The Edge 12/23/21 Telegraph/Intelligencer

December 23, 2021 Volume 19, Issue 30 FINAL EDITION

Artist Kreion releases new music video

Movie review: ‘Sing 2’ The pop parade continues

Home & Lifestyles

Food for Thought: Buen provecho!

2 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

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The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 3

Cover story: Kreion releases video . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Religious directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Home & Lifestyles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Q&A with DiCaprio and McKay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 New film-themed cookbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Unexpected modern standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Food for Thought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 ‘Sing 2’ movie review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Who to contact

‘Sex and the City’ sequel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Refugee inspires youth book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 AP Breakthrough Entertainer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 AP top 2021 albums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 AP top 2021 songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Hannah-Jones interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Spider-Man nets 3rd best all time . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

THE EDGE PUBLISHER • Denise VonderHaar................... dvonderhaar@edwpub.net THE EDGE ADVERTISING DIRECTOR • Carole Fredeking ..................carole.fredeking@hearst.com THE EDGE MARKETING STRATEGIST • Kristine Ressler ..................kristine.ressler@hearst.com THE EDGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Unix | For The Edge ON THE COVER: Songwriter Briana Hightower, a k a Kreion, recently released her latest single, “FINE,” available on all digital platforms, including Apple and Spotify. She prides herself on her intuitive songwriting, but her voice is no joke.

• Jill Moon .......................................... jill.moon@hearst.com THE EDGE CONTRIBUTORS • Vicki Bennington...................... vbennington@sbcglobal.net • Keith Brake ..................................keithbrake76@gmail.com • Robert Grubaugh .................... rgrubaugh19@hotmail.com On The Edge Of The Weekend is a product of Hearst Illinois Media Group.

4 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

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The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 5

Artist Kreion releases new music video

By Jill Moon

jill.moon@hearst.com

ALTON — The next big voice is right here in River City.

Songwriter Briana Hightower, a k a Kreion, recently released her latest single, “FINE,” available on all digital platforms, including Apple and Spotify. She prides herself on her intuitive songwriting, but her voice is no joke.

Hightower, who works full time at Beverly Farm, decided to move from industry oversaturated Atlanta and come home to A-Town in 2019 to make her mark in songwriting, which is her passion, and music.

She’s been on the legendary stage at The Apollo, encouraged by her uncle to audition, winning first place in a first round.

“Oh my gosh, it was so scary,” she recalled about performing at The Apollo. “I met the nicest, most talented people backstage who were booed off the stage. I was dead last to go on.

“I did something I wasn’t supposed to do, which was connect to the audience. It made me calm, so I did it anyway. When I went back for the next round, they said I couldn’t do that this time. So I did the second round, but didn’t place.

She produces for other artists, too, not minding being in the background because her first love is songwriting, but she’s also performed among Grammy winning artists.

The Alton native grew up singing in the church, but she embraces all genres of music. Her acoustic version of “Jolene,” written by Dolly Parton, is a beautiful version of a classic country song.

“I’ve been singing my whole life, my whole family is in music,” she said.

“It’s deeply rooted in church, for sure.”

Hightower has been doing doing her music professionally since she graduated in 2010 from Alton High School; her first digital album came out in 2012. And she hasn’t lost sight of her goals and hasn’t compromised.

“I’m not your average artist, not an average artist’s size, as far as executives are concerned,” she said. “They tell me to lose 40 pounds. I can’t sit around and listen for them to say that and won first place for my first acous-

Briana Hightower, a k a Kreion

tic EP on SoundCloud.”

With three herniated discs in her back, she dealt with terrible nerve pain during a time she had the opportunity to work with a label.

“I had so much studio time because I couldn’t do anything but be a hermit, so I stayed in the studio,” she recalled.

“When I could walk again, I just went and did it, did what I wanted to do.

And I thought the best place to do that is at home.

“There’s so many doing music in Atlanta, moving with opportunities,” she said. “I didn’t want to do that in my music anymore. I wanted nothing

Unix | For The Edge

to have hold on it and enjoy being able to do what I want.”

In high school, she wrote songs with her longtime friend, with whom she now collaborates, Jay Love, a k a Bryant Lovett, along with Kyle Lovett and KK Klaynton, all of Alton. She worked with Bobby “Broady” Best, a St. Louis-based film director, on “FINE,” shooting in Alton, and Unix, a photographer, also in St. Louis.

“It’s a small team of three and I didn’t want that stop my dream,” she said. “They helped me understand I was a songwriter, put dreams into words and translate that to music and

song. They introduced me to that and I was hungry to learn more. I pick up a lot of things watching other people, producing, mixing, engineering, to allow me to grow. I do a little bit of everything.

“So I decided to come back here in 2019,” Hightower said. “Right after I moved back, Atlanta was a hot spot for COVID, so it was perfect timing.”

“FINE,” a song of empowerment, has an electro-infused dance sound, but not overly so.

“It’s about total empowerment, but not just about women, it’s a movement, that’s about self love,” she said.

Her music is also underscored by funk.

“I’m obsessed with funk music,” she said, who was “in so many bands,” including the Good Time Girls performing mostly ‘80s retro music. She’s influenced by Dionne Warwick and the Gap Band, among others.

Hightower would like to be able to create full time, own a studio and pursue artists development, which she said “isn’t a thing anymore.

“But I’ve done that in Atlanta,” she said. “I realized I have a gift for it ,working with people and finding their strength in music, confidence and songwriting, which is what I love doing. With the internet set up, you never know what can happen, so you can do what’s in your heart to do.”

Hightower also has been involved with a Netflix series and commercials, including for Intuit, which aired during the Grammys. Last year, she also worked with Australia-based producer Jus. Hailu to collaborate on an EP titled “More Love.”

“I’ve reached goals, but nothing of my own, that’s come out of my own,” she noted. “I want to be myself and thought to come home, where all my dreams started. The richest part of my experience is shooting videos around my own town. It’s been the best experience of my life.”

Hightower’s grandmother, Dorothy Willis, now retired, ran the Riverbend Community Food Pantry for several years.

Follow https://linktr.ee/heykreion for “FINE” and https://linktr.ee/ heykreion for all of Kreion’s latest releases.

6 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

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Home & Lifestyles • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 7

Home and Lifestyles H&L

8 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • Home & Lifestyles

How holiday hosts can avoid overserving guests For Home & Lifestyle

The 2021 holiday season could prove to be especially festive. After the COVID-19 pandemic forced families to tone down their holiday celebrations in 2020, the 2021 holiday season figures to feel more familiar. The rollout of a trio of effective vaccines has made gatherings more safe, and that should make for an especially jovial 2021 holiday season.

The image of a house full of family and

friends no doubt excites individuals who love to host holiday gatherings. And coming off a year in which no such celebrations were held, it’s easy to see how hosts and their guests might be tempted to celebrate a bit too much.

That could prove both dangerous and costly.

Overconsumption of alcohol can affect guests’ judgment, both during the party and at the end of the night when it’s time to go home.

In addition, host laws could put holiday hosts in the crosshairs of law

enforcement if they overserve guests. Hosts who are determined to have violated host laws could be vulnerable to lawsuits if their guests get into trouble.

Hosts must acknowledge and accept various responsibilities when hosting a holiday party, not the least of which is making sure guests get home safe and sound.

Hosts can consider these strategies to avoid overserving guests.

• Hire a professional bartender to serve drinks. The Insurance Information Institute

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Home & Lifestyles • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 9 signs of intoxication and are skilled at limiting consumption by partygoers. Hosts can benefit from that expertise and training if they hire professional bartenders to man the bar at their parties. Let guests know in advance that bartenders have been asked to monitor each guest’s consumption, and support the bartender should he or she refuse to serve a guest.

• Host outside your home. A large party at home may create a warm atmosphere, but it also can leave hosts liable in the eyes of the law. Hosting the party at a restaurant with a valid liquor license can minimize hosts’ liability risks. In addition, restaurants and bars tend to be very busy

during the holiday season. That means it will likely take longer for guests to order and receive their drinks.

Extra time between drinks can reduce the risk of overconsumption.

• Stay sober. Hosts can more effectively monitor how much their guests are drinking if they abstain from consuming alcohol. Guests who recognize hosts are not drinking also might be more agreeable if hosts ask them to stop for fear that they’re consuming too much alcohol.

• Shift the focus of the festivities. When planning the party and inviting guests, look for games and activities that engage guests and don’t promote drinking.

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Home & Lifestyles • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 11

How to plan a safe New Year’s Eve night out For Home & Lifestyle

New Year’s Eve is a popular night to paint the town red. That popularity could skyrocket even further as the world says goodbye to 2021 and ushers in 2022.

Many cities and millions of individuals toned down their New Year’s Eve shenanigans a year ago, as the COVID-19 pandemic made it hard to celebrate safely. But the rollout of three effective vaccines has beckoned revelers out of their homes, and that could make for an especially rowdy New Year’s Eve. Fun might be the top priority on New Year’s Eve, but safety must be in the mix as well. As individuals make plans for a night out this New Year’s

Eve, it can help to keep these safety tips in mind.

• Utilize a car service. Whether it’s a ridesharing service like Uber, a taxi cab or even a private limousine for large parties, leave the New Year’s Eve driving to the professionals. This ensures that no one will drive after having too much to drink. Even revelers who can control their alcohol consumption should avoid driving if they plan to drink. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a person need not be legally impaired to experience impairment. Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 are considered to be legally impaired. But the NHTSA reports that a BAC of .05 can reduce coordination, lead to a reduced ability to track moving objects, make

it difficult to steer, and produce a slower-than-normal response to emergency driving situations.

