title: X-23

text: In the first arc of "All-New Wolverine" Laura learned that Alchemax genetics had created ten clones of her. All but four of the clones died in captivity, either during training or as a result of tests of a nanotech weapon that was slowly breaking down their bodies. Two others died during the escape; one who committed suicide after Laura foiled her attempt to assassinate Robert Chandler's son, and a second killed by Chandler's lead enforcer. The last two Sisters — Gabby and Bellona — survived. Laura took Gabby in and adopted her as her sister, taking it upon herself to give her the family Laura herself never had with Logan, in hopes of helping her find the right path. Much like Laura, Gabby possesses a regenerative healing factor and bone claws, however she only has a single claw in each hand. Additionally, as a result of the nanites in her blood Gabby does not feel pain. She eventually adopted a super-hero code name, Honey Badger, given by her brother Daken. She eventually gave the name up to become Scout.


title: X-23

text: Jamie Lovett of "Comicbook.com" stated, "X-23 is one a great handful of crossover characters who began in animation and were so well-liked by fans that they eventually made their way into comics. [...] Through the mentorship of Logan himself and the friendship of characters like Gambit, Jubilee, Angel, and her Laura's own clone, Gabby, Laura has become a fully fleshed out character in control of her own destiny. When Logan died, X-23 mourned. When she was done mourning, she did what now seems like what she was alway destined to do. She became Wolverine, and she fills that role as well as her predecessor, if not better at times." David Harth of "CBR.com" wrote, "Known for years as X-23, she proved herself on the hero scene before taking over as Wolverine after Logan's death. She proved to be amazing at it and has since become Wolverine again, working with the X-Men. Fans have watched Wolverine grow for years, evolving from a lab created killing machine to a well-rounded human being. She's gained a legion of fans since then and stepped onto the biggest mutant stage and impressed." Maddy Myers of "The Mary Sue" said, "The reason why X-23’s story is compelling to me is not because she’s a grim-dark teen killing machine, although that did speak to me when I was a depressed teenage girl. These days, her story resonates with me because it ends in self-acceptance and self-actualization. She gets to work with X-Men of various ages, decide which parental and authority figures are worth her trust, make new friends her own age, build a new family of her own with Logan and her “sister” clones, and – the cherry on top – she becomes the Wolverine! It’s a triumphant story that has been going on for about a decade, and it would be amazing to bring it to more audiences who aren’t as familiar with." Andy L. Kubai of "Screen Rant" asserted, "One of the most interesting characters to arrive since the original James Howlett is Laura Kinney, a.k.a. X-23. A female clone of Logan, she’s a Wolverine through and through, who first came to light via the short-lived animated series, "X-Men: Evolution" (2000). Creators Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle sought to capture younger viewers with a teenaged “Wolverine,” and they succeeded. Laura snowballed in popularity, transitioning into the comic book realm in 2004 and landing several limited series and team books (like "X-Force" and "New X-Men"), as well as a current ongoing series."


title: X-23

text: According to Diamond Comic Distributors, "All-New Wolverine" #1 was the 10th best selling comic book in November 2015.


title: X-23

text: Matt Little of "CBR.com" called "All-New Wolverine" #1 a "fresh take on the legacy of "Wolverine" that fans will enjoy," asserting, ""All-New Wolverine" #1 is a good Wolverine comic; it's full of explosions and slashing and punching, the kind of stuff you want when you say to yourself, "Hey, I want to read a Wolverine comic." Tom Taylor, who's made a name for himself with mad violent stories like DC's "Injustice: Gods Among Us," knows how to ratchet up tension and deliver a high caliber action sequence, which is what you get in the first issue. It's a set piece that throws readers right into the middle of the action and catches them up as they go. David Lopez delivers more of his open, expressive art here, filling the issue with awesome choreography and rad character acting. [...] "All-New Wolverine" is a worthy successor to the franchise. It blends the familiar and the fresh with style and keeps fans engaged the entire issue. Congratulations, Laura; you're earning the codename "Wolverine." Jesse Schedeen of "IGN" gave "All-New Wolverine" #1 a grade of 8.5, saying, "As much as this series is new in the sense that a completely different character is calling herself Wolverine, the book also reads like a return to basics. This issue is a solid start to a promising new series. [...] The Wolverine franchise has finally found its bearing, and all it took was a completely new character underneath that distinctive mask. This first issue is lean and fast-paced, tossing readers right into the heat of battle and proving the former X-23 worthy of inheriting the mantle of Wolverine." Chase Magnett of "Comicbook.com" included the "All-New Wolverine" comic book series in their "10 Best X-23 Comics" list.


