCon

Christopher Nolan gave theater house owners an exhilarating glimpse of “The Odyssey” Wednesday night at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. His adaptation of Homer’s epic starring Matt Damon as Odysseus is without doubt one of the most hotly anticipated of the 12 months, arriving in theaters on July 17.

“‘The Odyssey’ is a story that has fascinated generation after generation for 3,000 years,” Nolan mentioned from the stage. “It’s not a story, it’s the story.”

He launched an prolonged clip from the movie exhibiting the arrival of the Trojan Horse and the extraordinary nighttime infiltration of town of Troy. Or, as Jon Bernthal’s Menelaus calls it, “the story of the horse.”

“The Odyssey” is the primary movement image shot solely on IMAX movie, due to the event of latest cameras that aren’t fairly so noisy, fulfilling a dream Nolan mentioned he is had since he was 16.

The movie boasts an enormous ensemble with Anne Hathaway enjoying Odysseus’s spouse Penelope, Tom Holland as their son Telemachus, Zendaya because the goddess Athena and Robert Pattinson as Antinous, one in all Penelope’s suitors. Nolan mentioned it will be faster to say who isn’t in “The Odyssey,” Nolan’s first characteristic since “Oppenheimer,” which received finest image and finest director on the Oscars in 2024.

“It’s always been a film, first and foremost, about this idea of family, this idea of homecoming,” Nolan mentioned, including that it’s nearly achieved.

The footage was proven as a part of the Universal Pictures presentation to exhibitors the place the studio additionally has Steven Spielberg’s unique science fiction movie “Disclosure Day” coming to theaters this summer time.

“I’m just really glad not to be following Steven Spielberg,” Nolan mentioned.

Snoop Dogg kicked off the presentation performing “Drop It Like It’s Hot” and asserting that he’s partnered with Universal “to finally tell my story.” Craig Brewer will direct and it’s aiming to be in theaters subsequent 12 months.

“My movie will be rated R, you can believe that,” he mentioned. “So kids, get your parents’ permission.”

Universal at present has the 12 months’s greatest box-office hit in theaters with “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” which has solely been out for 15 days and has already remodeled $631 million worldwide. It is on its strategy to being the 12 months’s first billion dollar film, Donna Langley, the NBC Universal Entertainment chairperson, mentioned. Last month the studio additionally pledged to increase the unique theatrical window for all its motion pictures to 45 days beginning in 2027.

“We’ve always been a theatrical first studio,” Langley mentioned.

For many years the usual unique window was 90 days in theaters, however the pandemic and the rise of streaming led to drastic shifts from all the most important studios. Universal experimented with 17-day home windows throughout the pandemic period, in addition to some day-and-date releases, however for its greatest motion pictures they’d already settled into the 45-day mannequin.

It’s an essential assure for theater house owners and operators with the field workplace nonetheless at a 20% deficit from its pre-pandemic highs. Disney, in contrast, has a 60-day window, the longest within the business however nonetheless fairly depleted from the outdated 90-day norm.

© Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be revealed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.

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Strong Typhoon Raises High Surf Risk for Pacific Areas of Japan This Weekend

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Strong Typhoon Raises High Surf Risk for Pacific Areas of Japan This Weekend

TOKYO, Apr 16 (News On Japan) –
A big and highly effective Typhoon No. 4, internationally named Sinlaku, was situated close to the Mariana Islands and shifting north-northeast as of the most recent replace. The storm is predicted to step by step shift its course eastward and go southeast of the Ogasawara Islands round April 18, earlier than making its closest strategy round April 19.

Satellite imagery confirmed a clearly outlined eye on the heart of the storm, indicating that it stays robust. The hurricane was positioned roughly 900 kilometers south-southeast of the islands.

The system is forecast to proceed shifting northeast, drawing nearest to the Ogasawara Islands via April 19. It has developed into a big hurricane, with a storm-wind space exceeding 1,000 kilometers in diameter. While the islands might solely narrowly fall throughout the storm’s wind subject, hazardous marine circumstances are already creating.

Authorities are urging warning as waves across the Ogasawara Islands, together with Chichijima and Hahajima, are anticipated to turn into very excessive. Conditions close to the coast might flip harmful, and persons are suggested to steer clear of the ocean.