• Go out for dinner first. Experts at the University of Notre Dame’s McDonald Center for Student Well-Being note that having food, especially foods that are high in protein, in your stomach prior to consuming alcohol will help slow the processing of that alcohol. Someone who has not eaten will typically hit a peak BAC between 30 minutes and two hours of drinking. But someone who has eaten will typically peak between one and six hours of drinking depending on the quantity of alcohol consumed.

• Make a plan. Overconsumption of alcohol is not the only potential danger lurking on New Year’s Eve. Large crowds can make it easier for

friends to become separated, especially if they plan to visit more than one establishment before or after the clock strikes 12. When going out with a group on New Year’s Eve, create an itinerary, complete with meet-up spots, for the entire night.

This ensures anyone who gets lost can easily find his or her way back to the group. Individuals who are wandering alone on New Year’s Eve may be vulnerable to criminals who are looking to prey on people whose inhibitions have been lowered by alcohol and/or the festive atmosphere of the night.

A rowdy New Year’s Eve may be on tap as the world ushers in 2022.

That likelihood only underscores the importance of emphasizing safety when going out this December 31.

12 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • Home & Lifestyles

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Home & Lifestyles • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 13

Helping YOU Find the Perfect Home Loan

HOW DO HOME APPRAISALS AFFECT YOUR MORTGAGE LOAN? As with housing markets across the country, the Illinois real estate market has been marked by low inventory and rising prices. While these conditions are advantageous for sellers, many buyers are feeling frustrated after getting outbid and having trouble finding a home they like that is also within their price range. So, whether you are a firsttime homebuyer or not, it’s time to brush up on what to know when buying a home.

What is a home appraisal?

When you finance your home purchase with a mortgage loan, your lender will hire a licensed appraiser to conduct a professional appraisal of your home’s value before approving your loan.

Licensed real estate appraisers in Illinois have education, training, and experience in assessing the market value of residential properties. The appraiser visits the home to examine it in person and then researches comparable properties (“comps”) which are similar homes in your area. Based on the unique features and condition of your home, plus the local comps, the appraiser prepares a report with an estimate of your home’s current market value.

As long as the appraiser’s market value is the same as or more than the agreed purchase price, you don’t need to worry about it derailing your mortgage loan application. However, if your home appraises for a lower value than what you want to borrow against it, you’ll either have to bring more money to the table or renegotiate the sales price.

To protect yourself during the home buying process, you can add an appraisal contingency to the sales contract.

This enables you to walk away without a financial penalty if the appraisal is lower than the contracted purchase price.

If you are getting an appraisal as part of the mortgage refinance process, there are some aspects that could have an impact on your home’s perceived value. Here’s what home appraisers look for.

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· The number of bedrooms: A bedroom is any room with a window and a closet. · Health and safety concerns: Is there lead paint? Do the HVAC and cooling systems work? Is the home in basic livable condition? · Interior upgrades: Any permanent improvements you’ve made to the home, such as new tile in the bathroom, new kitchen cabinets, and countertops, etc. will boost the appraised value. · Exterior condition: Upgrades outside of the home’s living space, such as a new garage door, backyard pool, porch, patio, etc. · Comps: What similar homes in your area have recently sold for, as well as overall property value trends in your real estate market.

When do you get an appraisal?

Home appraisals usually occur during the underwriting phase of your mortgage application. If you are buying a home, the appraiser will go and inspect it while the home is under contract and still owned by the seller. If you are applying for a mortgage refinance on your own home, you will be living in the home while the appraiser comes to make notes.

Outside of the mortgage loan process, you can get a professional appraisal of your home anytime you want an accurate value, such as when you’re considering selling.

Home appraisals in Illinois usually cost between $450-500. Unless you negotiate for the seller to pay, the appraisal fee will be added to your closing costs as a buyer. You will also pay the appraisal fee as part of your closing costs when you refinance.

Home appraisal vs. a home inspection It’s important to note that a home appraisal is different from a home inspection. Home inspectors are also licensed and certified, but they serve a different purpose. Instead of assessing value, the intent of a home inspector is to catch any major issues with the home before you purchase it. Home inspections are highly recommended but not required by mortgage lenders.

How does an appraisal affect your mortgage loan?

Because an appraisal can make or break the approval of your home loan, it’s an important part of the mortgage application process. A home appraisal also protects you from paying more for a home than the market says it’s worth.

If you go under contract on a home and the appraisal comes in below the purchase price, you have several options: · Pay the difference in cash · Renegotiate a lower purchase price with the seller · Walk away from a certain house and keep looking

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14 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

Q&A: Leonardo DiCaprio and Adam McKay dare you to look up

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

Leonardo DiCaprio has been an outspoken environmental advocate for as long as he’s been famous. But while he’s produced documentaries, contributed millions to the cause through his foundation, sat on several relevant boards and even used his Oscar speech to talk about climate change, the topic has never overlapped with his acting work.

It wasn’t for lack of trying: He just couldn’t find the right fit. And, more importantly, he didn’t want to do the wrong thing either.

Then Adam McKay (“The Big Short”) came knocking with an idea he’d been developing with journalist David Sirota: What if it wasn’t explicitly about climate change, but a comet? That DiCaprio found interesting.

The result is “ Don’t Look Up,” a star-studded end-of-theworld satire hitting Netflix on Dec. 24. DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence play scientists who discover the extinction level comet and...no one cares.

McKay and DiCaprio spoke to The Associated Press about the film and trying to entertain and get a message through without alienating too many people.

••• AP: Leo, how did you decide this was the one?

DiCAPRIO: The brilliance of this screenplay is the analogy of making it a comet that is going to wipe out mankind within a six-month timeframe created this massive sense of urgency, rather than some slow-moving climate behemoth narrative.

It really came at this specific moment in time, like films like “Network” or “Dr. Strangelove,” that really encapsulates what we’re going through as a culture. It perfectly held a mir-

ror to our society and how we deal with the climate crisis, that we just let it continue and don’t take the actions that we need to take in order to survive on this planet.

AP: I read that you two spent five months going over the script.

McKAY: There’s nothing I love more than having my script or a cut of the movie challenged in a thoughtful way.

Leo came in the edit, too, and I would show him unfinished cuts. He gave terrific notes. The guy’s worked with some of the great directors of all time, you know, Scorsese and Tarantino, these grandmasters, and he knows a thing or two about story and film.

AP: Do you remember any big debates from these sessions?

DiCAPRIO: My motivation was (to) give a voice to the scientific community, to the people who’ve been devoting their life to the climate crisis and how their voice feels marginalized.

I’m much more literal about a lot of these things. I wanted to bring politics and specificity and direct linkage to climate in a lot of these speeches that we did. It was amazing to be able to have a partner like Adam in that process who kept on stripping away specifics that would make certain people that are in the audience feel alienated, that made it political.

McKAY: It’s interesting, some of the words that Leo and I would debate, like the word “fact.” You want to just say facts. And I was like, “Leo, I hate to break it to you, I think they politicized the word fact.”

So there was this constant vigilance over what words we were using. We just tried to stay out of the nonsense, the talking points, the focus groups, the clicks, the ratings.

DiCAPRIO: As soon as we stripped away a lot of those words too, it just made it more

This image released by Netflix shows Leonardo DiCaprio in “Don’t Look Up.” (Niko Tavernise/Netflix via AP)

human.

AP: Was it cathartic, getting to yell into the void in a way in a “mad as hell”-style speech?

DiCAPRIO: Well, look, I’m not a climate scientist, but I tried my best to think of a lot of these people in their frustration.

AP: Randall and his midwestern unassumingness is pretty different from other characters you’ve played.

DiCAPRIO: It was it was a fascinating journey because, yeah, I’m in scenarios wherein a Jonah Hill or a Meryl Streep is attacking me and I had to constantly swallow things that I wanted to say on a personal level and just bite the bullet and take the insult and the kick in the nuts. Even when Ariana Grande says what she says to me, I had to fight that instinct. It was a very, very unique experiment in patience and sitting in discomfort, which is something that I love

in movies, if, when done correctly, when you can make the audience feel uncomfortable for you as a character. I think back to “King of Comedy” or “Taxi Driver.” It’s a hard thing to pull off. I don’t know if I did it or not, but that’s what I was definitely aiming for.

McKAY: I mean, I loved it.

I just thought it was so cool to see a guy who you’ve seen like, fight a bear in like giant sprawling epics and lead of the biggest movie ever made and to see him having a panic attack or having to take a quarter of a Xanax and getting run over by this fame.

AP: What have you thought of audience responses so far?

Are people getting what you hoped from it?

McKAY: The big thing was that we wanted to make it funny. I would see the crowd laughing through the whole movie and then I would look

at the cards (at test screenings), and it almost seemed to defy people who would identify as conservative, liberal and that was very heartening to me.

There was always going to be a couple of people that are mad about something.

DiCAPRIO: You never know ultimately how a movie will impact a mass audience, but a little test case for that: I have very liberal hippie parents that walked out of that theater, both my mother and my stepmother went to the premiere, and be like, “I’ve got to tell you, I really identified with a lot of the characters in that movie. I mean, I was thinking about some of my actions. I was thinking, am I like Meryl Streep?”

