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There were a lot of smiling faces at the Oscars but one had to stand outSean Baker saw his film Anora go home with the top film prize and he took four for himself. Its star Mikey Madison was crowned best actress.Twenty-two years after winning best actor for The Pianist, Adrien Brody won the same Oscar again for his performance as another Holocaust survivor in Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist. He somehow kept the playoff music at bay.On Sunday, firefighters who battled recent wildfires got applauded, Mick Jagger handed out the best original song Oscar, and John Lithgow was tasked with looking “slightly disappointed” when speeches ran long. One highlight was Timothée Chalametliterally. His yellow suit got more than one comment.Here were some other telecast highlights: ‘Proud child of immigrant parents’ Zoe Saldaa was the favorite but that didn’t diminish her emotional win.After accepting the Oscar for best supporting actress for her work in Emilia Pérez, Saldaa spoke emotionally about her family and her grandmother, tearing up during her speech.“My grandmother came to this country in 1961I am a proud child of immigrant parents,” she said. “With dreams and dignity and hard-working hands, and I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last. I hope. The fact that I’m getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanishmy grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted, this is for my grandmother.”The accolade comes after Saldaa swept awards season, taking home the Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, BAFTA, and SAG awards for playing lawyer Rita Mora Castro. A ‘Wicked’ opening Host Conan O’Brien took a back seat at the Oscars’ opening number, ceding the floor to a Wizard of Ozthemed, eight-minute musical medley led by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.Grande, in a red sparkly dress, performed a rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. Then Erivo, in a white gown with floral embellishments, took the stage to sing a staggering rendition of “Home” from The Wiz. They joined up for Wicked‘s “Defying Gravity,” with Grande kissing Erivo’s ring.Wildfire-battered Los Angeles, on this night, stood in for Oz, with the graphic “We Love LA” showing after the pair were finished. The show began with a medley of film moments that used Los Angeles as a backdrop, including La La Land, Straight Outta Compton, Iron Man 2, and Mulholland Drive.Then it was O’Brien’s turn, comically pulling himselfand a missing shoefrom within the body of Demi Moore, in a take on her film The Substance. A verymaybe toopublic family discussion While accepting an Emmy Award in January 2024, Kieran Culkin used his time onstage to plead with his wife for more kids. They have two, Kinsey Sioux and Wilder Wolf. “You said maybe if I win,” he said, cheekily.On Sunday, he upped the demand.Culkin from the Oscar stage repeated the story and then said that he and Jazz Charton made a deal in the parking lot at the Emmys: If he won an Oscar, she’d not only give him a third, they could plan for a fourth. They even shook on it.“I just have to say this to you, Jazz, love of my life, ye of little faith,” he said as the crowd roared. “No pressure, I love you. I’m really sorry I did this again. Now let’s get cracking on those kids, what do you say?”The moment got an echo later in the night when I’m Not A Robot director Victoria Warmerdam said she wasn’t following Culkin’s lead.“To my producer and partner in life, Trent: I’m not having your babies because of this statue,” she said after winning best live action short. 007, celebrated by women There was no James Bond movie nominated in 2024 but there was a big James Bond section at the Oscars that ate up a lot of telecast time.To honor transfer of the franchise to Amazon, three singersLisa, Doja Cat, and Rayeeach sang a different 007 title song. Lisa sang “Live and Let Die,” Doja Cat tackled “Diamonds Are Forever,” and Raye did “Skyfall.”Amazon MGM announced Thursday that the studio has taken the creative reins of the 007 franchise after decades of family control. Longtime Bond custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they would be stepping back. On Sunday, Halle Berry thanked them for being the “heart and soul” of Bond.The tribute began with The Substance nominee Margaret Qualley in a red gown taking to the stage to dance acrobatically with a team of male dancers to the James Bond theme. Gene Hackman honored Morgan Freeman made an understated tribute to a friend: Gene Hackman. Freeman, who starred with Hackman in two movies, kicked off the in memoriam section with a somber note about Hackman, who was found dead last week alongside his wife.