The results can even be felt removed from the storm heart. Coastal areas alongside the Pacific aspect of western and jap Japan are anticipated to see waves of two to three meters or greater in the intervening time.

Marine leisure actions alongside the Pacific coast and within the Nansei island chain are more likely to face harmful circumstances till the hurricane strikes away and seas step by step subside after April 20.

Source: ウェザーニュース

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TOTO to Resume Orders for Unit Baths from April 20

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TOTO to Resume Orders for Unit Baths from April 20

TOKYO, Apr 17 (News On Japan) –
TOTO stated on April 16 that it’s going to step by step resume new orders for its unit tub merchandise from April 20 after securing a clearer outlook for uncooked materials procurement.

The firm had suspended new orders from April 13 as provides of natural solvents made out of naphtha turned unstable amid turmoil within the Middle East.

TOTO stated bettering visibility over future procurement prompted the choice to restart orders in phases.

Previously: TOTO Stops New Bathroom Orders Over Naphtha Shortage

Source: テレ東BIZ

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Men accused of swapping value tags on luxurious guitar to repay scholar loans – TokyoReporter

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Men accused of swapping value tags on luxurious guitar to repay scholar loans – TokyoReporter

CHIBA (TR) – Police right here have arrested two 20-year-old males on suspicion of fraud after they allegedly swapped the worth tag on a luxurious electrical guitar at a second-hand retailer, stories TV Asahi (Apr. 16).

Vocational faculty scholar Shota Nagata and college scholar Reii Kishimoto are accused of defrauding a recycle store in Ichihara City final month by buying an costly instrument for a fraction of its precise worth.

According to investigators, Nagata invited his pal Kishimoto to hold out the scheme. Seizing a second when workers had been away from the gross sales flooring, the pair allegedly eliminated a 517,000-yen price ticket from a high-end electrical guitar on show and changed it with a 126,500-yen tag taken from a less expensive instrument.

To execute the acquisition, Nagata purposely engaged a veteran retailer clerk in dialog to create a distraction. Meanwhile, Kishimoto carried the focused guitar to the money register, the place a youthful worker failed to note the obvious value discrepancy.

The transaction was accomplished for the fraudulent quantity, permitting the pair to stroll away with a guitar value almost 520,000 yen.

Upon their arrest, each suspects totally admitted to the allegations. During questioning, Nagata confessed his motive to the police, stating, “I did it to get money to pay off my student loans.”

Police imagine the brazen crime was pushed strictly by the prospect of resale for a fast revenue, noting that neither of the younger males has any expertise taking part in the guitar.

Authorities are at present investigating whether or not the duo is linked to a string of comparable value tag-swapping frauds lately reported throughout Chiba Prefecture.

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Why Expo EV Buses Went to the Graveyard

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Why Expo EV Buses Went to the Graveyard

OSAKA, Apr 17 (News On Japan) –
The fleet of 190 EV buses launched for the Osaka-Kansai Expo has been withdrawn from plans for reuse on common routes, with Osaka Metro abandoning efforts to redeploy the autos after the occasion.

The cause was a string of repeated malfunctions. Current bus drivers and authorities inspectors have since raised severe issues over the autos’ security and reliability.

Powered by electrical motors, producing no exhaust emissions and promoted as environmentally pleasant, the EV buses had been launched by Osaka Metro to move guests in the course of the Osaka-Kansai Expo.

Even after the Expo closed, the buses had been anticipated to proceed working on metropolis streets. Instead, they now stay parked at Osaka Metro’s Morinomiya depot, with the location crowded by rows of unused autos.

Most of the buses procured by Osaka Metro had been provided by EV Motors Japan, an organization headquartered in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. The firm develops and sells buses whereas outsourcing manufacturing to producers in China.

However, the autos have been stricken by defects reported throughout Japan. A driver working for a Tokyo bus firm, who nonetheless operates EV Motors Japan buses round 23 occasions a month, mentioned breakdowns had been frequent.

‘If you drive them 3 times, one thing goes flawed at the least as soon as,’ the driving force mentioned. ‘When you journey them day-after-day, your palms sweat always.’