McKAY: No! Are you serious?

DiCAPRIO: I’m like, “Mom, you’re nothing like that character.”

The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 15

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18 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

Nitehawk Cinema puts its film-themed menus into new cookbook

By LEANNE ITALIE

other theaters, too, in the city.”

Viragh lives in an apartment atop his original location in the Williamsburg With two Brooklyn locations now and neighborhood with his wife and two a loyal following, Viragh has extended children. Combined, his theaters have his dream to a cookbook, “Nitehawk NEW YORK (AP) — More than a 10 screens and 836 seats. He renovated a Cinema Presents,” offering fan-favorite decade ago, Matthew Viragh was a historic cinema for his second location, recipes and cocktails adapted for home.

Texan with a dream. He wanted to serve He and his team of cinephiles, chefs and the old Sanders theater that opened in moviegoers booze and prepared food as 1928 just off Prospect Park. Viragh premixologists throw in bits of film history, they sat in their seats. In Brooklyn. But served touches from the past, including too. he had a state Prohibition-era liquor ban marble stairs hidden beneath carpeting.

There’s “The Dude Abides,” a cofto contend with first.

Special feasts and themed dishes and fee-infused, vodka-and-egg-white conA FULL LINE OF FRESH MEAT & DELI PRODUCTS Viragh, who left advertising for the drinks at Nitehawk come and go with coction with stout, ancho chile, walnut theater business, hired an Albany lobthe first-run, arthouse and classic films and salted honey syrup, in homage to byist. The lobbyist rounded up some he shows, but a few menu items are the White Russians that Jeff Bridges’ friendly lawmakers, and Nitehawk Cinpermanent by popular demand. Some character downed like Kool-Aid (“Jesus, are included in the cookbook, like the ema got its wish in 2011, becoming New you mix a hell of a Caucasian, Jackie”).

“Leatherface Jerky” with Thai chili, garYork State’s first legal dine-in theater.

“Try the Veal, It’s the Best in the City” lic and soy sauce, an ode to “The Texas Then, Viragh began creating cocktail and contains veal, new potatoes, olives and Chainsaw Massacre.” food selections themed to the movies he sliced blood orange in honor of “The Viragh envisions his book used by was offering.

Godfather.” In the classic film trilogy, home chefs for both movie-themed “It was a long shot,” he told The oranges can be seen in scenes involving This cover image released by Countryman parties or quiet, romantic evenings of Associated Press in a recent interview. deeply meaningful death. The name of Press4 Bacon shows “Nitehawk Cinema Presents: “Nitehawk and chill.”

10 lb bag of “I didn’t quite expect it to happen, so the veal dish is based on a line uttered Excel Movie-Inspired Menus from Brooklyn’s Dine81% Lean Wrapped He and key members of his team Bacon we were prepared to operate how we by the character Virgil Sollozzo Ground Beef before In Theater.

(Countryman Press(5LB. viaBag) AP) Filet Mignon worked on the project during the most initially set it up, where we would have Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone shootsPer Pound for: Per Pound Per Pound for: dire isolation during the pandemic, a restaurant and bar in the front area. It him to death, though the Nitehawk book police Capt.

Mark McCluskey.

He, too, when the theaters closed for a year and certainly has created opportunities for Expires 10-23-19 attributes the famous words to corrupt Expires 10-23-19 Limit 20 lbs Expires 10-23-19 A FULL LINE OF FRESH MEAT & DELI PRODUCTS was executed in the restaurant scene.

Viragh was forced to furlough many on The glossy cookbook is part schtick, staff. The book, with well over 100 recHOURS: ipes, was published in early December like the cocktail “Red Rum,” a mix of MON-SAT 8 AM - 8 PMsyrup for “The Shinby The Countryman Press, an imprint rum and hibiscus SUN 8 (for AM the - 6 PM of W.W. Norton & Company. ing” uninitiated, “redrum” is “We were working on this book murder spelled backward), and part before the pandemic, but it was slow literal movie reference, like the “Cup O’ going. We had, obviously, a lot more Pizza” from “The Jerk.”

A FULL FULL LINE LINE OF OF FRESH FRESH MEAT MEAT & & DELI DELI PRODUCTS PRODUCTS A time on our hands and it exploded into Viragh was inspired by Alamo DraftA FULL LINE OF FRESH MEAT & DELI PRODUCTS something even larger than we imaghouse, a dine-in theater chain with ined. That was the only silver lining of liquor and beer service and an increasPRESENT THIS COUPON AT THE the closure,” he said. ing presence now in New York. It was MEAT COUNTER & RECEIvE: The Nitehawks, like other restaufounded in Austin, Texas, where the Fort Coupon 10 lb bag of 4 Bacon Excel 10LB Bulk required. rants, served curbside and delivery Worth native went to college.

81% Lean Wrapped Bag 81% Lean Bacon Not valid when permitted during the pandemic.

Ground Ground Beef Beef “After school, I moved up to New Filet with Mignon any (5LB. Bag) Home Made Beef Jerky Per Pound for: other Per Pound Business has picked up since then and Per Pound Per for:offers.

York to pursue some other things and Pound menu specials are back, like a “Shark’s always missed that sort of experience,” Expires Dog Bones Daiquiri” and a “Jet’s Manhattan” Expires 10-23-19 Expires 10-23-19 Limit 20 lbs Expires 10-23-19 he said.

“There wasn’t anything like 1/16/2021 in celebration of the new “West Side that up here and I thought it would be Local Honey Story.” Special one-off screenings are a wonderful addition to the New York 10 lb bag of 4 Bacon PRESENT THIS COUPON AT THE Excel HOURS: 81% Lean also back and include the upcoming Wrapped film and culinary scene.”

Bacon MEAT COUNTER & RECEIvE: Ground Beef Filet Mignon Daily Lunch MON-SAT 8 AM 8 PM “Purple Rain,” with a helping of fried (5LB. Bag) To figure out how to do that, Viragh 10 lbfor: bag of Coupon Boneless 4 Bacon Per Pound Per Pound for: Excel SUN Wrapped 8 AM - 6 PM Per Pound Specials cheese curds and purple ketchup on required. headed to Portsmouth, Virginia, and 81% Lean Skinless Bacon Not valid offer to celebrate Prince and his native Chicken Ground Beef spent time at The Commodore Theatre, Filet Mignon Expires 10-23-19 with any (5LB. Bag) Expires 10-23-19 Limit 20 lbs Expires 10-23-19 Breast Per Pound for: Per Pound for: Minnesota.

Per Pound Per Pound other offers. a restored Art Deco cinema with a fine As for the book, Nitehawk patrons dining restaurant in the main auditoriExpires We Sell Gift Certificates! are gobbling it up.

Expires 10-23-19 HOURS: Limit 20 lbs Expires 10-23-19 um.

1/16/2021 Expires 10-23-19 “I didn’t have any expectations about MON-SAT 8 AM - 8 PM “The owner, Fred Schoenfeld, was nice the sales of the book at all,” Viragh said.

SUN 8 AM - 6 PM enough to take me in and let me spend HOURS: “I’m just pleased we did the book and the summer down there. He gave me MON-SAT 8 AM - 8 PM stayed busy during our closure. It’s a room and board, and I basically learned celebration of all the talented people SUN 8 AM - 6 PM all the ins and outs of running a dinewho have worked here over the years in theater,” Viragh said. “I knew that I HOURS: MON-SAT 8 AM - 8 PM • SUN 8 AM - 6 PM and what we’ve created together.” could do this.”

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The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 19

Red snow? A most unexpected modern standard for the holidays

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — There is no mention of holiday or Christmas in lyrics to the song, “White Winter Hymnal.” Or winter, for that matter. There is a reference to snow, turned “red as strawberries in the summertime” — presumably, by blood.

Nonetheless, the song has become a modern holiday standard, sung by children’s choirs in countless school assemblies. Its plays on Spotify — more than 180 million for the two most popular versions — spike on Christmas Eve. The story of “White Winter Hymnal” is a reminder of how songs can take journeys in the public consciousness that even their composers can’t fathom.

“The universe has a sense of humor. Sometimes there’s just these little cosmic flukes,” said Robin Pecknold, who wrote it when he was 20 years old, sitting on a couch at his parents’ house as “The Simpsons” played on TV in the background. He was trying to wrap up music for the debut album of his band, Fleet Foxes.

Pecknold estimates it took about 20 minutes.

The result is a composition of simple, ethereal beauty. It consists of a single verse, sung three times in a round or perpetual canon style, with multiple voices repeating the same melody at a different starting point (“I was following the...”)

The melody ascends to a

peak then tumbles down, much like the song’s character, Michael, falls in the snow. In less than two and a half minutes, it’s done.

“White Winter Hymnal” received some notice in the alternative rock world when released in the summer of 2008. Pitchfork magazine named the song its No. 2 favorite track of the year, with critic Stephen Deusner writing, “its meaning may remain unclear after so many listens — something about the passage of seasons — but its spell remains as strong as ever.”

An aspiring actor, John Frank Lyke, was so obsessed with “White Winter Hymnal” that he made a homemade video featuring a couple walking in the woods through a newly-fallen snow. They come to a clearing overlooking Lake Champlain and when Pecknold sings the word “summertime,” the scene abruptly switches seasons.

Bathed in warm sun, the couple leap into the lake.