“This week, our community lost a giant. And I lost a dear friend, Gene Hackman,” Freeman began in his speech. “I had the pleasure of working alongside Gene on two films, Unforgiven and Under Suspicion. Like everyone who ever shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer and a man whose gifts elevated everyone’s work.”“Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy. I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work,'” Freeman continued. “I think I speak for us all when I say, ‘Gene, you will be remembered for that, and so much more.’ Rest in peace, my friend.”The in memoriam section would honor such luminaries as Teri Garr, Donald Sutherland, Louis Gossett Jr, Shelley Duvall, David Lynch, Bob Newhart, Gena Rowlands, Maggie Smith, and James Earl Jones. A separate section in the telecast honored Quincy Jones. How to stop the wrap-up music It has been an endless torment to winners everywhere whenever they hear the music swelling. It means one thing: Stop talking.Brody had a novel response to the playoff music Sunday. He looked sternly into the camera and said: “I’m wrapping up, please turn the music off. I’ve done this before. Thank you. It’s not my first rodeo, but I will will be brief.”It’s true. He won the Oscar in 2003 for The Pianist, memorably kissing Halle Berry at the podium. But that time he was pleading, not demanding, more time from producers.When the music started rolling during his emotional speech back then, Brody said: “One second, please. One second. Cut it out. I got one shot at this.” He added, “I didn’t say more than five names,I don’t think.” He went on for more than a minute more. For more coverage of this year’s Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards Mark Kennedy, AP Entertainment Writer
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Banana Republic wants you to be ready for check in at whichever balmy, poolside escape you might venture to after months of clutching hot toddies and sloughing on heavy duty night creams. [Photo: Banana Republic] Its new White Lotus collection, made in collaboration with the hit HBO show, is a resort collection thats about allowing its wearers to enjoy an uncomplicated spritz and shvitz in options they can pull from their suitcase while using their PTO. Banana Republic designed the mens and women’s capsule collection, available in 26 stores and online beginning March 6, with weighty high quality and ethically sourced fabrics. Prices range from $40 to $300. But more broadly, the collection also points to how the clothing company is repositioning for a new chapter of its own, as it seeks to regain relevance and elevate its brand positioning. The rebrand of Gap Inc and its subsidiaries, including Banana Republic, has been underway for over a year now. Gap hired Zac Posen as its creative director just over a year ago, and so far, he has delivered on reviving the stalling portfolio of American classics through more contemporary design, styling, and campaigns and red carpet appearances featuring true gets in terms of talent, including Tyla, Anne Hathaway, and Timothee Chalamet. Posen recently launched GapStudio, a higher end sub brandwhich doubles a soft marketing strategy of elevating overall brand perception. [Photo: Banana Republic] The White Lotus collection is one prong of this repositioning strategy. A topical collaboration could also bring new customers into the store, who then shop its core collection. It aligns with the company’s approach to fashion entertainment concepted by Gap Inc CEO Richard Dixon, says Meena Anvary, Banana Republics head of marketing. It’s just such a natural spit from a brand standpoint with our ethos and White Lotuss: premium, the sense of discovery, adventure, exploration. Nicole Wiesman, Banana Republics vice president of mens design who led the design of the capsule, tells me she designed the 24-piece collection to mix and match, which is necessary for collections with such a limited number of pieces. (something Uniqlos Clare Waight Keller has echoed) The team pulled print and color inspiration from the tropical forest, architecture, and patterns of Thailand, and sought to balance modern utility, casual elements and a sense of elegance, she says. When I met with Wiesman at the chains Soho location on an overcast 50 degree morning, she had winterized her pull from the collection: she wore the mens bermuda short in black with a black sweater and a pair of black Margiela Tabis. [Photo: Banana Republic] Wiesman, a fan of the show, pulled fabrics from Banana Republics archives in New York to design the 24-piece collection, and took inspiration from vintage military pieces due to their utility for the collections voluminous cargo pants and jackets, which also have reinforced patches and flat felled seams common to workwear