The driver additionally described a near-accident final 12 months, saying the bus drifted proper even whereas the steering wheel was turned left.

‘You ponder whether that is actually a bus accredited by the transport ministry,’ the driving force mentioned. ‘When I do know I is likely to be assigned one, I don’t even wish to go to work.’

Similar bother has emerged elsewhere. In April final 12 months, buses launched as college transport in Fukuoka Prefecture had been suspended after incidents together with autos all of a sudden stopping on roads. In September, an Osaka Metro on-demand bus reportedly misplaced steering management whereas out of service and struck a central divider.

Following the repeated failures, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism carried out an on-site inspection in October final 12 months. Problems had been present in 113 of 317 autos inspected, greater than 30% of the full.

In response, Osaka Metro determined final month to not use the 190 buses it had bought and in addition deserted plans to transform them for route bus operations.

EV Motors Japan issued an apology, saying it deeply regretted the priority and inconvenience brought on by the buses.

The whole quantity spent by Osaka Metro on the EV buses was about 7.5 billion yen. Of that, round 4.4 billion yen in subsidies — successfully taxpayer cash — got here from the nationwide authorities, Osaka Prefecture and Osaka City. The nationwide authorities and Osaka Prefecture are in search of reimbursement. Osaka City mentioned it’s nonetheless contemplating its response.

Osaka Metro has additionally mentioned it’s demanding refunds for buy funds and the retrieval of the autos, whereas contemplating additional authorized steps together with injury claims relying on future responses.

Meanwhile, EV Motors Japan has filed for civil rehabilitation with the Tokyo District Court, citing issues that it might not preserve financing. Total liabilities stand at roughly 5.7 billion yen.

The firm says it can search sponsors and try and rebuild operations, however the outlook stays unsure.

With buses carrying passengers’ lives of their arms, the scandal has raised broader questions over security oversight, subsidy use and whether or not public funds will be recovered.

Source: KTV NEWS

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Site operator handed suspended time period over ‘Godzilla Minus One’ spoiler articles – TokyoReporter

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Site operator handed suspended time period over ‘Godzilla Minus One’ spoiler articles – TokyoReporter

Court dominated, ‘The crime was based mostly on egocentric considering’

The submit Site operator handed suspended time period over ‘Godzilla Minus One’ spoiler articles appeared first on TokyoReporter.

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Molly McPherson Analyzes 3 PR Fiascos and the Brand Mistakes Behind Them

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Molly McPherson Analyzes 3 PR Fiascos and the Brand Mistakes Behind Them

Crisis communications authority Molly McPherson has been known as in to deal with no scarcity of company fiascos. But whereas the manufacturers range, the incidents all have one factor in frequent: The first transfer is usually an indication of how nicely issues will end up. Or not.

“If your first instinct is to blame, you’re not going to get through it,” stated McPherson at ADWEEK’s Social Media Week summit on Wednesday. A disaster indicators that “the public is feeling an emotion about [your brand]. You have to tap into that emotion.”

All too usually, nonetheless, manufacturers fail to try this—and pay the worth.

McPherson cited a number of examples of crises dealt with nicely, akin to American Airlines’ speedy and sympathetic response to the midair collision in Washington, D.C. in January. But a gaffe can simply as simply escalate, too. Here are three latest disasters McPherson cited, how the manufacturers managed them, and the way they might have finished higher.

The language barrier that actually mattered

On March 22, and Air Canada Express flight collided with a truck whereas touchdown at New York’s LaGuardia airport. The accident killed each pilots, certainly one of whom was from Coteau-du-Lac in French-speaking Quebec. But when Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau issued his on-camera condolences, his solely French consisted of “bonjour” and “merci.” The public was outraged.

Canada’s Official Languages Act designates each English and French because the nation’s official languages, making the oversight baffling—although to not McPherson. 

“I see this all the time with senior leadership, when they don’t think the public is even worth the time. The biggest driver of a crisis is contempt, and that’s what happened here,” stated McPherson, who identified that public sentiment ought to at all times inform each response. (Plus, on this case, a easy teleprompter might have prevented the debacle solely.)

But the service has taken its licks and appears to have recalibrated. In its seek for a brand new chief government, Air Canada’s board promised it “will consider a number of performance criteria … including the ability to communicate in French.