The song “has this kind of magic winter wonderland feeling,” Lyke said. “It reminded me of midnight mass when I would go with my family.”

Pecknold didn’t have the holidays in mind when writing. But other artists began covering “White Winter Hymnal” and one, Kim Wilde, put her version on a 2013 holiday-themed album. Pentatonix did the same a year later for their album, “That’s Christmas to Me.” That’s when the song really took on a new life.

Pentatonix’s video of

“White Winter Hymnal” has been seen more than 96 million times on YouTube; F leet Foxes’ own video, a Claymation scene made by Robin’s brother, Sean, has 23 million views.

In some respects, the song changed both context and ownership: Google “‘White Winter Hymnal’ lyrics” and it’s described as “a Pentatonix song.”

The performance by a vocal band with a young following led to its notice by choir directors around the world.

“When choir groups do it, it’s so charming to me,” Pecknold said. “It is kind of heartwarming when someone will say to me, ‘I’m at my kid’s recital and they’re doing your song,’ and they’ll send me a video. That’s really sweet, to think it’s living in that world. Nothing beats that.”

When Pecknold checks the Spotify metrics for his song, the plays tend to increase with the onset of autumn, building to the outsized Christmas Eve peak then falling off dramatically.

“Holiday songs tend to lean into a certain kind of musical nostalgia, referencing the acoustic timbral palette of the holiday recorded canon, from Bing Crosby to Eartha Kitt,” said Nathaniel Sloan, musicologist at the University of Southern California and co-host of the “Switched on Pop” podcast. “The acoustic-folk sound of Fleet Foxes is well-suited to these nostalgic tones.

“In addition, the song reaches back to deeper Christmas traditions in its

Robin Pecknold of the Fleet Foxes performs at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival on April 14, 2018, in Indio, Calif. The Fleet Foxes song “White Winter Hymnal,” written by Pecknold, and released in 2008, has become a modern holiday standard, sung by children’s choirs in countless school assemblies. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File) carol-like vocal approach, with its layered melodies that stack upon one another,” Sloan said.

Then you listen closely to the lyrics: “I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats with scarves of red tied round their throats to keep their little heads from fallin’ in the snow, and I turned ‘round and there you go, and Michael you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime.”

One theory on the Internet is that “White Winter Hymnal” is about decapitation, with the red scarf a supposed reference to the French Revolution.

Michael is being led to the guillotine.

Could that be true? What is the song about anyway?

Pecknold pauses at the question.

“That’s another funny aspect of it,” he said, “is that it’s kind of vaguely not about anything.”

One common theme of songs on Fleet Foxes’ debut was keeping family and friends together as people grew and changed, and that was in his mind as he wrote. While he concedes

that the most literal image may be a boy falling down a hill and dying, Pecknold said the song is definitely NOT about decapitation.

“The words being vaguely dark was kind of cutting the sweetness of the melody,” he said. “That dissonance was interesting.

At this point, I’m writing songs with the expectation that I’ll have to defend them in some way. But at the time, I definitely was not.”

The ambiguity and potential darkness certainly make it a stark departure, Sloan said. While heartache is a common theme for some holiday standards, most evoke a warm sense of family and good cheer.

He expects “White Winter Hymnal” to have staying power, though.

“Not only is it a joy to listen to, it’s a joy to perform — the chord structure is relatively simple and easy to learn, the unique vocal lines lend themselves to group singing and the lyrical repetition makes it easy for anyone to join in and sing along,” Sloan said.

The song gets more attention each year; Spo-

tify said it was streamed 30% more this September and October than in 2020, almost at previous December levels. The Pentatonix recording provided Pecknold a windfall as a songwriter that he largely plowed back into music.

This season it’s being used in commercials for the Spanish lottery. The potential for earnings only figures to increase.

He marvels at the randomness of it all.

“That’s the funny thing about this — spending years making music, writing songs, thinking it’s all about hard work and putting the hours in,” he said.

“To a large degree it is, but then you’ll get this random scratch card one day and find the song that ends up, kind of accidentally, being your most well-known.”

Fleet Foxes just released a new album, “A Very Lonely Solstice,” a live recording that features songs meant to evoke a seasonal feel without being explicitly about the holidays.

“White Winter Hymnal,” however, is not included.

“That’s a Christmas song at this point,” Pecknold said with a laugh.

20 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

Food for Thought … with Vicki Bennington

Buen provecho!

Edwardsville’s Chipotle Mexican Grill is a friendly feeling lunch or dinner establishment with a wide selection of Mexican fare in what is known as a “fast-casual” restaurant.

What is fast-casual? You might ask.

Chipotle literature states it was founded in Vicki 1993 to bridge the gap Bennington between fast-food chains and more casual sit-down restaurants, so the idea isn’t new – though the term was never exactly a household word.

But if you think about it, you know exactly what it means, and we all knew there was something different about it, even though we may not have known

the term. It’s somewhere in-between a fast-food restaurant and say, a café; someplace you wouldn’t mind eating in, but yet it provides convenient “on-thego” food, as well.

One of the initiatives of the idea was to offer freshly prepared food with fresh quality ingredients, while keeping the turnaround “fast.” And of course, the resulting dishes should be delicious – they’ve got to be delicious.

In my book, Chipotle ticks off all the boxes.

My order was fast. It was definitely tasty. And by all accounts, the ingredients seemed to be quite fresh and of a high quality. So there you go.

I started out with the obligatory – at least, I think it is – chips and guacamole – and were they the whole enchilada!

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Seriously, the guac was very creamy, with a great flavor; the chips warm with just the right amount of crispness.

Other dip choices to go with those scrumptious chips are fresh tomato salsa, tomatillo-red (or green) chili salsa, roasted chili-corn salsa or queso blanco (I don’t like this type of cheese dip myself, but I do like saying it), and for drinks, you can choose from several specialty soft drinks, like Mexican Coca-Cola or Sprite, Tractor organic black tea, San Pellegrino sparkling water or grapefruit izze juice, among others.

For my entrée, I ordered a chicken

Photos by Vicki Bennington

quesadilla, which was an eight-inch flour tortilla stuffed with shredded chicken (or you could choose steak, barbacoa or sofrias (plant-based protein), or cheese.

Then you can choose three sides brown rice, white rice, black or pinto beans, and one of the aforementioned “dips” or sauces. It was a large amount of food, and I have to say, it was very good.

There are several other categories to choose from on the menu, and really, all sound good. The Lifestyle Bowl is one I’d like to try – some are labelled

The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 21 Whole30 salad bowl choices, others Keto salad bowl, or Paleo salad bowl. The Whole30 is the one I want to try, particularly since I bought the “Whole 30” book, which I have been perusing, thinking “if other people can do it, so can I.” We will see, but meanwhile, I can try the salad bowl at Chipotle, can’t I? Maybe it will be my first step in a journey to healthy eating. It certainly sounds good, with supergreens lettuce blend, chicken, fajita veggies, fresh tomato salsa and guacamole. It sounds like

the perfect fusion.

And Mexican cuisine is overall a fusion of Mesoamerican and European or Spanish cooking, using primary ingredients like corn, beans, avocados, tomatoes, chili peppers and rice.

Chipotle is “known” for its burrito, which allows for the same type of protein choices as my quesadilla, wrapped in a warm flour tortilla with rice, beans, or fajita veggies, and topped with guac, salsa, queso blanco, sour cream or cheese. Or there’s the burrito bowl, various salads and we

Chicken quesadilla with a side of brown rice.

can’t forget tacos!

Chipotle is open seven-days-a-week, located at 2200 Troy Road in Edwardsville. There are multiple locations around the greater St. Louis area and the United States. For more information, visit chipotle.com.

In this column, Bennington shares her love of food and all that entails, from special dishes at local and regional restaurants to new trends and fads, and things to try at home. Contact her at vbennington@sbcglobal. net with comments, ideas or suggestions.

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22 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

Review: The pop parade continues in ‘Sing 2’

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

There are a lot of movies out this holiday season but only one where you can see a slug sing Drake’s “Hotline Bling.” Ah, the magic of cinema!

“Sing 2,” the sequel to the 2016 animated hit, packs the jukebox again with more than 40 songs, from BTS to Billie Eilish.

The two films from Illumination, the animation studio of “Despicable Me” and “Minions,” derive a lot of their appeal from a karaoke game of pairing a chart-topping hit with the appropriate anthropomorphic animal. The options are as vast as the animal kingdom. Should Cardi B be sung by a bumblebee?

Is it too on the nose to give “Savage” to a stallion?

But writer-director Garth Jennings’ films are a little — a little, not a lot — more than a string of pop

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(Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures via AP)

tunes strung together in a frenetic, sugary cartoon confection. The movies are about the collaborative, shambolic thrill of live performance. In the first, the bow-tied koala impresario Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) assembled a singing contest to save his struggling theater. In “Sing 2,” which opens in theaters Wednesday, Moon and his stable of performers go for the big time. After a snooty talent scout dismisses their troupe as not good enough to rise above regional theater, Moon buys bus tickets and they head to Redshore City, a gleaming desert metropo-

lis stand-in for Las Vegas.

