Benzinga - Each week, Benzinga compiles the latest entertainment news into a cohesive column for your consideration. Read on for the latest updates — both useful and irreverent.
- Jimmy The Gent. Remember that scene in "Goodfellas" where mafia boss Jimmy Conway, played by Robert De Niro, just walks around handing out wads of cash? Or that montage in "Scarface" where Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino, is buying anything and everything because he's knee-deep in moolah? Famous YouTubers are like the new gangsters. And Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by the not-at-all-ominous moniker MrBeast, is "capo di tutti capi." You want an island? Jimmy's gotchu. You and your friends want to party on a 12-hour commercial flight to nowhere? Jimmy's treat. You need eye surgery? Fuhgeddaboudit. You need to bury a body? Seriously, Jimmy did that, too. To himself.
- Games Galore. Wedbush Securities VP Nick McKay was a guest on Benzinga's PreMarket Prep this week, chatting up all-things gaming, including Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: EA), Nintendo ADR (OTC: NTDOY), GameStop Corp. (NYSE: GME), Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ: APP) and PS5 maker Sony Group Corp.'s (NYSE: SONY). He analyzes so you don't have to!
- Warner Bros. Goes Mining. After years of delays, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc (NASDAQ: WBD) finally OK'd a movie version of Minecraft, the wildly popular video game from Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT). Perhaps it was the recent success of the "Super Mario Bros." movie that lit a fire under the well-run studio. With $50 billion in debt, thousands of layoffs, its stock falling off a cliff in 2022 — yet still managing to reward CEO David Zaslav with a $39.3 million compensation package — it seems like Warner Bros. has its priorities in order.
- Good To Be The King. Billionaire LeBron James is proud of his frugality, so it's not surprising that the Los Angeles Lakers star tweeted his refusal to pay for "verified status" on Elon Musk's Twitter Blue: "Welp guess my blue [checkmark] will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5." It's worth noting that it's $8, not $5.
- Badge B.S. Twitter will make an exception to its blue rule for the platform's top 500 advertisers and its 10,000 most-followed accounts, which were previously verified. So, if you're scrolling on Twitter, you'll notice that "King James" still has his blue checkmark badge. The White House and New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT), both of which refused to pay the monthly fee, also have badges but of a different color. You may also see random pictures of a dog named Kabosu because Musk is really into Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE). Confused? Me too.
- Snoop, Out. Rapper Snoop Dogg, who once sold weed to Cameron Diaz, is no longer on the board of esports company FaZe Clan (NASDAQ: FAZE). Those things don't have anything to do with each other, but it's worth noting because Snoop is a cannabis entrepreneur. He also gets creative with his blunts.
- Meet Me In Miami. Speaking of marijuana, next week is the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference (CCC). It will feature thousands of cannabis industry bosses, famous faces and an afterparty hosted by singer Lexy Panterra at the LIV nightclub. Click HERE for more info. The event is open exclusively to CCC attendees, including myself. I'll be there. So if you'd like to tell me in person how much you enjoy this weekly column, please do so.
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