title: X-23

text: Joshua Davison of "Bleeding Cool" stated, "The comic has some good emotional beats to it as well, and, on the whole, it is an excellent continuation of the "All-New Wolverine" title. [...] "X-23" #1 was a promising and thoroughly entertaining new start to for Laura and Gabby Kinney. Their dialogue is wonderful, and this first arc seems like it will be an interesting dive into the characters and their ethos. This one earns a recommendation. Give it a read." Jesse Schedeen of "IGN" gave "X-23" #1 a grade of 8.2 out of 10, writing, "Of the many comics revealed as part of Marvel's Fresh Start relaunch, X-23 seemed the least appealing at first glance. Not because of the character herself or the creative team, but the title and what it implies about the character's future. These past few years have been a boon to Laura Kinney, allowing her to rise above her tragic origins and embrace the legacy of her "father." [...] How well this new series can thrive with the return of Wolverine remains to be seen, but for now X-23 is off to a promising start. The series is hardly the departure from All-new Wolverine it seemed initially, and it thrives on the same keen visual style and strong dynamic between Laura and Gabby." Chase Magnett of "Comicbook.com" included the "X-23" comic book series in their "10 Best X-23 Comics" list.


title: X-23

text: In the future presented in the "" series of books, Laura Kinney is an adult, and a prominent member of the X-Men and the X-Treme Sanctions Executive (XSE) Laura, M, and Iceman are sent to Hong Kong to locate and capture the renegade XSE member, Sage. However, Sage uses her considerable espionage skills to ambush Laura, attaching a mysterious collar to her neck that temporarily overwhelms Laura. Sage removes the collar and attempts to flee just as Iceman arrives and freezes her in ice, allowing the group to safely take her into custody.


title: X-23

text: Laura, Marvel Girl, M, and Wolverine are sent by Cyclops to locate the whereabouts of Mister Sinister, Gambit, and the missing Summers and LeBeau children. The group finds Sinister's hidden base but are immediately immobilized by an attack from the Ladies Mastermind. The team members live out fantasy existences until Wolverine breaks them free of the mind control. Charging deeper into the base, the group fights against Sinister's Marauders to save the children. Later, Laura and the X-Men travel to Shi'ar space, and a massive battle ensues. She is one of the very few X-Men who survive and is seen attending to Kitty Pryde's speech at the end of the story (see ""). Strangely, she not only appears to have an adamantium skeleton, but her muscle tissue appear robotic or techno-organic.


title: X-23

text: In this reality, it is shown that she is in love with Fantomex, and it is revealed during an illusion caused by the Ladies Mastermind that her dream is for them to be married as a normal suburban couple with a daughter.


title: X-23

text: A version of Laura Kinney is revealed to exist in the alternate timeline of 2005 miniseries "X-Men: Age of Apocalypse", who goes by the name Kirika. She was found in one of Mister Sinister's labs after it was liberated by Magneto. At the end of the miniseries, it was revealed that she was the biologic daughter of Weapon X (Wolverine) and Mariko Yashida. Unlike her Earth-616 counterpart, she has three claws on her hands, with adamantium having been grafted on by Magneto at her request. She is killed during the events of "The Dark Angel Saga" by the now-crazed AoA version of Wolverine, as her team and X-Force from Earth-616 try to free Gateway.