To mount a show with the tyrannical mogul Jimmy Crystal, a white wolf voiced by Bobby Cannavale, Moon overpromises, pledging he has a sci-fi musical that isn’t yet written and a star (a retired lion named Clay Calloway, voiced by Bono) who isn’t yet cast. The gang of Johnny the emo gorilla (Taron Egerton), Ash the porcupine pop star (Scarlett Johansson), Meena the sensitive elephant (Tori Kelly) and the porcine duo Rosita (Reese Witherspoon) and Gunter (Nick Kroll) rally to rehearse the spectacle production, along with a

few others like Crystal’s pampered daughter Porsha (Halsey, note perfect).

It’s all amiable, shallow and occasionally sweet.

Though most of the wallto-wall music is pulled right off the studio’s own bestselling shelves, there’s a poignant, wordless moment of the gang rehearsing on the back of the bus set to the far less predictable “Holes,” by ‘90s indie act Mercury Rev. If any narrative thread holds the movie together, it’s each character dealing with their own version of anxiety, fear and stage fright as performers. While a laudable message for a kids movie,

it’s drowned out by the movie’s commercialized blare.

None of the characters come though much, with one exception. Miss Crawly, an elderly iguana with a glass eye voiced by Jennings, adds a welcome dose of slapstick to the pop parade. She’s a bumbling mess but the only one in “Sing 2” that knows one vital thing: how to put on a show.

“Sing 2,” a Universal Studios release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for some rude material and mild peril/violence. Running time: 112 minutes.

Two stars out of four.

The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 23

‘Sex and the City’ sequel seeks ‘slow burn’ affair with fans

By LYNN ELBER

AP Television Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Patrick King wants the record to show that “Sex and the City” had a “slow burn of a love affair” with viewers on its way to becoming, eventually, an adored success.

The executive producer’s motive: that his HBO Max sequel, “And Just Like That...,” get a chance to prove itself. After its two-episode debut last week, the remaining eight are arriving on consecutive Thursdays.

“You’ve seen a couple of episodes of our show; you’ve seen six seasons” of the original 1998-2004 comedy about 30-something friends in New York City, said King, who was a writer, director and executive producer on “Sex and the City.”

“I feel confident in coming back with these actresses — Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon — because I knew they could play whatever it was we and the writers came up with,” he said.

A “bold story line” intended to grab audience attention also gave King confidence that the sequel was a good idea. Spoiler alert: That daring encompasses a major plot twist in episode one and its fallout, addressed below.

King, interviewed the day after the show debuted, could be forgiven a certain defensiveness. Critics, and some viewers, took issue with its dark tone as it revisited its characters in their 50s, in contrast to its frisky predecessor.

Viewers got much to lament and chew on in the debut episodes. Samantha, played by Kim Cattrall in “Sex and the City,” is in the sequel in name only. Willie Garson, part of both series (and the films) as Stanford, was lost to pancreatic cancer after taping part of the sequel. And in this version, diversity gets a place at the table.

Here’s what King and the cast had to say about their resurrected adventure. Yes, characters still revel in giddy fashionista indulgence, but there’s also a new, sometimes excruciatingly awkward, wokeness.

A BIG GOODBYE The first episode ended with John aka Mr. Big (Chris Noth) suffering a heart attack after an intense Peloton workout and dying in wife Carrie’s (Parker) arms. Her failure to call 911 galled many, while jokesters dubbed the scene the worst product placement ever.

Peloton, which avowed ignorance of how its machine was to be used and defended its health benefits, rushed out a clever commercial with Noth and Peloton instructor Jess King (also seen in the episode) sitting fireside post-workout and deciding on another spin.

Did Big — cigars and known heart condition aside — really have to meet a premature end?

“Yes, I had to kill Big,” King said, bluntly. “The reason I came back was to kill Big, because I wanted Carrie and

This combination of photos released by HBO Max shows, from left, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis in scenes from “And Just Like That.” (Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Max via AP)

the audience to feel, ‘Is it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?’”

He vowed that he’d never leave Carrie in “a dark forest without a flashlight and a lantern on the way out. I would never do that to the audience.”

Darren Star, who created “Sex and the City,” said the twist opened up “a new chapter” and also weighed in on the commercial spoof: “I loved it. I have a Peloton and I don’t believe the bike killed Mr. Big.” WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SAMANTHA? In London, and giving her once-close pals the silent treatment after Carrie dropped Samantha as her publicist — a tiff that seems to echo Cattrall’s 2018 social media post in which she criticized Parker and said, “You are not my friend.”

When the series minus Cattrall was announced last January, Parker brushed aside a fan’s post suggesting a feud.

“No. I don’t dislike her,” Parker replied. “I’ve never said that. Never would. Samantha isn’t part of this story. But she will always be part of us.”

Davis, an executive producer on the series along with Parker and Nixon, said they found the scripted explanation for Samantha’s absence “very realistic,” adding, “You don’t stay friends forever with everyone in your life. ...

Things change.”

King said Cattrall decided that “she didn’t want to play Samantha anymore. She was finished with it.” But the characters are real to him, he said, “so we created something in the writing room that happens to a lot of friendships, where you just fall apart.”

WELCOME TO THE CLUB New York is a melting pot of ethnic diversity, but “Sex and the City” was strictly white. That’s changed in “And Just Like That...,” which adds characters of color played

by Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman and Sara Ramírez.

Nicole Ari Parker (“Empire,” “Boogie Nights”) enjoyed watching the original series for the female bonding but thought it would benefit from being more inclusive.

“I’m glad that, as grown-ups in this iteration of the show, that they know it’s important,” she said. “But at the same time, they’re not trying to be like, ‘OK, we did it.

It’s perfect.’ No, it’s a bumpy ride. ... And yet something beautiful can come out of it.”

Corporate lawyer Miranda (Nixon), who’s decided to switch course and earn a master’s degree in human rights, makes gaffe after gaffe with her Black professor played by Pittman (“The Morning Show”).

“It’s funny. It’s humorous, we kind of take the air out of the race and the race politic conversation in order to just send it up,” Pittman said. But what “ends up happening is that two people become friends and don’t see enough of that.”

There’s more gender inclusiveness as well: Ramírez’s character is a podcaster and comedian who’s nonbinary and bisexual.

Ramírez (“Grey’s Anatomy”) said it’s exciting “to be invited in now and show that there has always been space for a character to challenge our own internalized impressions, to disrupt the constructs that so many of us have been living under ... constructs like sex and gender roles.”

FAREWELL, STANFORD BLATCH Garson’s death in September hit his castmates hard.

“That I almost can’t talk about, except to say you get through it because you must. But it’s enormously painful,” Sarah Jessica Parker said, calling him “my close friend for over three decades.”

Mario Cantone, who plays Stanford’s husband Anthony, thought about him every day on the set.

“We just kind of all huddled together and did this and moved forward with Willie in our hearts,” Cantone said.

“This is very bittersweet. It really is because he should be here. But he was glorious and hilarious, and you would have never known he was ill.”

Nixon recalled Garson as a warm and funny person and a “bright light on the show,” while Davis said she hopes that fans “laugh and enjoy him in these first three episodes, that’s what he lived for.”

24 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

African refugee who grew up in Maine inspires youth book KITTERY, Maine (AP) — An African refugee collaborated on a children’s book that draws from his experience growing up in Maine’s largest city.

Terry Farish, of Kittery, wrote the book with OD Bonny, who provided the inspiration for “A Feast for Joseph.” It tells the story of a young refugee who adapts to a new life in Portland.

Despite finding a better life, Joseph still longs for the family and friends — and food — he left behind at a refugee camp.

“He still has good friends there, so he’s missing all the people, how they used to cook and the music, and that’s what he’s homesick for,” Farish told WMTW-TV. In the book, Joseph makes a friend and they cook an

African feast that brings together the community.

“I think friendship is one of the most important things to come from this book, but personally, for me my favorite is tradition and the food,” said Bonny, whose family fled South Sudan. The family ended up at Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in Uganda before coming to Maine.

Bonny has since moved to Nebraska.

After the two met in 2013, Bonny performed a rap he’d created about a young-adult novel Farish wrote about a Sudanese immigrant who settled in Maine, she told Seacoastonline.com.

The new book is aimed at elementary school-aged children. It was published in September by Toronto-based Groundwood Books.

It was illustrated by Canadian Ken Daley, himself the son of immigrants, who said the story about being homesick and the connection to culture and food resonated with him, as well. “My parents emigrated from Dominica to Canada, so yes I drew on my family experience to help illustrate the story,” he told The Associated Press.

Maine is the nation’s whitest state, but it’s home to a growing population of immigrants and refugees from Africa.

There is a population from Somalia that numbers more than 10,000, mostly based in Portland and in Lewiston.

There have been significant numbers of immigrants from other African countries as well.

Terry Farish, who published a children’s book that she co-authored with a refugee from Africa, is seen in this Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021, photo, at River Run Bookstore, in Portsmouth, N.H. (Olivia Falcigno/Seacoastonline.com/Portsmouth Herald via AP)

The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 25

AP Breakthrough Entertainer: Sydney Sweeney is taking charge

By AMANDA LEE MYERS AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — As she pursued her dream to become an actor, Sydney Sweeney’s family lost their home, her parents got divorced and she spent countless nights crying herself to sleep because of the constant rejection.

Hoping to put her family back together again, Sweeney vowed to find success and buy her parents a house when she turned 18. But like so many children of divorce, her wish never came true.

“There were many, many years where I got told ‘No’ endlessly,” Sweeney recently told The Associated Press, which has named her one of its Breakthrough Entertainers of 2021.

