BEAUTY AND THE BEAST SETS RECORDS 

Disney’s live-action version of its 1991 Oscar-winner Beauty and the Beast has posted the seventh highest grossing opening weekend ever, exceeding the opening totals for cinema spectaculars such as Spider-Man, Batman and the Harry Potter movies. Estimates place the film’s opening box-office gross at $170 million, which also sets a record for a debut weekend in the month of March, as well as all PG-rated movies. As advance ticket sales reached record levels for a family film, a massive gross was predicted, though Beauty’s opening weekend exceeded even the highest expectations. Its global premier net is currently at $350 million, and France, Australia and Japan have still yet to open. Disney’s trademark approach of transforming fairy tales into films has earned the studio billions, and the company plans to continue this strategy with live-action remakes of Aladdin and Mulan in production.

Beauty and the Beast US Official Trailer

#BeautyAndTheBucks #DisneyBank #RecordOpenings  

ROCK LEGEND CHUCK BERRY DEAD AT 90

 Chuck Berry, the man John Lennon referred to as a synonym for Rock n’ Roll itself, has passed away at age 90. Upon announcement of his death, tributes came pouring in from fellow legends like Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Keith Richards, who said of Chuck, “I don’t even know if he realized what he did. I don’t think he does…It was just such a total thing coming off the needle of all Chuck’s records. It’s when I knew what I wanted to do.” During the late 1950s and throughout the '60s, Berry developed a powerful style of electric blues, delivering high-energy live performances that emerging bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones strived to reproduce. Berry’s autobiographical hit “Johnny B. Goode” is ranked seven on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list. His final album, entitled “CHUCK”, is expected to see release later this year.

Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode” Live 1958

#ChucksDuckWalk #FatherOfRockNRoll #ThankYouChuck

TRUMPS BUDGET CUTS SHIFT COSTS TO STATES

President Trump’s controversial new national budget includes a $54 billion dollar cut to non-defense spending, and proposes near-elimination of agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the National Endowment for the Arts. Also facing elimination are many state and local government aid initiatives, such as k-12 school and family aid programs, as well as Community Development Block Grants that provide local business subsidies. If these programs, as well as other antipoverty initiatives, are to remain active, state governments would be required to step in and provide funding. Proponents of the budget claim the transfer of funding onus eliminates the need for high-cost bureaucratic middlemen who govern funding distribution. Opponents of the plan have declared Trump’s budget agenda as careless, profit-driven abandonment, calling the notion that states can simply adopt funding responsibilities an unrealistic idea.   

List of Agencies Trump’s Budget Would Defund Entirely

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/16/here-list-agencies-and-programs-trump-budget-would-defund-entirely/FU6eHGUMCBIketz8uPWDJJ/story.html

#LessAid #MoreDefense #TrumpWontBudge