title: X-23

text: Laura Kinney features in an arc of Robert Kirkman's "Marvel Team-Up" (vol. 3), featuring a group of C-list heroes dubbed "The League of Losers". A group of heroes including Laura Kinney, Darkhawk, Dagger, Araña, Gravity, Sleepwalker, Speedball, and Terror (although Araña dies along the way) go to the future to prevent the villain Chronok from stealing Reed Richards' time machine; Chronok came to the present after already having killed all of Marvel's major heroes. It is revealed Chronok is from the same time period as Kirkman's Mutant 2099; the group stays with him and his mentor Reed Richards to wait for Chronok, and during this time Laura sparks a relationship with Gravity. They defeat Chronok, but at the end of the story, Richards reveals they cannot go back to their present, due to time travel and alternate timelines. The group decides to stay in the future, satisfied with the impact they made, however unnoticed. Mutant 2099 suggests reforming the Avengers or the "Fantastic Nine". Due to the Marvel Universe's method for resolving time travel paradoxes, this story occurred in an alternate universe.


title: X-23

text: During Infinity Wars, when the universe was folded in half, Laura Kinney was fused with Scarlet Witch to create Weapon Hex. The Evolutionaries, an occult and scientific group, had been using mutants in order for one of them to become a vessel for Mephicton (fusion of Mephisto and Chthon). However, this process always resulted in the mutants death. Seeing that their plan was failing, the group's leaders, Sarah Kinney and Herbert Wyndham decided to conceive a flawed child to act as the perfect vessel for the demon. However, Sara raised Laura and told her about empathy and humanity, while Herbert wanted the girl to be a weapon. At the age of seventeen, Laura along with Hellhound (fusion of Magik and Sabretooth) were sent on missions. Following her mother's death and discovering that she had a younger sister named Gavrill (fusion of Quicksilver and Honey Badger), she decided to escape the Evolutionaries along with her sister, but was cut in pieces by Hellhound, while Herbert took Gavrill in order for her to become the new vessel for Mephicton. Laura eventually healed and killed both Hellhound and Herbert with the latter being attacked by the spirits who had died from his experiments. After that, Laura along with her sister left the place.


title: X-23

text: In Edge of Venomverse, a version of X23 got bonded to the Venom symbiote while she was trying to escape the facility where both of them were held. She befriends some street kids and shares her symbiote with them. When the facility tried to capture Laura, she got heavily injured and the symbiote got its pieces from the kids so it could heal her faster. Suddenly she's approached by a Venomized Captain America to join the Venom-army to fight the Poisons. She battled alongside the other Venoms and in the end she returned to her universe.


title: X-23

text: In a possible future, the world is a veritable utopia, with the majority of the supervillain population imprisoned or retired. An elderly Laura has passed on the Wolverine identity to Gabby, and has learned that a genetic defect will soon lead to her death. While initially content to live out the remainder of her life in peace, Laura is spurred back into action when she learns Bellona is being held captive by Doctor Doom (the only villain still active). Laura leads a strike team into Latveria to rescue Bellona, but is captured by Doom. When Doom reveals that he plans to transfer his mind into Laura's body, Laura reveals her condition, and kills him when he escapes back into his own body.


title: Stephanie March

text: Stephanie Caroline March Benton (born July 23, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Alexandra Cabot in the crime drama franchise "Law & Order", which she played in the NBC series "" (2000–2019) and reprised in other media. The role earned her a nomination for the Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Drama.


title: Stephanie March

text: March has appeared in the films "Head of State" (2003), "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" (2005), "Falling for Grace" (2006), "The Treatment" (2006) and "" (2006). Following a period of sporadic work, March executive produced and starred in the comedy independent film "The Social Ones" (2019). She played Akira on the superhero series "Naomi" (2022).


title: Stephanie March

text: March was born in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of John and Laura March, and has a sister, Charlotte. She attended McCulloch Middle School in Highland Park, and Highland Park High School, where "Law & Order"s Angie Harmon, who also played the role of an assistant district attorney on , attended concurrently. After her parents' divorce, her mother married Robert Derby. In 1996, March graduated from Northwestern University, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.


title: Stephanie March

text: At Northwestern University, March played Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in Chicago, where she continued to pursue her stage career. In 1997, she made her screen debut in an episode of the CBS series "Early Edition". In 1999, March moved to New York and made her Broadway debut in a production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" with Brian Dennehy. She later co-starred in the television film based on the play.