“I got told I wasn’t good enough, I would never make it, I wasn’t pretty enough — all the time. And my parents were like, ‘Are we doing the right thing?’”

It wasn’t until 2018 that Sweeney finally got her big break, a small but memorable role in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” She was 21.

“When I was on set for the first time, I was like, ‘I’m actually here. Like, this is what my mom and I always talked about,’” Sweeney said.

From there, she took off. That same year, she was in the critically acclaimed HBO mini-series “Sharp Objects” starring Amy Adams. In 2019, Sweeney starred alongside Zendaya and Hunter Schafer in HBO’s “Euphoria,” a frighteningly honest portrayal of teenage drug addiction and sex. And a month after “Euphoria” premiered, Sweeney was twirling in a pink gown alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt at the premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” in which she played a member of the Manson family.

Sweeney sealed her stardom in 2021 with major roles in the hit HBO miniseries, “The White Lotus,” and in Amazon’s erotic thriller, “The Voyeurs.” She also filmed the highly anticipated second season of “Euphoria,” which drops in January.

On top of all that, Sweeney also started her own production company, Fifty-Fifty Films.

“I had the time during COVID, and ... I was reading all these books. I was like, ‘Well, does anyone have the rights to them?” Sweeney said.

In particular, Sweeney fell in love with Jessica Goodman’s prep-school thriller, “They Wish They Were Us.” So she flew to New York and convinced Goodman she could bring the story to life as a mini-series.

Retitled “The Players Table,” Sweeney and her partners are now producing the series for HBO Max. It will star her and recording artist

Sydney Sweeney poses for a portrait in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2021. Sweeney was named one of eight breakthrough entertainers of the year by the Associated Press. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Halsey as two girls unraveling a classmate’s murder in an affluent Long Island town.

None of Sweeney’s success comes as a surprise to “The Voyeurs” director Michael Mohan, one of the first people in Hollywood to believe in her when he cast her in the 2018 Netflix series, “Everything Sucks.”

“We read literally thousands of people for this role, and it really wasn’t until Sydney came in that I was like, ‘Oh, here she is.

This is the person,’” Mohan said. “She just knocked our socks off.”

Mohan said Sweeney stood out because she has an “innate ability to go to incredibly vulnerable places at the drop of a hat.”

“She spends a lot of time preparing and she spent a lot of time working out her character and figuring out the history of the character so she has things that she can draw from,” he said. “And that takes time. That takes up a lot of energy. And I think that’s what separates her from so many other performers, is just her insane work ethic.”

He said he was in awe of her again while directing her in “The Voyeurs,” her first lead-

ing role and one that required both sexually intimate and wildly emotional scenes.

“There are these scenes where she has this all-out sort of panic attack, sort of a wounded animal kind of response to something tragic that happens to her,” Mohan said. “On four different days, she had to work herself up to the same type of snotty, teary cry. Everyone was like, ‘We have to bring our A game because she is crushing it right now, and she’s making really smart and interesting choices every single day, and this is potentially her breakthrough movie. So let’s let’s all support her, too, because we’re witnessing the birth of a star here,” he said.

Despite all the success, it would be inaccurate to say that Sweeney is simply reveling in it.

“My parents lost their selves and my parents got divorced,” she said. “A lot happened in the meantime of being able to get here so it’s kind of like a bittersweet thing of, yes, my dream is coming true. But unfortunately, I lost a lot of family in the meantime.”

Sweeney does appreciate what her career is

allowing her to do for her loved ones.

“I was able to bring my grandmother to Paris and sit front row the Balmain fashion show and she’d never traveled that far. She hadn’t been to Europe, nothing,” Sweeney said.

On another trip she took her cousins to Italy’s glamorous Amalfi Coast.

“We grew up bumming on the lake and not taking showers and no TV and no internet,” Sweeney said. “A lot of my family, we did not come from much of anything, and being able to give them a little slice of this world, that’s what means the most to me... Those are the biggest pinch-me moments.”

And now, about six years shy of her goal, Sweeney has finally bought that house.

“I always thought that when I turned 18, I’d have all this money and I’d buy back my parents’ house and put them all back together again. And I never was able to, and I never did,” she said. “So now being able to be in a house is such an incredible, humbling, amazing accomplishment that I still can’t believe I was able to pull off.”

26 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

AP’s top albums of 2021: ‘Sour,’ ‘Donda,’ H.E.R. and Eilish

By The Associated Press Ten of the best albums of the year, as selected by Associated Press entertainment journalists.

OLIVIA RODRIGO, “SOUR” Olivia Rodrigo kicks off her debut album “SOUR” with the words “I want it to be, like, messy” and she goes on to deliver just that. The 11 songs from the 18-year-old singer-songwriter’s breakup album are raw and angry, dreamy and mocking, playful and profane, with shards of punk and princess pop. It’s an astonishing human hello from the youngest solo artist ever to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Taylor Swift is clearly a role model — and even gets a writing credit for a Swift interpolation in “1 step forward, 3 steps back” — but there also are echoes of Alanis Morissette’s fury from “Jagged Little Pill.” It’s indeed a messy album and messy was perfect for 2021. — Mark Kennedy KANYE WEST, “DONDA” Kanye West took his religious musical walk a step forward on his 10th studio album “Donda.” The highly-anticipated album — named after his late mother Donda West — lived up to the hype with a healthy dose of talent from Jay-Z on “Jail,” “Pure Souls” with Roddy Ricch and Lil Baby and The Weeknd on “Hurricane.” Throughout the album, recorded wise words were featured by his mother, who died in 2007 following plastic surgery complications.

Ye’s latest project is a follow up to his gospel-themed album “Jesus is King,” which won a Grammy for best contemporary Christian album.

But with “Donda,” West strived to create a hip-hop gospel album — not an easy task, especially with so many top-line features who he convinced to buy into creating the 27 tracks filled with an array of gospel undertones. West opens up about his marital issues with his estranged wife Kim Kardashian on “Lord I Need You.” Much like that song, he often speaks out loud in hopes that a higher being can help answer his prayers.

— Jonathan Landrum Jr. YOLA, “STAND FOR MYSELF” The British singer-songwriter Yola perfectly encapsulates the freedom of finally feeling alive after years of sacrificing yourself to society’s expectations. As a Black singer

This image released by Geffen Records shows “SOUR” released by Olivia Rodrigo. (Geffen Records via AP) whose artistry was often shoved into tiny genre-specific boxes, her sophomore album “Stand For Myself” is a glorious exploration of her musical breadth. Yola, the musical therapist, is telling you she’s been in your shoes, barely struggling to get by, but she’s making you dance away in tears to a ‘70s disco beat. The Grammy-nominated “Diamond Studded Shoes” is a self-reflective protest anthem that acknowledges that the kids are not alright and you gotta put up a fight. Yola’s impressive vocals carry you along a soulful, rocking journey of discovery. — Kristin M. Hall TYLER, THE CREATOR, “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST” While it was presumed that two of the biggest personalities in hiphop, Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Drake, would battle for the No. 1 spot with their new albums, one clear winner emerged: Tyler, The Creator. Following his 2019 Grammy rap album of the year, “Igor,” this record masterfully displayed both Tyler’s MC chops and producing expertise. Whether it was the gritty, hard hitting “LUMBERJACK” or taking “Backseat” by popular 90s R&B group H-town and flipping it

into “WUSYANAME,” Tyler again proved he no longer draws in listeners with the shock rhymes he once spit as a rap rookie, but because his talent and creativity are limitless. — Gary Gerard Hamilton LUCY DACUS, “HOME VIDEO” Lucy Dacus delivers a stunning coming-of-age portrait, exploring sexuality, morality and the impact of relationships through the lens of Christian youth culture. There’s a nostalgic feel throughout the 11 tracks as Dacus reconciles the person she was with the one she’s grown into.

The imagery in “Home Video” is vivid, tying each song to a moment and place in time. “We’re coming home/From a sermon saying how bent and evil we are,” she sings on “Christine.”

Dacus doesn’t shy away from the person she was and the influence structures like vacation bible school had on her (“In the summer of ‘07/I was sure I’d go to heaven/I was hedging my bets at VBS”).

There’s also a subtlety in the way she describes the impact of relationships that is highly relatable. It isn’t always a scathing remark that leaves an impression, but a partner who

calls you “cerebral”—”Would it have killed you to call me pretty instead?”

