Lifestyle Archives - Page 10 of 10

Disney Announces Delays to 2022 Marvel Films

US Business News Staff on March 27, 2022

Disney has recently recalibrated its movie release calendar, with several Marvel Cinematic Universe films being delayed. While many would assume that the global health crisis might have something to do with this, a news article written by Variety reports that the delay is due to a production-related snowball effect, affecting the film slate for the year 2022 and beyond. As a result, Marvel fans may have to wait a little longer to see their favorite films on screen.

On the list of delayed releases of upcoming MCU films, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been moved from March 25, 2022, to May 6, 2022, while Thor: Love and Thunder is set to be shown on screen on July 8, 2022. Additionally, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s release has also been moved to a later date, from July 8 to November 11 of the same year. With the Black Panther sequel jumping to November, The Marvels has been postponed to early 2023, while the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has been bumped from February 17 to July 28, 2023.

Aside from the deluge of MCU delays, Disney has also moved the fifth installment of Indiana Jones up to nearly a year from its original release date. The still-untitled film, which features Harrison Ford as a daring archaeologist in brown hues, is set to open on June 30, 2023, instead of July 29, 2022.

This tremendous shift came after the record-breaking success of Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings, becoming a box office hit film amid the pandemic era. However, reputable sources at Disney have confirmed that the significant scheduling overhaul is related to the films’ productions and not box office returns. As a matter of fact, the Black Panther sequel is still filming in Atlanta.

Because MCU has become an interconnected and meticulously planned universe, any production delay of one of the films can cause a domino effect on the franchise. If one has experienced delays during its filming stages, then fans have to expect late releases of the franchise’s upcoming films. On the other hand, the still-untitled Indiana Jones film was delayed due to Harrison Ford’s shoulder injury. Although the film’s director, James Mangold, continued filming some scenes without Ford, the movie requires a bulk of the star’s appearance as the story of Indiana Jones highly revolves around the adventurer.

While some of the MCU films have received delayed launches, others, which are largely untitled movies, have been removed from the calendar. However, one untitled Marvel movie was relocated from November 10 to November 3, 2023.

The global health crisis has truly shaken up the industry. After releasing Black Widow starring Scarlett Johansson, 101 Dalmatians’ prequel Cruella, and animated film Raya and the Last Dragon on Disney Plus on the same day as their respective premieres in theaters, Disney has gone back to its commitment to the big screens with the remaining movies of 2021 set to play exclusively in theaters for 45 days before launching them Disney’s digital platform. For 2022 and beyond, the studio has not cemented any plans yet.

Squid Game Takes 1st Place: The Korean Series Wins Big

US Business News Staff on March 27, 2022

Image commercially licensed from: Unsplash

As the pandemic continues to rampant, people continue to follow safety protocols, spending time at home and only going out for groceries. With more time in their hands, many have tuned to streaming sites to keep themselves distracted from all the terrible news on the outside world. In the past month, one show in particular has caught the world’s attention, Squid Game.

Squid Game is a South Korean series that falls into a similar category as The Hunger Games, Running Man, and the Japanese hit film Battle Royale. The premise of the show revolves around a contest that has 456 players competing to win the cash prize of 45.6 billion Won. While initially seeming like an easy task, the players soon realize that the penalty is death.

The series follows a Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae), a divorced and indebted chauffeur, who wins a game of ddjaki against a man in suit at a train station. The man offers him the opportunity to win so much more. Debt-ridden, Gi-hun eventually accepts the invitation and gets knocked unconscious upon following instructions for a rendezvous. He awakens in a dormitory with 455 other players, each one numbered by their tracksuits. It is revealed that all the participants are also in difficult financial situations. After the masked staff arrive, the instructions are relayed: they can win the prize after winning six games in a span of six days. Gi-hun and the other players are then taken to the first game, and they soon realize that it isn’t as easy as they thought.

Released on September 17, Squid Game is a Netflix series that has taken the world by storm. Since its release, the series has become Korea’s first show to hit the top trending spots in the United States. Although it is one of the most successful shows on the platform today, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk had difficulty getting his creation greenlit by studios.

At the time, Hwang Dong-hyuk was living with his mother and grandmother, basing the story around his own economic struggles and observing the class disparity in South Korea. At one point, he had to sell his laptop for $675 in cash just to survive. Although the premise seemed relevant, Hwang believed the world wasn’t ready for his work. It wasn’t until later that he was convinced the world was ready for Squid Game.

Hwang revealed that the concept of throwing players into childhood games with deadly consequences came about more than a decade ago in 2008. “I came up with which games to use in the story ten years ago,” he explained. “And it was, to begin with the red light, green light game that makes a big impact with shocking mass death. I thought players fighting like warriors using the shapes, which form a ring, would demonstrate the irony of it being a children’s game, as well as the player’s desperation.”

Although it took a while, Netflix finally picked up the show in 2019. Since then, it has been subtitled in 31 languages and dubbed in 13, propelling Squid Game to the top in more than 90 countries with 95% of viewers outside South Korea.

