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Batgirl farce: Warner Bros’ decision to scrap DC film defies history of releasing duds

Batgirl farce: Warner Bros' decision to scrap DC film defies history of releasing duds

This week the news broke that Warner Bros had “shelved” the upcoming comic book film batgirl.

The surprise move means the $100 million movie, which had already been filmed, will never be released on streaming services as previously planned.

Initial reports suggested the problem was the film’s quality – supposedly, it was so bad that it had been declared “irredeemable”.

Subsequent reports have suggested the study actually ditched it for cynical tax reasons.

A Warner Bros spokesperson said in an official statement that the choice to scrap batgirl was due to a “strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max”.

Whatever the true reason, the sudden axing has left the cast and crew of the DC flick stunned and moviegoers outraged.

“We are saddened and shocked by the news,” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah wrote in their response to the film being cancelled.

“We still can’t believe it. As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves.

“Maybe one day they will.”

As a DC fan and film buff, I hope the directors are right. Let us watch the film, judge it for ourselves, and perhaps even enjoy it. Honestly, how bad can it be?

It’s not as though the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) has a track record of only releasing certified masterpieces. Unlike its Marvel counterpart, the DCEU has included some absolute dud movies, all of them released quite happily by Warner Bros.

You may recall, for example, 1997’s batman and robin.

Considered the lowest rated Batman flick (12 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes), it’s filled with terrible dialogue (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze one-liner “Who killed the dinosaurs? The ice age!), awful costumes (nipples on the Batsuit!) and horrendous production designs.

Coincidentally, it also featured the cinematic debut of Batgirl, played by Alicia Silverstone in a supporting role.

How about 2004’s cat woman? The movie was a cat-astrophe, and its lead star Halle Berry was so poor that she won a Razzie.

Or how about 2011’s Green Lantern? The film that was meant to launch the DCEU was visually overwhelming, overproduced and badly written.

All three of these films had glaringly obvious flaws, and have gone down in history as being among the worst superhero films of all time. No one at Warner Bros stopped them from being released to the public.

How many different iterations of Batman have we seen, of wildly varying quality, over the years? The studio has never stopped making them.

This was the first time we were going to see Batgirl in the lead role – an intriguing premise. The movie had already been filmed. If any subpar flick were going to be saved, this was it.

yet Este is the film, rather than any of the duds above, that has fallen victim to Warner Bros’ apparent quality standards.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, batgirl had landed a score in the low 60s at its only test screening.

That is not a stellar rating, but as THR noted, test screenings are not the final judgment for a movie – and other films with comparable test scores have gone on to be successful at the box office. Wildly successful, in some cases. The Stephen King adaptation Itemfor example, grossed more than $US700 million globally.

If the studio was so concerned about batgirl and wanted to save the DCEU, why not postpone the movie and do reshoots?

It’s happened with other comic book films: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (almost $US1 billion at the box office), 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix ($US250 million) and 2015’s Fantastic Four ($US168 million) to name a few.

None of these were masterpieces, but they got released, and DCEU fans got to judge them on their merits.

That’s all the directors of batgirl SE busca. They’ve been robbed of that chance, for reasons that increasing and sound as though they have more to do with money than passion or concern for the source material.

Maybe batgirl is the disaster it was first described as. Let’s find out. Put it on the streaming services. Give us a chance to watch it and decide for ourselves.

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Entertainment

Victoria Beckham ‘can’t stand’ Brooklyn’s wife Nicola Peltz

Victoria Beckham 'can't stand' Brooklyn's wife Nicola Peltz

There’s a full-on cold war between Victoria Beckham and her new daughter-in-law, Nicola Peltz, Page Six has learned.

Peltz, 27, just married Brooklyn Beckham, 23 – Victoria’s oldest son with soccer superstar David Beckham – back in April. But we hear trouble was brewing even before the nuptials.

“They can’t stand each other and don’t talk,” a source close to the family told us. “The build-up to the wedding was horrendous.”

The source says that Peltz – who is the actress daughter of New York billionaire Nelson Peltz – didn’t want her soon-to-be-mother-in-law “to be any part of the planning, and she wouldn’t clue Victoria in on anything. Communication was minimal.”

Apparently, the cold shoulder didn’t help Posh Spice, 48 – who was struggling to warm up to the new member of the family as it was – see Peltz’s good side.

