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https://blackgirlnerds.com/the-cast-of-the-holdovers-deliver-some-of-the-best-performances-of-the-year/

BGN interviews the cast of The Holdovers.

Featured in the interviews are: Paul Giamatti (Paul), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Mary) and Dominic Sessa (Angus).

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

Interviewer: Jeandra LeBeauf

Video Editor: Jamie Broadnax

The Holdovers is currently playing in theaters.

https://nerdist.com/article/three-new-star-wars-movies-announced-including-daisy-ridley-return-as-rey/

After many false starts and canceled projects, Star Wars is finally ready to return to theaters. Lucasfilm announced three new upcoming standalone movies during the opening of Star Wars Celebration 2023. These new Star Wars movies include a story about the founding of the Jedi, a movie that will serve as the finale to this era of interconnected Disney+ shows, and the return of Daisy Ridley’s Rey.

And with that, the galaxy far, far away is finally going back to the big screen. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy revealed James Mangold (Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), Dave Filoni (The Mandalorian, Ahsoka), Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Ms. Marvel, Saving Face) have all been tapped to direct these new Star Wars movies.

While Lucasfilm shared few official details about the films, the little they tell us says a lot. Here’s what we know about these new Star Wars movies so far.

James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Tells the Story of the Force

James Mangold’s “will go back to the dawn of the Jedi,” a time set tens of thousands of years earlier than anything we’ve ever seen on screen before. That might mean we’ll meet the figure known as Prime Jedi. That’s the person who founded the Order on Ahch-To sometime around 25,000 years before the events of A New Hope. Fans already know Ahch-To well. They first saw it in The Last Jedi when it served as Luke Skywalker’s hideaway. A release additionally shares, “James Mangold will take audiences deep into the past, telling the tale of the first Jedi to wield the Force and harness it as a liberating power in an era of chaos and oppression.”

Mangold further noted to Empire that his new Star Wars movie “takes place 25,000 years before Episode IV, and it’s about the discovery of the Force.” He further shares, “I told Kathy [Kennedy, head of Lucasfilm] I wanted to make a kind of Bible movie, a kind of Ten Commandments of Star Wars – kind of a Cecil B DeMille film about the arrival of the Force, and that’s what I’ve been pecking away at between press events. That’s the idea.”

James Mangold’s New Star Wars Movie Connects with Rey’s Next Appearance

Kennedy also recently shared that this movie will help inform the new Star Wars movie featuring the return of Rey. She noted to Total Film, “I think it’s a really nice compliment to what we’re doing with moving into the future with Rey, and then understanding a bit more of where this all came from,” she explains. “Because it will be at the heart of creating the new Jedi Order, so to get a real sense of where that might have began with the dawn of the Jedi could be pretty cool.” 

According to a new official Star Wars eras list revealed by LucasFilm, this movie will most likely take place in the “Dawn of the Jedi” era, but could even take place earlier than that.

Dave Filoni’s Film Will Bring Together Many Current Disney+ Series

The next new Star Wars movie will come from franchise veteran Dave Filoni. His film “will focus on the New Republic and close out the interconnected stories told in The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and other Disney+ series.” That’s huge news for both the television and movie side of Lucasfilm. When we get a release date for Filoni’s film, we’ll know just how many more seasons of The Mandalorian we might see. Clearly, there’s already an end in sight to Din Djarin and Grogu’s story. Although, we suppose they could continue on beyond a culminating movie. A release further shares, “Dave Filoni will orchestrate the escalating war between the Imperial Remnant and the fledgling New Republic.”

Rey Will Return in Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Star Wars Movie

The third and final new Star Wars movie announced will focus on the future. Obaid-Chinoy’s movie will take place after The Rise of Skywalker. It will mark the return of Daisy Ridley as Rey. Set 15 years after the ultimate defeat of the Sith, she will be trying to build a new Jedi Order. Hopefully, that goes a lot better than her mentor Luke Skywalker’s attempts. According to the new list of Star Wars eras, it seems like this movie will take place in the “New Jedi Order” era.

Kathleen Kennedy shared more about the movie with Variety. She noted:

Well, we’re 15 years out from ‘Rise of Skywalker,’ so we’re post-war, post-First Order, and the Jedi are in disarray. There’s a lot of discussion around, ‘Who are the Jedi? What are they doing? What’s the state of the galaxy?’ She’s attempting to rebuild the Jedi Order, based on the books, based on what she promised Luke, so that’s where we’re going.”

Speaking to Empire, Kennedy added, “The First Order has fallen, the Jedi are in chaos – there’s even a question of how many exist anymore – and Rey’s building the New Jedi Order, based on the text that she was given and that Luke imparted on her.” She also offers, “Rey has made a promise to Luke, and that’s really the core of where we’re going and what this story will be. And I think it offers just tremendous opportunity to introduce new characters and start with something fresh, because we culminated with what George [Lucas] was creating, and now we take all of that and move it to the next chapter.” 

