Author: business

Here’s an outstanding BOGO: Not only can you see a great Michael B. Jordan performance in “Sinners,” you get another one for free!

Jordan pulls double duty as gangster twins taking on vampires in 1930s Mississippi in director Ryan Coogler’s musical horror mashup. But don’t just limit yourself in your screen monsters, fam: Those fungal zombies are back and still freaky in the second season of HBO’s “The Last of Us.” (OK, yeah, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey return as well and they’re pretty cool.) It’s also getting kind of scary for TV shows out there, with cancellations on the horizon. We’re giving y’all to a chance to let your voice be heard to keep your favorites before it’s too late!

Now on to the good stuff:

See Michael B. Jordan battle vampires in Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’

It took a few months, but the movie season’s really revving up these days: “Warfare” came out last week and this week brings “Sinners,” the year’s best film to date. Michael B. Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their Mississippi hometown to open up a juke joint, and they recruit their talented cousin (Miles Caton) to sing the blues on opening night. However, their party’s crashed by a vampire (Jack O’Connell) and this fangtastic menace threatens their entire community. It’s a frightfest that’s musical and meaningful, mesmerizing and memorable. (Peep my ★★★½ review.)

Shawn Levy will direct, and production will start in the fall. Levy directed Marvel’s record-breaking 2024 film “Deadpool & Wolverine” and episodes of Netflix’s sci-fi series “Stranger Things.” Jonathan Tropper is credited as a writer for the film, according to IMDb.

The film comes as the science-fiction franchise has several other films said to be in the works, including the Daisy Ridley-led “The Rise of Skywalker” follow-up.

“Star Wars,” created by George Lucas in 1977 and set in a galaxy “far, far away,” has brought in more than $5.1 billion at global box offices.

Chicago native and die-hard Beyoncé fan Mercedes Matz launched her brand Maya James last June.

“I have always loved Western fashion. And one of my best friends, Kayla, introduced me to this guy who makes hats,” Matz says. “He made me a hat, and I was getting so many compliments on the hat … and honestly, it kind of just blossomed that way.”

Her blossoming brand now sells exclusive cowboy hats for $285 each.

“My hats are 100% leather cowhide material, and they are all one-of-one hats. That’s why we don’t have these super huge drops, because I want to ensure that each hat is perfect when it gets to the customer’s hands,” she says. “Each hat is different.”

While Matz is from Chicago, she gets a lot of Southern influence form family in Arkansas and Mississippi.

At least not on TV, where increasingly the wealthy seem to be objects of pity, if not ridicule. In “Your Friends & Neighbors,” a new Apple TV+ series, Jon Hamm plays a fired hedge fund manager who decides his loaded pals are so clueless about their wealth that they won’t notice when he starts robbing them blind of five-figure bottles of wine and six-figure watches.

“The show holds up a mirror and asks, what’s really important? Is more always better?” Hamm says. “Is the point of life to just accumulate larger and larger piles of stuff?”

For some, apparently so. The third season of HBO’s “The White Lotus,” which ended this month, featured a wealthy North Carolina family whose matriarch, Victoria Ratliff (Parker Posey), casually explains she’d rather be dead than lose her material possessions. “At this age, I just don’t think I’m meant to live a hard life,” she told her husband.

Diddy on Trial newsletter: Step inside the courtroom with USA TODAY as Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs faces sex crimes and trafficking charges. Subscribe to the newsletter.

After a first weekend plagued by traffic issues that left campers waiting in their cars for hours, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival officials have promised that weekend No. 2 will be a smoother experience.

Some of music’s biggest stars, including Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Charli XCX, Post Malone and more, are on tap to make a return appearance this weekend.

Here’s what you need to know about the second weekend of Coachella 2025, including the full lineup and how to watch from home if you can’t make it to the festival in person.