to increase durability. (And lots of pockets, which are ideal for carrying passports, wallets, and the like when travelingespecially for men who dont typically carry purses, she says.) The mens collection also includes turquoise short sleeve silk button downs, crocheted polos, and grey striped linen pants. Many of the patterns, which were inspired by latticework that appears in the shows sets, cross over to the womens collection. The knitwear designers also interpreted the print for the knitted polos in juicy passionfruit yellow and cream. [Photo: Banana Republic] The womens collection includes a wide leg powder pink pant, white bandeau top, silk maxi dress with a slit to get a little leg out, and linen mini dress, which have small fit details like ack ties and elastic for ease of wear across body types. Theres a fluidness to it, she says of the pieces. Both the mens bermuda short as well as the silk tops have a weighty hand feel that points to the quality of the fabrics themselves, which are 100 percent silk, european flax standard linen, and Olympias Italian cotton, which is the same the brand uses for most of its chinos, and makes the pieces easy to dress down or up, Wiesman says. All of the linens are traceable, meaning the factory has to be approved. Wiesman attributes the quality and more approachable price point of the collection, which began development about a year ago, to a few things: The companys scale, and its longstanding close relationships with certain mills and factories. In some cases, if we really want that quality, we take the hit, she says. Long term, it establishes Banana Republic as a brand with a consistent sense of elevated quality. [Photo: Banana Republic] I asked Anvary and Wiesman if there was a challenge in designing a collection with appeal thats also inspired by a show with morally complicated characters. Our focus is really on making this collection available to everyone, says Anvary, referring to its bridge price point, high quality fabrics and versatility. So even if some of the characters might be LBH (losers back home, cough, Gary) you can still look MOV (Moneyed on Vacation).
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Red Robin Gourmet Burgers is looking to close up to 70 underperforming locations, representing about 14% of the 498 restaurants that were operating as of the end of last year. The company has already closed one restaurant upon lease expiration, it said in an earnings release last week, and it plans to close three additional locations within the first quarter of 2025. Most of the 70 locations are likely to close at some point in the next five years once their leases expire, Restaurant Dive reported, with as many as 15 closing this year. This decision follows a review of the company’s operations, which revealed that these sites are not meeting performance expectations. Red Robin reported a net loss of $39.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, a sharp decline compared to the $13.7 million loss reported in the same period of 2023. Despite this, the company reported a 19% increase in adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the success of its cost-saving measures. Highlights for Q4 and full-year 2024 Total revenues of $1.25 billion for the year, down from $1.3 billion in 2023. Q4 revenues were $285.2 million, down $23.8 million due to one fewer operating week. Comparable restaurant revenue decreased 1.2% for the year, but increased 3.4% in Q4 (1.8% including deferred loyalty revenue impact). Net loss of $77.5 million for the year, compared to a net loss of $21.2 million in 2023. Q4 net loss was $39.7 million, impacted by $32.4 million in impairment and closure costs. Adjusted EBITDA of $38.8 million for the year, down 43.7%, with a 19% increase in Q4 to $12.7 million. Lingering optimism While the closures mark a difficult chapter for the company, Red Robins leadership believes the actions taken will better position it for future growth and profitability. CEO G.J. Hart highlighted the significant improvements in customer traffic, with a 600-basis-point improvement from the first to the fourth quarter. The company is focusing on bringing guests back into restaurants with its “North Star” plan, which aims to boost guest experience and operational efficiency. Red Robin has restaurants in 39 U.S. states and one Canadian province, with its largest presence in California, Washington State, and Colorado. In closing underperforming locations, it would join a growing list of dining chains including Denny’s, Wendy’s, TGI Fridays, and several others that have moved to reduce their footprint in recent months. Shares of Red Robin stock (Nasdaq: RRGB) are down almost 24% in the past 12 months.
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