Confusing DEI with a marketing strategy

Long before the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests spurred brands to get inclusive in a hurry, retail giant Target had made diversity, equity, and inclusion its corporate mission, notching a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index as early as 2009. But last year, amid pressure from the White House and far-right activists, a host of blue-chip companies dropped DEI like a hot potato.

Japan Is Facing Critical Nurse Shortage

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Japan Is Facing Critical Nurse Shortage

TOKYO, Apr 16 (News On Japan) –
Japan’s medical sector is dealing with an acute scarcity of nurses, triggering a wave of ward closures and even hospital shutdowns. Once considered an admired occupation and sometimes described as ‘angels in white,’ nurses at the moment are underneath mounting pressure from lengthy working hours and wages many say don’t match the calls for of the job.

According to the most recent obtainable Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry statistics from 2020, Japan had about 1.73 million nursing professionals nationwide. Government estimates had warned that the nation may face a shortfall of as many as 270,000 nurses by 2025.

The penalties lengthen far past hospitals, threatening the soundness of each day life and public well being. Against that backdrop, nurses throughout Japan launched coordinated strikes this spring, demanding higher staffing and better pay.

On March 13, nurses on the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Tokyo, a flagship establishment inside one among Japan’s largest hospital teams, joined a one-hour strike early within the morning.

Workers referred to as for elevated staffing so they might present higher medical care and affected person companies. Many stated stagnant wages had been additionally fueling frustration.

Similar motion came about concurrently at greater than 1,000 hospitals and nursing-care amenities nationwide, together with in Fukuoka and Sendai.

One collaborating nurse stated: ‘If extra employees had been added to our office, it could make an actual distinction. Sometimes it appears like healthcare work is being undervalued.’

Demonstrations had been additionally held in busy districts reminiscent of Shinjuku, the place nurses demanded substantial will increase in medical and nursing-care staffing ranges.

In response, the well being minister acknowledged extreme pressures within the sector and stated the federal government would work to make sure assist measures attain frontline workplaces, linking them to regular wage development.

Experts warn that the scarcity many feared has already arrived.

One commentator stated Japan’s healthcare and nursing-care programs have lengthy trusted the dedication and sense of responsibility of nurses and care staff.

‘Nurses should not angels,’ the knowledgeable stated. ‘Unless workplaces change into simpler to work in, individuals will proceed leaving healthcare.’

The disaster is already seen at regional hospitals.

One midsize neighborhood hospital with 218 beds and about 160 nurses, working a 24-hour emergency service, has been struggling to retain employees.

A veteran cost nurse with 15 years of expertise started the morning by sharing affected person updates with a youthful colleague. The hospital makes use of a paired nursing system by which two nurses collectively take care of sufferers, permitting a number of views on therapy and care.

That teamwork was rapidly put to the check when a colleague requested for assist inserting an IV right into a affected person with fragile veins. The skilled nurse stepped in efficiently.

The hospital has constructed a powerful native status for attentive care, however staffing has change into a rising burden.

Creating work schedules has change into particularly tough. Despite using round 160 nurses, the hospital misplaced 30 over the previous yr in a gentle stream of resignations.

At night time, one ward with 60 sufferers could also be staffed by simply three nurses, or in some circumstances two nurses and one care employee.

‘We want extra nurses,’ one employees member stated. ‘Otherwise it turns into extraordinarily tough.’

Managers have tried recruitment drives and non permanent staffing businesses, however vacancies stay onerous to fill.

The scarcity instantly impacts affected person security and an infection management.

On in the future, a COVID-19 affected person was recognized within the hospital, forcing employees to reorganize 50 beds on a single flooring to isolate the case.

The emergency response pushed nurses past their scheduled hours.

For one nurse, the delay created one other downside: speeding to gather her two-year-old daughter from nursery college.

She lastly left the hospital at 5:30 p.m., an hour after her shift had ended.

Low pay, lengthy hours and emotional exhaustion are driving many nurses out of the occupation, whereas those that stay shoulder heavier workloads.

As Japan’s inhabitants ages and medical demand rises, the nation’s means to safe sufficient nurses might decide the way forward for its healthcare system.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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