They added that it’s become “non-stop petty drama,” and it’s coming between the Beckhams, who now live in Miami, and their model son.

“They haven’t spoken to him much in the last few months,” said a source, who told us that it even went over badly at Chez Becks when Brooklyn posted a cover of British magazine Tatler that called Peltz “The New Mrs Beckham” .

The sources suspect that Peltz may be suffering from a little jealousy about her man’s globally renowned mum, and isn’t thrilled with the attention she gets, especially around her wedding day.

Peltz and Victoria Beckham were contacted for comment.

This story was originally published by Page Six and has been reproduced with permission

Read related topics:melbourne

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Entertainment

Victoria Beckham ‘can’t stand’ Brooklyn’s wife Nicola Peltz

Victoria Beckham 'can't stand' Brooklyn's wife Nicola Peltz

There’s a full-on cold war between Victoria Beckham and her new daughter-in-law, Nicola Peltz, Page Six has learned.

Peltz, 27, just married Brooklyn Beckham, 23 – Victoria’s oldest son with soccer superstar David Beckham – back in April. But we hear trouble was brewing even before the nuptials.

“They can’t stand each other and don’t talk,” a source close to the family told us. “The build-up to the wedding was horrendous.”

The source says that Peltz – who is the actress daughter of New York billionaire Nelson Peltz – didn’t want her soon-to-be-mother-in-law “to be any part of the planning, and she wouldn’t clue Victoria in on anything. Communication was minimal.”

Apparently, the cold shoulder didn’t help Posh Spice, 48 – who was struggling to warm up to the new member of the family as it was – see Peltz’s good side.

They added that it’s become “non-stop petty drama,” and it’s coming between the Beckhams, who now live in Miami, and their model son.

“They haven’t spoken to him much in the last few months,” said a source, who told us that it even went over badly at Chez Becks when Brooklyn posted a cover of British magazine Tatler that called Peltz “The New Mrs Beckham” .

The sources suspect that Peltz may be suffering from a little jealousy about her man’s globally renowned mum, and isn’t thrilled with the attention she gets, especially around her wedding day.

Peltz and Victoria Beckham were contacted for comment.

This story was originally published by Page Six and has been reproduced with permission

Read related topics:melbourne

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Business

Aldi Special Buys, alcohol no longer available online in retail turnaround

Aldi Special Buys, alcohol no longer available online in retail turnaround

Aldi Australia has made a major change to its online store, leaving customers disappointed.

Last year, Aldi announced a trial where shoppers could purchase some of its Special Buys items online, but it has now been revealed it has concluded.

In discussing the change, a spokesperson for the German supermarket chain said while the trial provided valuable insight and some customers enjoyed the online ordering option, it “wasn’t the right time to expand”, 7 Life reported.

“Supply chain pressures and inflation means that our top focus [is] to deliver the best priced groceries to Australians. We believe that this focus, while it might come at the cost of other projects, delivers the best value to our customers,” the spokesperson said.

“We have been clear that delivering quality groceries at the best prices is our ongoing goal, especially when we are seeing Australians feel the pressure of inflation.

“Our unique business model is built on efficiency, and while we don’t want to see customers disappointed, we believe this is the best decision to continue maintaining our price gap of over 15 per cent compared to our competitors.”

The spokesperson said there was no immediate plan to bring online Special Buys back but Aldi wouldn’t rule it out for the future.

News.com.au has contacted Aldi for further comment.

Aldi first announced alcohol and Special Buys would be available online early last year, with plans to eventually have the store’s entire range online.

At the time of the announcement, Aldi CEO Tom Daunt, said groceries could be added at a later date but e-commerce was set to be part of the supermarket’s future as the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated Aussies’ online shopping habits.

Aldi customers were quick to spot the backflip by the supermarket.

“So did Aldi just quietly remove their online range instead of the promised expansion of eventually offering all their products online?” one person asked on social media.

“I can’t see any mention of online products anymore anywhere on their app or website ever since they had their online clearance last week.

“And they used to offer all the larger items like the table saw for delivery, but not any longer.

“I really feel like they’re removing the option altogether.”

Others noted that clearance items were still on offer online.

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Business

Why Canva boss, Cliff Obrecht isn’t bothered by $20 billion loss

Why Canva boss, Cliff Obrecht isn't bothered by $20 billion loss

Despite a $20 billion fall in its evaluation, a tumultuous economic landscape and a sudden string of tech companies announcing staff cuts and sharp declines, Australia’s start up golden child is not worried.

speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, Canva’s co-founder Cliff Obrecht believed the bearish market would provide the company with lots of opportunities.