All in all, “Home Video” is a moving recollection of youth — and it is a shame that it was overlooked by the Recording Academy. — Ragan Clark JAZMINE SULLIVAN, “HEAUX TALES” Jazmine Sullivan’s “Heaux Tales” could easily be the year’s best album. A soulful songstress always recognized for her powerful voice but never fully appreciated for her artistic brilliance, her latest project tackled femininity, relationships and Black women unapologetically owning their sexuality. R&B was never dead, but it did need some revitalization and like many things, Black women — Sullivan, H.E.R. and many of their contemporaries — came to save it. — Gary Gerard Hamilton BILLIE EILISH, “HAPPIER THAN EVER” Billie Eilish faced a potential sophomore slump and blew it away with “Happier Than Ever,” a fascinating look at a complicated pop star’s life. As diaristic as Taylor Swift but more self-critical and emotionally candid, Eilish’s expressive and whispery-lush vocals explored fame and its murky sides, like exposing unequal power structures or the paparazzi. “Happier Than Ever” is fuller and grander than her debut, the songs stronger in their construction, crisper. There are terrific kiss-off songs (“I Didn’t Change My Number,” “Lost Cause” and the slow-building “Happier Than Ever”) and Eilish and her producer brother Finneas even play with bossa nova. But Eilish is best in the shadows, exploring our messiest impulses and this album sparkles in the dark. — Mark Kennedy H.E.R., “BACK OF MY MIND” It’s hard to believe that H.E.R.’s first solo studio album came this year, especially with all her commercial success and the fact she’s already raked in four Grammys and an Oscar from her self-titled album and songs like “I Can’t Breathe” and “Better Than I Imagined.” With all the accolades, H.E.R. showed why she earned those awards with “Back of My Mind,” which is a brilliant piece of work. The 21-track album is filled with several gems including the radio friendly “Damage,” the smooth single “Come Through” featuring Chris Brown, her masterful

duet with Ty Dolla $ign on “Back of My Mind” and the upbeat “Find a Way” featuring Lil Baby. — Jonathan Landrum Jr. LITTLE SIMZ, “SOMETIMES I MIGHT BE INTROVERT” With her fourth LP, British-Nigerian rapper Little Simz brings the heat.

“Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” is a captivating album that is at once personal and universal. From frank lines about her “daddy issues” in “I Love You, I Hate You” to her discussion of female empowerment in “Woman,” Little Simz covers a lot of ground in her sprawling 19-track record.

Perhaps the most powerful song on the album (though it’s difficult to choose just one) is “Little Q, Pt. II” where she describes in first person the harrowing experience her younger cousin went through after being stabbed in the chest.

The amount of compassion shown toward his perpetrator is shocking: “But the boy that stabbed me is just as damaged as me … The broken homes in which we’re comin’ from, but who’s to blame when/You’re dealt the same cards from the system you’re enslaved in?”

To quote Little Simz back to herself: “Woman to woman I just want to see you glow.” Her talent is undeniable and with “Sometime I Might Be Introvert,” she’s created a masterpiece. — Ragan Clark SNAIL MAIL, “VALENTINE” 2021 brought a lot of really great breakup albums, from Rodrigo to Adele, and if you still need some more cathartic emotional releases to sob and shout to, Snail Mail’s “Valentine” is a great one. Lindsey Jordan, who performs under the name Snail Mail, parses through post-relationship wreckage, as well as going through rehab. The album’s sharply sensitive lyrics, Jordan’s whispery falsettos and fuzzy guitars combine for an excellent sophomore showing from the young indie rock powerhouse. The synth-heavy “Ben Franklin,” carried along with a heavy bass line, is both snarky and self-deprecating as an ex-lover aware of her jealousy and trying to process the anger of broken promises. “Valentine” feels like prying through a diary filled with visceral heat-of-the-moment confessions. — Kristin M. Hall

The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 27

AP top songs of 2021 include ‘Peaches,’ ‘Drivers License’

By The Associated Press Ten of the best songs of the year, as selected by Associated Press entertainment journalists.

“PEACHES,” JUSTIN BIEBER, featuring DANIEL CAESAR AND GIVEON Justin Bieber was not happy with the Recording Academy last year when his “Changes” album was categorized as pop rather than R&B. But “Peaches,” featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon from this year’s “Justice” album, not only doubled down on the R&B sound, but became one of music’s most dominant songs, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and topping the global charts. It’s a feel good, two-stepping record that was needed as the coronavirus pandemic still forced much of the world to stay home. Some critics say Bieber can’t decide between being a pop star or an R&B heartthrob. However, what seems clear is that many times — even still in 2021 — the only difference between a pop song and an R&B record is the skin color of the artist singing it. — Gary Gerard Hamilton “DRIVERS LICENSE,” OLIVIA RODRIGO Anyone who’s ever had their heart broken will feel how 18-year-old Olivia Rodrigo feels on this aching Grammy-nominated hit: “You said forever, now I drive alone past your street.” The power ballad broke the Spotify record for most oneday streams for a non-holiday song and spent eight consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also won Apple Music and MTV Video Music awards for song of the year. It reached No. 1 around the world, from Australia and Denmark to Indonesia and South Africa because it is angry, hurt, frustrated, loving, tearful perfection, complete with car chime. — Mark Kennedy “INDUSTRY BABY,” LIL NAS X AND JACK HARLOW To anyone who thought “Old Town Road” was all you’d be hearing from Lil Nas X, he’s got this to say: “I told you long ago on the Road/ I’ve got what you’re waiting for.”

“Industry Baby” was one of the biggest hits of 2021 and for good reason. The track is the 22-year-old rapper’s victory lap after having one of the most talked about music videos of the year with “Montero” and having 11 songs from his new LP make Billboard’s Hot 100.

By continuing to be unflinching in his

sexuality — “I don’t (expletive) (expletive), I’m queer” — Lil Nas X makes it clear that he won’t play by the established rules of his genre to make his way to the top.

His choice to feature Jack Harlow on a verse is also ingenious — as a 23-year-old from Kentucky, Harlow also feels like an underdog, allowing the two to revel in the fact that they made it, against all odds.

From the infectious horns to the confidence oozing out of the verses and chorus, Lil Nas X is having fun proving doubters wrong and it’s hard not to have fun listening. — Ragan Clark “HURRICANE,” KANYE WEST, THE WEEKND AND LIL BABY Kanye West’s “DONDA” made waves with several gems, but the most standout track that created the perfect storm was “Hurricane,” featuring The Weeknd and Lil Baby. With stellar production, the trio offer different perspectives of overcoming their own storms on the holy hip-hop track. The Weeknd harmonizes about his faith withstanding life’s obstacles while Lil Baby raps about losing close friends and repentance. After them, West alludes to his own infidelity and him being less judgmental. — Jonathan Landrum Jr. “SEROTONIN,” GIRL IN RED The opening track of the debut album from girl in red, a Norwegian alt-pop singer-songwriter, pulses along a frenetic pace that reflects the impulsive thoughts of a mind unable to rest. “Dig deep, can’t hide, from the corners of my mind,” writes Marie Ulven. “I’m terrified of what’s inside.” The verses escalate into manic thoughts of self-harm and a rapid descent into madness until she’s just spitting out nonsense words. Written and co-produced with Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas O’Connell, the track crescendos with a pulsing beat and ends with an audio recording of Ulven speaking with a doctor. It’s a raw, unflinching inner look at that uncontrollable id part of our personalities. — Kristin M. Hall “TO BE LOVED,” ADELE While “Easy On Me” and “I Drink Wine” have gotten the most attention from Adele’s “30,” it’s “To Be Loved” that is the underappreciated standout of the album.

There’s a rawness to the track that is rare for the singer. The 33-year-old’s powerhouse vocals usually sound polished, but in “To Be Loved,” her voice teeters on cracking.

Coming in at 6:43, tied for the longest song on the record, it’s clear Adele wasn’t

Olivia Rodrigo performs at the American Music Awards on Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) positioning the song for radio. Rather, it acts as a cathartic release on the album.

Coming out of a divorce, Adele acknowledges on the song that there is strength in loving and strength in leaving: “It’s about time that I face myself/All I do is bleed into someone else.”

The song finds Adele standing on her own two feet, vulnerable but leaning into the growth that her heartbreak will bring.

“I’ll be the one to catch myself this time,” she sings. — Ragan Clark “WE WIN,” LIL BABY AND KIRK FRANKLIN The Lil Baby and Kirk Franklin tandem may seem like an odd combo. Lil Baby is known for his street rap lyrics, while Franklin built his legendary career on gospel music. Despite their different musical approaches, they form a strong duo on the inspirational Just Blaze-produced “We Win,” a song from the “Space Jam: A New Legacy” soundtrack. Franklin served as the hype man with a choir singing background while Lil Baby rapped about how prayer ultimately brought him through during a time when he felt cursed. — Jonathan Landrum Jr. “KISS ME MORE,” DOJA CAT featuring SZA This blissful ‘90s disco-pop throwback with a hip-hop heart earned three Grammy nominations for record of the year, song of the year, and best pop duo/group performance. The song by Doja Cat, featuring SZA, also won an American Music Award (collaboration of the year) and an MTV Video Music Award for best collaboration. “Kiss Me More” even surpassed

Brandy and Monica’s iconic 1998 duet “The Boy Is Mine” for the longest-running all-female top 10 collaboration in Billboard Hot 100 history. If you listen close, you’ll hear a Gwen Stefani-ish refrain but also an interpolation of Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical.” But don’t work too hard, just let this steamy, smooth song wash over you. — Mark Kennedy “LAY IT ON ME,” MICKEY GUYTON There are so many gems on Mickey Guyton’s Grammy-nominated debut album that it’s hard to pick one, but what Guyton does with such excellence is open her heart and show empathy. “Lay It On Me” is in that sweet spot of gospel and country that lets Guyton’s roof-shaking vocals soar from note to note. Written for her husband, Guyton is asking to carry his burdens and lean on her strength to carry them both through the fire. Especially in long-term relationships, that offer of emotional support is an intimate and vital conversation that Guyton captures so beautifully. — Kristin M. Hall “ESSENCE,” WIZKID featuring TEMS “Essence” by afrobeat superstar WizKid, featuring Tems, was another of the year’s undeniable songs. Reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/hip-hop airplay and the adult R&B airplay chart, the sultry, melodic duet record was crowned by many as the song of the summer. “Essence,” which beckoned listeners to find their significant other — or perspective crush— to get up and dance, would explode and become so gigantic that the Nigerian native welcomed a remix from another R&B star: Justin Bieber. — Gary Gerard Hamilton

28 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

The AP Interview: Nikole Hannah-Jones’ warning on democracy

By AARON MORRISON Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Following a year of professional milestones born of her work on America’s history of slavery, Pulitzer Prize-winning Black journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones said she is cleareyed about her mission to force a reckoning around the nation’s self-image.