title: Stephanie March

text: March is best known for her role as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot on the NBC crime legal drama series "", who she played as a main character from 2000 to 2003, and reprised in recurring appearances on the show until 2018. The character of Cabot and March's work has earned widespread acclaim, and is often considered one of the best characters and acting performances in the "Law & Order" franchise. In 2003, at the 8th Golden Satellite Awards, she and her "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" co-stars were nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Television Series – Drama. March additionally reprised her role as Cabot, now the Bureau Chief ADA of the homicide bureau, on the short-lived NBC courtroom drama "Conviction", which debuted in spring 2006. The show, which saw March in a leading role and was part of the "Law & Order" universe, was cancelled after one 13-episode season following a negative reception from critics and audiences. Despite this, March's acting was praised. Review site Entertain your Brain wrote that "... March, she has already proven herself on "Special Victims Unit"."


title: Stephanie March

text: On "Special Victims Unit", the character of Cabot was a regular character from 2000 to 2003, and departed in the Season 5 episode "Loss", when Cabot is shot and placed in witness protection. She originally returned to the series in Season 6 episode 16, “Ghost”, when she was taken out of the witness protection program to testify, as a witness, for her attempted murder. She was placed back in witness protection after the trial. She returned to the series for a six-episode arc in Season 10 and then continued as a main character in Season 11. After her departure near the end of Season 11, she returned again in Season 13 as a recurring character. She reprised her role once again in an episode on the show's nineteenth season.


title: Stephanie March

text: In 2003, March made her film debut with a supporting role in the political comedy "Head of State" opposite Chris Rock. She later appeared in the films "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", "The Treatment", and "Falling for Grace", the latter two romantic comedies. March also appeared in the 2009 film "The Invention of Lying" as the woman Ricky Gervais's character tells the world will end unless she has sex with him. She later co-starred in the independent films "Why Stop Now?" and "Innocence". In 2007, March performed in the Broadway premiere of Eric Bogosian's "Talk Radio", starring Liev Schreiber. She also starred in Howard Korder's off-Broadway play "Boy's" "Life" alongside Jason Biggs.


title: Stephanie March

text: March has guest-starred on "30 Rock", "Grey's Anatomy", "Rescue Me", and "Happy Endings". She was cast as a regular character on the short-lived CBS legal comedy-drama "Made in Jersey" in 2012, but she left the series after the pilot episode. March co-founded the cosmetics company SheSpoke (formerly Rouge) with her business partner Rebecca Perkins in 2013. The company creates custom-made beauty products available online and in-store in SoHo, New York. She starred in the 2015 Adult Swim series "Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter." March played the role of Ivanka Trump in the March 2019 Comedy Central TV movie "A President Show Documentary: The Fall of Donald Trump". The 22-minute documentary is a comedic portrayal of the aftermath of Trump's imagined loss of the 2020 presidential election.


title: Stephanie March

text: On March 9, 2019, "The Social Ones" premiered at the Hammer Theatre Center in San Jose, California, as part of the 2019 Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival. March is a co-executive producer and portrays one of the lead characters. Laura Kosann wrote and directed the film, which also features Richard Kind, Jackie Hoffman, Debra Jo Rupp, and Peter Scolari. The film won Cinequest's Audience Award for Best Comedy Feature. "The Social Ones" is an ensemble mockumentary that satirizes social media culture, including its fixation on likes, selfies, and social media influencers. The film gained additional attention because it was written, produced, and directed entirely by women. In a March 2019 interview, March explained how a mostly women's production team compared to one that is primarily run by men: "We were under budget, on time, wrapped early, had fun, zero on-set drama, zero backstage drama, and wholly supportive of one another- both in front of and behind the camera. I have never experienced such a seamless set. No ego. All warmth (meets organization, meets diligence, meets determination). Moms really should be in charge of more businesses."


title: Stephanie March

text: In 2021, March signed with Echo Lake Entertainment, for management in all areas. She subsequently appeared in the Lifetime biographical television film "A House on Fire", where she played Debora Green, a former doctor and convicted murderer. Her performance earned praise from critics and audiences; Sayantani Nath of "Meaww.com" wrote that the actress showed "incredible finesse and brilliance" and further wrote on March's "impressive acting and realistic depiction of Green's mental anguish and struggles."