On the topic of a possible Luke Skywalker presence in the new Star Wars movie, Kennedy said: “I don’t know if we’ll spend a lot of time in flashbacks or [on] Force ghosts or things like that, but certainly, the spirit of what he represents to her is going to be significant.”

Recently, Daisy Ridley herself gave her first comments on her new Star Wars movie. While her comments remain vague, she noted to Collider, “I’m very excited. The story is really cool. I’m waiting to read a script because, obviously, I don’t have any other updates. It’s not what I expected, but I’m very excited.” And additionally told the The Hollywood Reporter, ” I’m genuinely really excited about the next one [Star Wars movie]. I haven’t read anything, but I know the story. It’s really worth telling, worth exploring, and I think people will be excited.”

Something tells us it won’t be smooth sailing for Rey, though. The dark side of the Force has a way of always creating shadows over the galaxy far, far away, especially in theaters.

Originally published on April 7, 2023.

The post Three New STAR WARS Movies Announced, Including Daisy Ridley’s Return as Rey appeared first on Nerdist.

https://www.blackenterprise.com/noir-atelier-fashion-house-luxury-chicago/

Noir Atelier is a new Black-owned luxury brand based in Chicago formed by two locals, Shawn Gibbs and Frankie Favre.

According to Block Club Chicago, Noir Atelier launched in September 2023 by offering a python print leather vegan leather card holder for $129, which Gibbs and Fabre say aligns with their vision to provide luxury at an affordable price point.

The founders did their homework before bringing the initial offering, studying designs from Goyard, Yves St. Laurent, and Burberry in order to gauge what design cues they needed to harness so they could create a profitable product.

Gibbs told Block Club Chicago that the designs are multigenerational and unisex by design. “Everyone can’t afford Louis Vuitton, but if we can give you something that’s going to make you feel good … there’s no gender in this, right?” he said. “You can be a man, woman, 18 years old, you can be 60 years old. You can give this to your mom, cousin or coworker.”

Fabre indicated that of the high-end designers he and Gibbs studied, the one that stood out to him, and the one he most wanted to incorporate aspects of was Goyard.

“One of the biggest things was the colorway,” he said. “A company that has inspired us in terms of having options is Goyard… We wanted people to be able to want all the colors…and then be able to accessorize that with their day-to-day.”

Noir Atelier recently made its wares available on the NTWRK marketplace, which Fabre describes as “the QVC of art, luxury and fashion…We’re sitting next to some of the dopest designers and artists around and here we are getting to rub elbows with that network.”

They plan to expand their offerings and their customer base while building a community. They want to throw a proper grand opening party in Chicago next year to get all of their customers and supporters under one roof. A store in Chicago and another in Paris are also on the wish list.

“We got some dope s— happening, and that requires a lot of money. And so right now we’re being very smart financially with a lot of our decisions with the future in mind … so that way we can give people an experience,” Fabre said.

RELATED CONTENT: Young Founder Of Black-Owned Custom Jewelry Store Makes History As The ‘Engagement Ring Queen’

https://www.blackenterprise.com/detroit-grants-37-cannabis-licenses/

Some businesses in Detroit are going up in smoke— in a good way—as the City of Detroit has announced that it has granted cannabis licenses to 37 applicants. Thirteen of those have gone to businesses that are Black majority-owned, five to companies owned by a majority of women, and 21 that are owned by residents of Detroit.

“Just shy of a year ago, the City of Detroit awarded its first round of adult-use limited licenses, which saw a little more than 50% of adult-use limited licenses awarded to Detroit residents who are the majority owners of their businesses,” said City Council President Pro Temp James Tate in a written statement.

“Of those newly licensed business owners in ‘Round One,’ 16 are African American. Today, we continue the progressive expansion of our cannabis industry with the announcement of ‘Round Two’ awardees. Congratulations to all those who persevered through a gauntlet of challenges to get to this point, and I am excited for the future as we continue to provide legitimate opportunities for Detroiters within an industry that previously shut them out.”

The City of Detroit’s Office of Marijuana Ventures and Entrepreneurship (OMVE) has stated that the licenses distributed in this second round went to the businesses that have demonstrated the potential to be successful in this field. This round includes businesses that will become adult-use cannabis retailers, microbusinesses, and designated consumption establishment licenses.

“We congratulate all the successful applicants who have been awarded licenses in Round 2,” said Kim James, director of the Office of Marijuana Ventures and Entrepreneurship. “These individuals and organizations have exhibited remarkable potential and commitment to operate successfully while honoring the City’s diversity and equity goals. We are excited to witness their contributions to the sector and the positive economic impact we expect to see for the City of Detroit. OMVE remains dedicated to facilitating a transparent and fair licensing process, ensuring that all applicants have an equal opportunity to participate in this growing industry. The Office encourages unsuccessful applicants to continue their pursuit of entrepreneurship and stands committed to offering support and guidance for future licensing opportunities.”

Last year, according to CBS Detroit, the agency awarded 33 adult-use cannabis licenses.