“These times of market uncertainty provide a lot of opportunity and other than the external valuation noise, it’s a huge opportunity for us to grow our business,” he said.

This comes as Australia’s largest venture capital firm Blackbird announced they had reduced the holding value of Canva by 36 per cent. Listed as Canva’s largest investor, with around a 14 per cent stake in Canva, this indicated a drop of about US$14 billion or A$20 billion, in the tech company’s estimated value.

“This holding value of Canva is the result of an independent valuation process that was completed by a big four accounting firm and adopted by Blackbird’s valuation committee, in consultation with our auditors,” the company shared in a statement to news.com.au.

Before this, Canva managed to more than double its worth in 2021. After acquiring a valuation of $19 billion in April 2021, the company skyrocketed to $54.5 billion just five months later.

In internal emails reported by Nine newspapers, chief executive Melanie Perkins said the company was set to mark its sixth year of being profitable. She also assured staff and said the company was still hiring, unlike some other technology companies.

“We had planned to dip out of profitability this year to invest in further accelerating growth,” she wrote.

“However, we changed course as soon as we noticed the macroeconomic environment changing and are now back to being profitable again this year, for the sixth year in a row.”

Founded in 2013, by Perth couple Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht, and Tasmanian developer Cameron Adams, Canva is a free-to-use design tool that allows users to create social media posts, graphics, videos and presentations.

Since then, it’s become Australia’s most successful start-up – a title it continues to hold. For scale, Australia’s second largest start-up, online payments company Airwallex was valued at $5.5 billion in November 2021.

It’s believed Ms Perkins and Mr Obrecht hold a 30 per cent stake in the company, which given the most recent evaluation is close to $6 billion.

According to its website, Canva has more than 2000 employees and operates in 100 languages ​​and across 190 countries.

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Entertainment

Naomi Judd’s ‘graphic’ death records to remain sealed, per family’s wishes

Naomi Judd's 'graphic' death records to remain sealed, per family's wishes

Naomi Judd’s death records will be kept private – per her family’s request – due to the “graphic” nature in which she died, a judge has ruled.

The late country singer’s husband, Larry Strickland, and her two daughters, Wynonna and Ashley Judd, filed a request in Williamson County, Tennessee, on Monday to keep any investigation records into her suicide private as it may cause “emotional distress, pain and mental anguish” if released, court documents obtained by NBC said.

Naomi – who battled depression and mental illness for years – died in April aged 76.

Her family argued in the court documents that records could depict the death of the singer in a “graphic manner”, new york post reports.

“Moreover, the release of these records would continue to cause the entire family pain for years to come,” the filing also stated.

According to NBC, the request was temporarily granted, but a hearing regarding the matter was scheduled for September 12.

Strickland and the Judd sisters filed the request on the same day news broke that Naomi had left her daughters’ names out of her will and made her husband executor of her estate.

Wynonna, 58, and Ashley, 54, did not address the apparent slight but a source told RadarOnline.com earlier this week that Wynonna is “upset” that she was excluded because she formed half of the duo The Judds with her mother.

The singer reportedly believes she was “a major force behind her mother’s success”.

A legal expert told Page Six exclusively on Tuesday that while it is “common” for a person to name the spouse as the executor of their will, “leaving out her daughters seems pointed, like a purposeful act on Naomi’s part”.

Lawyer Holly Davis added, however, that if “there is an issue or tension between the husband and the daughters, we will find out if there will be a will contest via probate lawyers in the coming days”.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

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Business

Airline IndiGo claims to have halved passenger disembarkation times

Airline IndiGo claims to have halved passenger disembarkation times

A low-cost airline has come up with what could be a game-changing idea to get passengers off airplanes quicker and keep the jets in the sky for longer.

One of the frustrations of air travel is the slow process of leaving the aircraft, with passengers having to squeeze through a single left hand door at the front of the plane.

If you’re at the back of the plane that can mean long waits as sometimes hundreds of people disembark in front of you.

To speed this up some airlines, including Virgin Australia and Qantas owned Jetstar, regularly allow passengers to disembark from a set of stairs at the rear of the airplane.

But India’s largest carrier IndiGo has gone one step further and has introduced a third door for passengers to exit through.