title: Stephanie March

text: It was announced that March would join the cast of The CW superhero series "Naomi", where she was set to play the role of Akira; released in 2022, the series earned positive reviews from critics and audiences alike. On auditioning for the role, March told "ComicBook" that "When I auditioned, the role of Akira was described to me as a, quote, "Ripley-inspired intergalactic badass," and I thought, "Well, yeah, I want to do that." ... so far, I hope that's how it's come across. It's certainly been fun to play."


title: Stephanie March

text: March married tech investor Dan Benton in September of 2017 at their home in Katonah, New York. She was introduced to Benton, the founder of Andor Capital, by a mutual friend in October 2015, several months after her divorce from celebrity chef Bobby Flay.


title: Stephanie March

text: March married celebrity chef Bobby Flay on February 20, 2005. She appeared on four of Flay's Food Network shows—"Boy Meets Grill", "Grill It! with Bobby Flay", "Iron Chef America", and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay"—as a guest judge. According to media reports, March and Flay separated in March 2015 and their divorce was finalized on July 17, 2015.


title: Stephanie March

text: In January 2010 March became a celebrity ambassador and board member of World of Children Awards and One Kid One World. She is a supporter and board member of Planned Parenthood and an advocate for women's rights. March also serves on the National Advisory Council for the School of Communication at Northwestern University.


title: Stephanie March

text: March became a celebrity ambassador to World of Children Awards in January 2010. Additionally, she has served as a board member for Safe Horizon, an advocacy organization for victims of crime and abuse. March is an advocate for women's rights and a supporter of Planned Parenthood. In 1938, her great-grandmother Ruby Webster March founded the West Texas Mother's Health Center, which later became part of Planned Parenthood of West Texas.


title: Stephanie March

text: March wrote an essay, published in June 2016, that detailed her experience with breast augmentation surgery in 2014 and the subsequent removal of the implants due to infection. On September 1, 2017, March married businessman Dan Benton in Katonah, New York. The couple resides on the Upper East Side with Benton’s children from a previous marriage, Katya and Nate, as well as three older children, Alex, Jeff and Mike. In 2018 the couple bought an apartment in the West Village for $34.62 million.


title: Stephanie March

text: In April 2018 March participated in a variety show fundraiser “A Starry Night” at Northwestern University for the School of Communication. In addition to March, other alumni from the school who participated included Stephen Colbert, Tony Roberts, and Dermot Mulroney.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The Yamaha YZF-R1, or simply R1, is a -class sports motorcycle made by Yamaha. It was first released in 1998, undergoing significant updates in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2015.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Yamaha launched the YZF-R1 in 1998 after redesigning the Genesis engine to create a more compact engine by raising the gearbox input shaft and allowing the gearbox output shaft to be placed beneath it. This "stacked gearbox" was followed by other manufacturers. Compacting the engine made it much shorter, allowing the wheelbase to be shortened as well and the center of gravity to be optimized. The swingarm could be made longer without compromising the overall wheelbase, which was a short . Four 40 mm Keihin CV carburetors fed fuel to the engine.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The R1 was also equipped with a 41 mm KYB upside-down front fork and 300 mm semi-floating disc brakes. The instrument panel was electronic, with a self diagnosis system and digital speed readout. The exhaust used Yamaha's Exhaust Ultimate Power Valve (EXUP) system, which controlled exhaust gas flow to maximize engine power production at all revs, resulting in a high-power and high-torque engine.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The 1999 R1 saw only minor changes, apart from paint and graphics. Improvements included a redesigned gear change linkage and an increase in gear change shaft length. Fuel tank reserve capacity was reduced from , while total fuel tank capacity was unchanged at .


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: "Motorcycle Consumer News" tests of the 1998 model year YZF-R1 yielded a time of 2.96 seconds and of 5.93 seconds, a time of 10.19 seconds at , and a top speed of , with deceleration from of . For the 1999 model year, "Cycle World" tests recorded a time of 3.0 seconds, time of 10.31 seconds at , and a top speed of .


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: In 2000, Yamaha introduced a series of changes to improve the R1, and minor changes to the bodywork to allow for better long-duration ride handling. Yamaha's main design goal was to sharpen the pre-existing bike and not to redesign it. The dry weight was reduced five pounds to .