Lifestyle Factors and the Risks That Cause Cancer

US Business News Staff on March 27, 2022

Lifestyle changes can prevent about a third of cancers – that’s back a million cancers in Europe every year. You might have thought that most people would be aware of the risks associated with lifestyle, but you’d be wrong. The latest study, published in the European Journal of Cancer, shows that many people are still unaware and lack knowledge about risk factors, despite vast amounts of money being spent on public health education campaigns by organizations.

A significant minority of the public does not appreciate the importance of known risk factors or have unfounded views on possible causes, such as the use of cell phones or the proximity of overhead power lines.

People need a clear picture of cancer risks so they can make an informed decision about how to protect their health. The goal of the public health strategy to reduce the burden of cancer is to encourage people to avoid or minimize the risks they face. This is undermined when there is confusion about those risks.

The study of 1,300 adults found many misunderstandings about risk factors. Using data collected from the 2016 Attitudes and Beliefs About Cancer UK Survey in 2016, we wanted to explore people’s understanding of the causes of cancer and whether certain groups are likely to have an inaccurate cancer risk.

Hypersensitivity to cancer risk factors

The results of our analysis have surprised us. Overall, the questions people asked about cancer risk factors were answered on-point. Few people had a limited understanding of the identified risk factors. Still, those with more knowledge also more often subscribed to fictitious causes, such as microwave ovens, radiations and electromagnetic frequencies.

We couldn’t research why this was happening, but it does suggest “hypersensitivity” to risk factors: people sensed dangers where they did not exist. This indicates that people are not filtering health messages that are spread through their social networks and media channels.

People were generally unable to identify risk factors supported by scientific evidence. Four in ten respondents were unaware that obesity is linked to an increased risk of cancer. A comparable percentage did not recognize the dangers of sunburn. And almost three in four respondents (71%) did not realize that having the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that affects wet skin and membranes and can be spread through sexual contact, is related to specific forms cancer, including cervical, oral and anal cancer.

Not a risk factor.

Not only were some people unaware of the identified risks, but others also had beliefs about the causes of cancer that are not supported by science. Nearly half of the respondents thought stress was a factor and a quarter blame cell phones. One in five feels that microwave use was a risk factor. The research raises questions about the source of information for humans.

The public is not keeping up.

Consistent with previous research, people who were white and spent longer in education were more likely to identify the actual causes of cancer. Younger and white people were more likely to believe in baseless cancer risks. The results support existing evidence that specific populations are likely to have a lower understanding of cancer risks. Targeting health messages in a way that is accessible and understandable to everyone in society is key to tackling communication inequalities.

This is important as science is developing an increasingly complex picture of the factors that contribute to cancer. As the field progresses, public knowledge is unlikely always to keep up, leaving important health promotion messages unattended.

As people get their news more and more through social media – sometimes from untrustworthy sources (so-called ‘fake news’) – it will be crucial to monitor the shifts in people’s beliefs about the causes of cancer and changes in their behaviour way of life. The results of the research can be used as a measure of public understanding of cancer risk factors against which to measure future changes.

Jessica Simpson Commemorates Four Years of Sobriety With Candid Instagram Post

US Business News Staff on December 27, 2021

Source: USA Today

American singer and actress Jessica Simpson celebrated four years of sobriety with a throwback that shows how far she’s come.

On Monday, the former pop star shared a 4-year-old makeup-free Instagram photo of herself sitting in her living room in a pink tracksuit. She revealed that the photo marked the moment she decided to drop the bottle and embrace an alcohol-free life and journey. In the lengthy caption, she wrote, “In the early morning of Nov 1, 2017, this person is an unrecognizable version of myself as I had much self-discovery to unlock and explore. But, I knew at this moment I would take back my light, show victory over my internal battle of self-respect, and brave this world with piercing clarity.”

To help achieve her set goal and reach her full potential, the “With You” singer knew she needed to stop drinking alcohol. “It kept my mind and heart circling in the same direction, and quite honestly, I was exhausted.” She continued, “I wanted to feel the pain so I could carry it like a badge of honor. I wanted to live as a leader does and break cycles to advance – never looking back with regret and remorse over any choice I have made and would make for the rest of my time here within this beautiful world.”

After making the life-changing decision four years ago, Jessica remarked how quickly the time went, and four years only seemed like too. She also demystified some of the stigmas around the label of an alcoholic. She affirmed that drinking was not the issue but a symptom of how she was unable to accept and love herself. “The real work that needed to be done in my life was actually to accept failure, pain, brokenness, and self-sabotage. I didn’t love myself. I didn’t respect my power. Today I do. I have made peace with the fears, and I have accepted the parts of my life that are just sad. I own my power with soulful courage. I am wildly honest and comfortably open. I am free.”

In 2020, the multimedia entrepreneur painstakingly chronicled her struggle with alcohol and pill addiction in her memoir Open Book, as she revealed that she believes her addiction results from trying to numb the trauma from her childhood sexual abuse. During media rounds for the book, she told People she realized she was at rock bottom when zoned out from drinking during Halloween celebrations in 2017 and could not dress her kids.

In another separate interview in March on The Tamron Hall Show, she opened up about her struggles to host Tamron Hall, asking how she managed to remain sober throughout the pandemic. Jessica replied, “It’s weird because alcohol was an easy thing for me to give up. It was holding onto how I romanticized the pain I liked to hold on to.”