And uniquely, the third door is on the right hand side of the plane which is rarely – if ever – used as an exit in anything other than an emergency.

The carrier reckons it could almost halve the time it takes to get passengers off the plane from up to 13 minutes to a mere seven.

“The new Three-Point Disembarkation process will be carried out from two forward and one rear exit ramp, making IndiGo the first airline to use this process,” an IndiGo spokesman told India’s Hindustan Times.

A video uploaded by Indian business journalist Sumit Chaturvedi shows the new process with passengers leaving an IndiGo Airbus A320 aircraft via the various ramps.

While the giant Airbus A380 “superjumbo” often boards and disembarks by three doors, this is the first time it’s been done for a smaller narrow-body plane typically used on domestic and short-haul routes, such as the A320.

“An A320 aircraft usually takes around 13 minutes for its passengers to de-board the aircraft. However, the new process will make the drill faster and will reduce the disembarkation time from 13 minutes to seven minutes,” the IndiGo spokesman said.

That could be good for passengers who won’t have to hang around on-board.

But it could be a boon for the airline too. The quicker passengers can leave the plane, the shorter the turnaround time to get it back in the air with more fare-paying passengers on board.

Do time savings add up?

However, some are skeptical of the airline’s claims.

Ben Schlappig of US aviation blog One Mile At A Time questioned if all the claimed time savings would occur in real-life settings.

“The process of actually getting out the door is one bottleneck, but I’d think that getting down the aisle is another thing that takes time, and that’s still an issue, even with a second door in the front.”

Why plans usually board from the left

Traditionally, jets board and deplane from the left, despite doors being on both sides of the fuselage.

This helps to keep passengers separated from ground crew in what can be a hectic and potentially dangerous environment. For instance, staff loading bags into the aircraft from the right don’t have to worry about tripping over travelers who remain on the left.

In addition, the right hand door is often used to bring supplies on board an aircraft, such as water and food, at the same time as passengers enter and exit on the left.

Initially IndiGo’s routes in and out of Delhi as well as the cities of Mumbai and Bengaluru will feature Three-Point Disembarkation. But the airline has said it could roll out the new process across the whole country and its fleet of 181 A320s in just 90 days.

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Entertainment

Kylie Jenner forced to reveal truth behind photos of her working in lab

Kylie Jenner forced to reveal truth behind photos of her working in lab

Kylie Jenner has hit back at haters who criticized her recent lab photos for being “unsanitary”.

But in the process of defending herself, the 24-year-old US makeup mogul has been forced to admit an embarrassing detail.

The Kylie Cosmetics founder uploaded a string of glamorous photos of herself working on cosmetics while wearing a lab coat, telling Instagram followers she was “in the lab creating new magic for you guys.”

The photos were called out by cosmetic developer Kevin James Bennett in an Instagram post, in which he slammed her for not wearing “a hair net, shoe covers, [a] mask … and disposable GLOVES.”

Jenner was quick to argue with Bennett, writing in the comments section, “Kevin — this picture is not taken in a manufacturing facility. i would never bypass sanitary protocols and neither would any other celeb or beauty brand owner.”

The reality star wrote that she was in a “small, personal space” in the pictures, which was strictly “for content.”

“[I was] creating my own fun samples and taking pictures for content nowhere near the mass manufacturing,” the kardashians alum went on to write. “No one is putting customers at risk!”

She concluded, “Shame on you Kevin for spreading false information !!!!”

In Bennett’s reply to Jenner, he accused the star of “serious[ly] gaslighting” her followers.

“So you were standing on a platform, looking into an expensive homogenizing kettle that had processed at least 50 liters of a complexion product (the product still covering the mixing paddles) without PPE or your hair tied back, wearing a lab coat? But this is not a cosmetics manufacturing facility?” I have asked. “It’s a personal space?”

Sources exclusively told Page Six that Jenner was not on the production floor when the pictures and videos were taken as she was simply reviewing colors and ideating on new concepts.

However, this was not made clear to Jenner’s fans, who have mixed feelings about the lab visit.

“Many brand owners take those pictures. Ella she’s not doing anything wrong and we have zero way to know how involved she is in formulation, ”one Instagram user wrote.

Another added, “I’ve seen all kinds of scenarios in development labs, but uncovered hair near a kettle in production would never happen. full stop.”