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: At at the rear wheel, top-end output remained the same, but changes to the engine management system were intended to result in a smoother, broader distribution of power. The bodywork remained similar to that of the previous R1, although a 3% reduction in the drag coefficient was achieved. The headlight housing's profile was sharpened, the side panels were made more aerodynamic, and the windscreen was reshaped for better rider protection.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The seating area was also updated. The fuel tank was reshaped, with a more relaxed rear angle and deeper leg recesses to provide a better riding feel. The seat extended further towards the rear of the tank, and the new steeper seating position put additional weight on the front end. All of this was aimed at improving weight bias, thus offering sharper cornering and more stability.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Mechanically, the carburetors were re-jetted in an effort to improve throttle response, especially in the low end, all the way up to the bike's 11,750 rpm redline. The redesigned camshafts were lightened and used internal oil ways to lubricate journals that, when combined with reduced tappet clearance, provided less friction and created less engine noise. The gearbox received a taller first gear, a hollow chrome-moly gear change shaft with an additional bearing, and a completely redesigned shift linkage and foot pedal. These changes were aimed at eliminating problems with the transmission in earlier models, and to help seamlessly transfer the bike's power to the road.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: A new fuel injection system was introduced for the 2002 year, which worked like a carburetor by employing a CV carburetor slide controlled by a vacuum created by the engine. With a similar power output to the 2000-2001 bike, though, the engine remained largely the same. One notable improvement was the use of new cylinder sleeves of a high silicon content alloy containing magnesium that minimized thermal distortion, reducing oil consumption. The exhaust system was changed from a 4-into-1 to a new titanium 4-into-2-into-1 design.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Also in 2002, Yamaha released the newly developed Deltabox frame, whose hydro-formed construction reduced the total number of frame welds and improved the frame's rigidity by 30%. The cooling system was redesigned for better performance and compactness. The rear end of the motorcycle was updated and streamlined with an LED taillight, allowing for cleaner rear body lines when choosing one of several common aftermarket modifications. These modifications included removal of the turn signal stalks and stock license plate bracket, and replacing them with replacements that "hugged" the body or frame. The 2002 model also saw front lighting improvements in the form of sharper headlights and the addition of side "parking" lights within the twin-headlight panel, giving a more angular appearance. This also provided additional aftermarket possibilities, such as the removal of the front turn signals and the repurposing of the parking lights as directional or hazard markers while stopped.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: In 2002, "Cycle World" reported fuel mileage of , a time of 2.9 seconds, a time of 10.32 seconds at , and a top speed of .


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: For 2003, the only change was the addition of hazard warning lights and low-beam headlights, which stay on when the engine is running.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: With the competition advancing, Yamaha made some major changes to the R1. This included style updates, like an underseat dual exhaust, and performance upgrades including radial brakes, and, for the first time, a ram-air intake. Furthermore, earlier models' tendency for wheelies was reduced by changing the geometry of the frame and weight distribution. The all-new engine was no longer used as a stressed member of the chassis, and had a separate top crankcase and cylinder block.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The 2004 R1 weighs dry. The conventional front brake calipers were replaced by radially mounted calipers, activated by a radial master cylinder. A factory-installed steering damper was also added in 2004. Combined with the changes to the frame, this helped to eliminate the tendency of the handlebars to shake violently during rapid acceleration or deceleration on less-than-perfect surfaces, a phenomenon known as speed wobble or a tank slapper.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: "Motorcycle Consumer News" tests of the 2004 model year YZF-R1S yielded a time of 3.04 seconds and of 5.42 seconds, a quarter-mile time of 9.90 seconds at , and a top speed of .


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: That year, Yamaha also released a limited edition version, the LE, in original Yamaha racing colors to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The LE and SP models had custom Öhlins front and rear suspension units developed by the same team as the YZR-M1 MotoGP bike. Custom forged aluminum Marchesini wheels specifically designed for the LE shaved nearly a pound off the bike's unsprung weight. A back torque-limiting slipper clutch and an integrated lap timer rounded out the package, essentially making the LE a production racer. Only 500 units were made for the United States, with another 500 units for Europe.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: An all-new YZF-R1 for the 2007 model year was announced on 8 October 2006. It had an all-new inline-four engine, going back to a more conventional four-valve-per-cylinder design rather than Yamaha's trademark five-valve Genesis layout. It also had the Yamaha Chip Control Intake (YCC-I) electronic variable-length intake funnel system, Yamaha Chip Control Throttle (YCC-T) fly-by-wire throttle system, slipper clutch, all-new aluminum Deltabox frame and swingarm, six-piston radial-mount front brake calipers with 310 mm discs, a wider radiator, and M1 styling on the new large ram-air intakes in the front fairing. There were no major changes for 2008.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Power at the rear wheel was @ 10,160 rpm. Motorcycle Consumer News tests of the 2007 model year YZF-R1 yielded a time of 2.94 seconds and of 5.46 seconds, a ¼ mile time of 9.88 seconds at .