The New York Times Magazine writer began this year in a protracted tenure fight with her alma mater in North Carolina — the dispute ended when she announced in July that she’d take her talents to a historically Black university — and is closing it as a national best-selling author.

“I’ve gone from being just a journalist to becoming some sort of symbol for people who either love me and my work or revile me and my work,” she said.

Hannah-Jones recently spoke to The Associated Press in an exclusive interview about the ongoing controversy over The 1619 Project, a groundbreaking collection of essays on race that first appeared in a special issue of The New York Times Magazine in 2019. Now in book form, the project has become a touchstone for America’s reckoning over slavery and the reverberations for Black Americans.

“The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story,” and “Born on the Water,” a picture storybook collaboration with co-writer Renée Watson and illustrator Nikkolas Smith, each have spent consecutive weeks atop the Times bestseller list since their Nov. 16 release. A TV documentary on the work is due out later in 2022.

Still, Hannah-Jones said the backlash to her work is evidence that the U.S. is approaching a make-or-break crossroads on its global standing as a democracy.

“I think that we are in a very frightening time,” she said in the interview at AP’s New York City headquarters.

“People who are much, much smarter than me, who have studied this much, much longer than I have are ringing the alarm,” Hannah-Jones said. “I think we have to ask ourselves … the narrators, the storytellers, the journalists: Are we ringing the alarm in the right way? Are we doing our jobs to try to uphold our democracy?”

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

AP: If anything, what did this year teach you about where we are in our country currently, when it comes to racial justice and our reckoning with history?

HANNAH-JONES: This year, to me, is just reflective of what I’ve always understood about this country. And that is that steps forward, steps towards racial progress, are always met with an intensive backlash. That we are a society that willfully does not want to deal with the anti-Blackness that is at the core of so many of our institutions and really our society itself.

AP: Can you point to any progress in how the discourse has developed or evolved?

HANNAH-JONES: Certainly the fact that very powerful people are so concerned about a work of journalism called The 1619 Project that they would seek to discredit it, that they would seek to censor it, that they would seek to ban it from being taught, does speak to the fact that there are millions of Americans who want a more honest accounting of our history, who want to better understand the country that we’re in, who are open to new narratives.

AP: Do you think this country is poised to make any progress on issues of racial justice, and especially around education?

HANNAH-JONES: Many in mainstream media got caught up in the Republican propaganda campaign, which tried to conflate the teaching of a more accurate history, the teaching of structural racism, with trying to make white children feel badly about

Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones poses for a portrait at the headquarters of The Associated Press in New York, Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)

themselves or guilty. And so much of the coverage was driven by that. … I hope that there’s going to be some serious examination of the role that we as media played (in) really putting forth and legitimizing what was a propaganda campaign.

AP: The 1619 Project is now a book.

For people who don’t understand, how is it different from what was published in The New York Times Magazine?

HANNAH-JONES: We all know that there has been a tremendous amount of scrutiny of the 1619 Project. … I think those who had questions can now go and actually see the source material, can see the historiography that undergirds the work. For anyone who comes to it with an open mind, it is going to be deeply surprising. They’re going to learn so much about both the history of their country, but also the history that shapes so much of modern American life.

AP: Some people would say that this is all an agenda-driven piece of work.

HANNAH-JONES: And they’d be right.

AP: Why are they right?

HANNAH-JONES: Because it is. The

agenda is to force a reckoning with who we are as a country. The agenda is to take the story of Black Americans in slavery, from being an asterisk to being marginal to being central to how we understand our country. When people say that, though, I know that they’re saying it in disparaging ways. I’m just being honest about the nature of this work. … We’ve been taught the history of a country that does not exist. We’ve been taught the history of a country that renders us incapable of understanding how we get an insurrection in the greatest democracy on Jan. 6.

AP: What issues do you see as dominating our politics in 2022?

HANNAH-JONES: I try to never predict the future. And I’m also not a political reporter. … We, as Americans, are going to be severely tested in the next year or two to decide, what are we willing to sacrifice to be the country that we believe that we are? And whose rights do we hold as fundamental in this country? And are all Americans worthy of having those same rights? I don’t think we know the answer to that. But I think what is important for us to know is we decide.

The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 29

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* Specialty services provided by Washington University Physicians in Illinois, Inc.

30 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

Spidey nets 3rd best opening of all time with $253 million

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer

Never underestimate your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, even with a mutating virus afoot. Despite rising concerns over the omicron variant, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” not only shattered pandemic-era box office records; it became the third best opening of all time behind “Avengers: Endgame” ($357.1 million) and “Avengers: Infinity War” ($257.7 million).

The Sony and Marvel blockbuster grossed a stunning $253 million in ticket sales from 4,325 North American locations, according to studio estimates on Sunday, also setting a record for the month of December. The web-slinger’s success couldn’t have come sooner for a movie business that has had a rollercoaster 2021 and could be headed for a difficult start to 2022 as the o micron variant of the coronavirus forces more and more event cancellations.

“This weekend’s historic ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ results, from all over the world and in the face of many challenges, reaffirm the unmatched cultural impact that exclusive theatrical films can have when they are made and marketed with vision and resolve,” said Tom Rothman, Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO, in a statement. “All of us at Sony Pictures are deeply grateful to the fabulous talent, both in front of and behind the camera, that produced such a landmark film.”

In its five days playing in theaters internationally, it’s amassed $334.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its global total to $587.2 million against a $200 million production budget. The film has yet to open in markets like Thailand and Japan, and there is no release date set for China.

As the third standalone Spider-Man film in the Tom Holland era, “No Way Home” was always going to be an “event film” for fans. After several delays over the year Sony planted its launch in the pre-Christmas frame and as of late last week had anticipated a pandemic-best opening in the $130 to $150 million range. But it quickly became clear that “Spider-Man” was going to fly much higher.

The film netted an incredible $121.5 million in its first day — bumping “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” out of the No. 2 position.

Directed by Jon Watts, “No Way Home” picks up with Holland’s Peter Parker grappling with the world finding out about his superhero identity, and features Zendaya, Marisa Tomei and Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. The promise of spoiler reveals only added to the feverish hype that led to lines and sell-out showings across the country.

“For the target audience, this is absolute must-see, required viewing,” said Paul Derga-

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Tom Holland in Columbia Pictures’ “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” (Sony Pictures via AP) rabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “There is no way fans were going to opt out because of omicron.”

Many moviegoers also shelled out top dollar to see the film on the biggest screens possible. According to IMAX, an estimated $36.2 million of the global total is from their large format screens. “‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is an exclamation point on the comeback we’ve seen at the box office in 2021,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “With these historic results, IMAX continues to see blockbuster releases generate box office at or exceeding pre-pandemic levels.”

And it’s not just fans who have been giving the film good marks: Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive as well. It has a 94% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Holland on Instagram thanked audiences for the record numbers.

“You made this possible. Your love and support means the world to me,” Holland wrote on Saturday. “Thank you thank you thank you and if you haven’t seen Spider-Man no way home yet… merry Christmas and you know what to do.”

Before this weekend, Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” held the record for best opening of the pandemic with $90.1 million.

But it wasn’t all celebrations at the box office this weekend. In Spider-Man’s wake were some high-profile casualties, including Guillermo del Toro’s star-studded “Nightmare Alley,” which grossed a mere $3 million from 2,145 theaters. It opened in fifth place behind “Spider-Man,” “Encanto” ($6.5 million), “West Side Story” ($3.4 million) and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” ($3.4 million).

“Nightmare Alley” had prestige and awards buzz behind it, with a cast including Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, but a week after Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” underwhelmed, it’s a stark reminder of moviegoing realities during the pandemic and the power of the Marvel fanbase.

In the one-movie-takes-all environment, more often than not, that one movie has been a Marvel movie. Including “No Way Home,” Marvel releases will make up five of the top six films of the year, including “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Black Widow” and “Eternals.”

And lest anyone was holding onto hopes that “West Side Story” would have a profitable “Greatest Showman” run after its lackluster start, the 20th Century Studios release fell 67% in its second weekend in theaters,

bringing in only $3.4 million.

But Spider-Man could also help the industry at large as it heads into 2022.

“It’s almost hard to describe how important this debut is to an industry that was beset with one of the biggest challenges in its history in the pandemic,” Dergarabedian said.

“To have this resounding mandate in favor of the movie theater experience as expressed in these numbers that even just a few months ago were unthinkable makes this a watershed moment for movie theaters that I think will be discussed for decades.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” $253 million.

2. “Encanto,” $6.5 million.

3. “West Side Story,” $3.4 million.

4. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” $3.4 million.

5. “Nightmare Alley,” $3 million.

6. “House of Gucci,” $1.9 million.

7. “Eternals,” $1.2 million.

8. “Clifford The Big Red Dog,” $400,000.

9. “Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City,” $280,000 10. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” $220,000

The Edge • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • 31

32 • Thursday, December 23, 2021 • The Edge

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