Jenner founded Kylie Cosmetics in 2014 and began selling products the following year, going on to also launch Kylie Skin and Kylie Baby in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

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Business

Ford axes Focus and Fiesta ST in shift to SUVs and utes

Ford axes Focus and Fiesta ST in shift to SUVs and utes

Ford has axed its popular Fiesta and Focus hot hatches as it focuses on utes and SUVs.

The brand ditched the regular Focus and Fiesta some time ago but continued to import the ST performance models in limited numbers. So far this year the pair has attracted only 183 buyers.

Ford President Andrew Birkic says the decision recognizes the fact that buyer tastes have shifted in recent years. He also hinted there would be performance-car replacements in other segments.

“Both the Focus ST and Fiesta ST have been segment defining hot hatches for Ford Australia and have put smiles on the faces of enthusiasts across the country and we want to thank those fans for their passion,” he says.

“But with semiconductor-related supply shortages and our focus on emerging areas of growth, we’ve made the difficult decision to call time on these iconic hot hatches in Australia. We look forward to sharing more about the next era of our performance vehicle line-up soon,” he says.

The move comes as somewhat of a shock as the brand has just started imported updated versions of both cars.

Ford says it has secured just 40 Focus STs for the remainder of the year, but Fiesta supply is likely to be more than that. The company will also look at trying to secure more vehicles from the plant in Germany if demand warrants it.

The move continues Ford’s shift away from traditional passenger vehicles to utes and SUVs, in particular the Ranger and the Everest wagon, which is based on Ranger underpinnings.

Between them, the Ranger and Everest made up roughly 85 per cent of Ford sales this year. The percentage would have been higher but sales have tapered off as buyers waited for the new models.

The new Ranger was launched last month and the Everest will follow shortly.

A new version of the Ranger Raptor will also arrive soon. It is powered by a potent twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine putting out a V8-like 292kW of power and 583Nm of torque.

Ford will also take the covers off an all-new Mustang at the Detroit motor show next month.

“The Ford Mustang remains the country’s most popular sports car and we’re preparing for the launch of the next-generation Ranger Raptor, which sets a new performance benchmark for dual-cab utes in Australia,” Birkic says.

Both vehicles could become sound investments for those buyers who snap them up, as discontinued performance vehicles have been attracting big prices from car collectors.

Second-hand versions of the Subaru WRX STI EJ25 Final Edition, which launched last year for $62,440, are selling for between $125,000 and $170,000.

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Keanu Reeves lands first TV role in Hulu’s The Devil In The White City

Keanu Reeves lands first TV role in Hulu's The Devil In The White City

Keanu Reeves is taking on his first big television role.

Reeves, 57, is set to star in Hulu’s The Devil In The White Citywhich is being executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese as well as the John Wick star.

The show, written by Castle Rock producer Sam Shaw, has been in development for over a decade after DiCaprio took on the project in 2010. The streaming service only announced on Thursday that it would be moving forward.

Based on Erik Larson’s bestseller of the same name, Reeves will portray Daniel H. Burnham, a young architect who helped develop early skyscrapers.

Deadline reported that the limited series will begin production in 2023 and will be released the following year. A representative for Hulu did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

The series will be a meeting for DiCaprio and Scorsese. The duo worked together on gangs of new york in 2002, Shutter Island in 2010 and The Wolf Of Wall Street, all of which Scorsese directed and DiCaprio starred in.

Aside from Reeves’ four-decade-long acting career, the Matrix star has experience in producing as well. He is currently executive producing John Wick: Chapter 4which is set to be released next March.

Reeves has played the iconic action hero John Wick for nearly a decade, but the role was originally intended for an older actor such as Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford.

One of the John Wick producers, Basil Iwanyk, revealed in the new book, They Shouldn’t Have Killed His Dog: The Complete Uncensored Oral History Of John Wick, Gun Fu, And The New Age Of Action by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, that the legendary assassin was supposed to be played by a 75-year-old man.

Iwanyk said in the book that one of his best friends sent him a script from Derek Kolstad — the creator of the John Wick franchise, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“The lead was a 75-year-old man, 25 years after being retired. It was the fun of watching Clint Eastwood kick a**. I thought, ‘OK, there’s probably one or two names you could do this with: Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford,’” Iwanyk said.

Reeves has been dominating the big screen since he landed his first major film part in 1986’s Youngblood. The Devil In The White City will mark the actor’s first big TV role.

This story originally appeared on Fox News and is republished here with permission

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