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: In late 2008, Yamaha announced they would release an all new R1 for 2009. The new R1 took engine technology from the M1 MotoGP bike with its crossplane crankshaft, making the 2009 R1 the first production sports bike to use a crossplane crankshaft. Power delivery is the same as with a 90° V4 with a 180° crank (such as the Honda VFR800, and similar to the 65° V4 in the Yamaha V-Max). Yamaha claimed the bike would give the rider "two engines in one", with the low-end torque of a twin and the pace of an inline-four. As with the previous incarnation of the R1, the 2009 model used Yamaha Chip Control Throttle (YCC-T).


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Another advancement included on the 2009 model was D-Mode Throttle Control Valve Mapping, which allows a rider to choose between three distinct maps depending on the rider's environment. Each mode of operation controls YCC-T characteristics, changing how the R1 reacts to rider input. The first mode is Standard Mode, which delivers performance for a wide variety of driving conditions. The second mode is "A" mode, which will give a rider more available power in the lower to mid RPM range. The third mode is "B" mode, a dialling back of the previous mode designed to soften throttle response in inclement weather and heavy traffic. D-Mode throttle control is controlled by the rider through a forward mode button near the throttle. The instrument panel was more comprehensive than previous models, and the 2009/2010 Yamaha YZF-R1 model had a gear indicator as standard.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Overall handling of the R1 was improved through changes to frame and suspension. A new cast magnesium subframe was designed for the 2009 R1, resulting in lower weight and aiding mass centralisation. The rear shock absorber on the 2009 offers variable speed damping, as well as easy-to-tweak screw-adjustable preload. The rear shock absorber connected underneath the swing arm via a linkage, a change from previous models. To improve overall handling and safety, Yamaha included an electronic steering damper.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The front had the same classic R1 design cues, though the air intake location and headlamp design were revamped on the 2009 model. This new design used only projector lamps in the headlights and used the newfound design space on the nose to position ram-air intakes next to the lights.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Testing the 2010 model on a tri-oval racetrack, "Motorcyclist" magazine reported a time of 10.02 seconds @ , and fuel consumption of . "Motorcycle Consumer News" reported a tested top speed of .


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: In 2012, the Yamaha YZF-R1 received traction control and a redesigned nose, and a special edition 50th Anniversary R1 was released. The special edition commemorates the participation of Yamaha in MotoGP, and its colours are inspired by the Assen TT-winning MotoGP bike. Only 2000 units of this edition were made.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: At the centennial EICMA motorcycle show, Yamaha officially unveiled a new generation of R1, similar to the contemporary YZR M1. Yamaha claims a wet weight of . Engine changes include a decreased bore-to-stroke ratio, a larger airbox, a finger-follower valve system, and fracture split titanium conrods. Magnesium wheels are standard, and information is presented to the rider through a user-customizable thin-film display.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The new bike has an electronics package that includes a sophisticated Traction Control System (TCS), a Slide Control System (SCS), an anti-wheelie Lift Control System (LIF), linked antilock brakes, a Launch Control System (LCS), a Quick Shift System (QSS), and selectable power modes. The Slide Control System on the R1 is the first on a production motorcycle. Information is fed to the bike through a six-axis inertial measurement unit and other sensors over 100 times a second. Power delivery is tapered through throttle valve manipulation and ignition and fuel cuts.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: A second higher-spec, limited production model called the R1M is also produced, and is differentiated from the standard model by having more expensive components, such as electronic semi-active Öhlins suspension, carbon fiber bodywork, Yamaha's Communication Control Unit (CCU), a Y-TRAC data logging system, and grippier Bridgestone tires with a larger rear 200/55 size.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The R1 achieved five victories in the Macau Grand Prix between 1999 and 2013. Lorenzo Alfonsi won the 2004 FIM Superstock 1000 Cup, followed by Didier Van Keymeulen in 2005.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Yamaha World Superbike riders Troy Corser and Noriyuki Haga finished 2nd and 3rd respectively in the 2008 Superbike World Championship season.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Yamaha World Superbike rider Ben Spies won the 2009 Superbike World Championship season title, recording 14 wins and 11 poles in his one season in WSBK.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: The Yamaha Factory Racing Team with riders N. Nakasuga, P. Espargaro, and B. Smith won the 2015 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Alex Lowes and Pol Espargaro won the 2016 Suzuka 8 Hours race.