Constructor: Leo Tsai

Editor: Anna Gundlach

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• CAR (14A: Piece in the board game Tokyo Highway) Tokyo Highway is a game in which players compete to build roadways and place their CARs on those roads.
• ROSIE (41A: British comedian Jones) ROSIE Jones has appeared as a panelist on a number of British TV shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats, QI, and Hypothetical. She often incorporates her cerebral palsy into her comedy. In 2023, she starred in the documentary ROSIE JONES: Am I a R*tard, which discusses online hate speech directed at disabled people.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• ALPHA (1A: First Greek letter) and OMEGA (26D: Last Greek letter) ALPHA and OMEGA are the bookends of the 24-letter Greek alphabet.
• EAR (13A: Common piercing spot) Humans have been piercing their EARs for many, many years. In fact, the oldest mummy found, Ötzi, who lived between 3350 and 3105 BCE, had pierced EARs.
• ARTIST (15A: Frida Kahlo, for example) Frida Kahlo (1907-1947) has been described as one of the most instantly recognizable ARTISTs. This is partly due to the fact that she painted 55 self-portraits, which is about a third of her work. Frida Kahlo said, “I paint self-portraits because I am the person I know best.”
• MAMMA MIA (16A: ABBA jukebox musical) A jukebox musical is a musical featuring the songs of a particular artist or group. MAMMA MIA!, which premiered in 1999, showcases the music of the Swedish pop group ABBA.
• IKEA (29A: Swedish furniture store that sells the BLAHAJ plush shark) The BLAHAJ stuffed shark sold by IKEA is available in large (approximately 39 inches long) and small (approximately 22 inches long) sizes. The BLAHAJ shark has inspired a number of memes and has become especially popular in the trans community. (The shark’s colors are the same as the colors of the trans flag.)
• FORT (38A: Blanket ___ (cozy kids’ hideout)) Even as an adult, I appreciate a cozy blanket FORT.
• MAYA (52A: “Still I Rise” poet Angelou) MAYA Angelou’s poem, “Still I Rise,” was first published in her 1978 book, And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems. The poem begins with the lines “You may write me down in history / With your bitter twisted lies,” and ends with “I rise / I rise / I rise.”
• PRINCESS DAISY (3D: Mario character with white flower jewelry) At first I had PRINCESS Peach here, who – in my defense – is also a character in the Mario franchise. When that answer wasn’t playing nicely with crossing answers, I reread the clue and noticed the “white flower jewelry” hint. PRINCESS DAISY first appeared in the 1989 game Super Mario Land.
• HE’S (4D: The Chiffons’ “___ So Fine”) “HE’S So Fine” is a 1963 song by the Chiffons. I have previously written about this song’s involvement in a plagiarism case against George Harrison’s song, “My Sweet Lord.”
• MRS. DALLOWAY (16D: Virginia Woolf novel that explores queer themes) MRS. DALLOWAY is a 1925 novel by Virgina Woolf. It begins with the line, “MRS. DALLOWAY said she would buy the flowers herself.” The book, set in England after World War I, tells about one day in the life of Clarissa DALLOWAY, an upper-class woman. During that day, MRS. DALLOWAY reminisces about her life, while preparing for a party she is hosting that night. A recurring theme in MRS. DALLOWAY is the title character’s attraction to women.
• APRIL FOOLS’ DAY (17D: Date when the BBC claimed Big Ben would be replaced by a digital clock) On APRIL FOOLS’ DAY in 1980, the BBC reported that Big Ben was going to be replaced by a digital clock and renamed Digital Dave. Apparently many people didn’t remember the date, and the news was met with outrage. This is why every year on APRIL FOOLS’ DAY I remind myself not to believe anything I read or hear.
• RAMEN (25D: Soup with origins in Yokohama Chinatown) The origins of the Japanese noodle dish RAMEN can be traced to the early 20th century in Yokohama Chinatown, the largest Chinatown in Japan, which is located just south of Tokyo.
• SUSAN (27D: Activist ___ B. Anthony) SUSAN B. Anthony (1820-1906) was a women’s right activist who was influential in the women’s suffrage movement in the United States. In 1872, SUSAN B. Anthony was arrested for voting in Rochester, New York, violating laws that allowed only men to vote. Although she was convicted, she refused to pay the fine.
• ELK (28D: Animal on Michigan’s flag) The ELK is not the only animal on Michigan’s flag. The state’s flag also has a moose and an eagle. In addition to three animals, Michigan’s flag also contains three mottos in Latin: E Pluribus Unum (Out of many, one), Tuebor (I will defend), and Se Quæris Peninsulam Amœnam Circumspice (If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you).
• ASTER (31D: Star-shaped flower) In the past couple of months, we have seen three clues for ASTER that referenced its relationship to the daisy. (ASTERs and daisies belong to the same plant family.) Today’s clue takes a different direction. The name “ASTER” comes from an ancient Greek word meaning “star,” a reference to the flower’s shape.
• MEOWS (47D: Asks for more cat food) My cat, Willow, has cat food available all the time, so she doesn’t need to ask for it. However, she MEOWS about plenty of other things: “Pay attention to me,” “It’s time to go sit down so I can sit on your lap,” “Pick me up, please!” … you get the idea.

• FOMO (49D: Anxiety about exclusion, for short) FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out
• AVA (60D: “My Oh My” singer Max) “My Oh My” is a 2024 song by AVA Max.
• A couple of other clues I especially enjoyed:
  • AIRBALL (20D: Complete miss in a game of hoops)
  • EERIE (31D: Like a foggy marsh lit by a full moon)