title: Yamaha YZF-R1

text: Tommy Hill won the British Superbike title in 2011 on board a YZF-R1. Yamaha rider Josh Brookes won the 2015 title.


title: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema

text: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial effect on certain films in the early 2020s, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theaters have been closed, festivals have been cancelled or postponed, and film releases have been moved to future dates or delayed indefinitely. Due to cinemas and movie theaters closing, the global box office has dropped by billions of dollars, streaming has seen a significant increase in popularity and the stock of film exhibitors has also dropped dramatically. Many blockbusters originally scheduled to be released since mid-March 2020 have been postponed or canceled around the world, with film productions also halted. This, in turn, created openings for independent cinema productions to receive wider exposure.


text: The Chinese film industry had lost by March 2020, having closed all its cinemas during the Lunar New Year period that sustains the industry across Asia. North America saw its lowest box office weekend since 1998 between March 13–15.


text: The highest-grossing film of 2020 was the anime film "", which earned $503 million worldwide. It was the first time since 2007 that the top-grossing film of a given year had earned less than $1 billion and the first time a non-American film was the top-grossing film of the year. In 2021, the worldwide box office showed signs of recovery, with a 78% increase in revenue over 2020. Despite the still-ongoing pandemic, the December 2021 release "" quickly became the highest-grossing film of 2021, the sixth highest-grossing film of all time just over a month after its theatrical release, and the first film since 2019 to earn more than $1 billion worldwide.


text: In early March 2020, it was predicted that the global box office could lose US$5 billion as a result of the pandemic.


text: Countries that are pandemic hot-spots have closed or restricted cinemas and movie theaters, negatively affecting film revenue. Attendance has also been lower in other regions. Following the pandemic in mainland China, 70,000 cinemas were closed in January 2020. In the first two months of 2020, China's box office was down to US$3.9 million, compared to US$2.148 billion in the first two months of 2019. Later, as a result of the pandemic in Italy, on March 8, 2020, the Italian government ordered all cinemas to be closed, for up to a month. Before the closure, box office tracking estimated a 94% drop for the weekend of March 6–8 compared to the same period the previous year. Because of the growing pandemic in France, cinemas are operating at half capacity, leaving strategic seats unavailable to reduce proximity in the screens, a move followed days later by the Irish and Northern Irish cinema chain Omniplex Cinemas. On March 12, Qatar also closed all cinemas, as did the US on March 17, Malaysia and Thailand on March 18, the UK on March 20, Australia and New Zealand on March 22, and Singapore on March 27. After a state of emergency was declared in Tokyo and six other prefectures in Japan on April 7, over 220 cinemas were closed.


text: Percentage box office losses (outside of mainland China) for January to March 3, 2020, are 70–75% in Italy, 60% in South Korea, 35% in Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Singapore, and 30% in Taiwan. The Los Angeles box office, a key movie market and local economic backbone, was projected to fall by 20% in April 2020 compared to its 2019 figures, based on the state of emergency declared in the county at the start of March 2020. Despite the state of emergency, as single screens within movie theatres do not hold more than 1,000 people, they were granted an exemption from the ban on mass public gatherings in California. A National Association of Theatre Owners representative for California and Nevada announced that theatres would stay open; historically, movie theatres have remained open during other similar emergencies. However, a survey of Americans over the opening March weekend showed support for closing movie theaters. On March 15, "Deadline" reported that over 100 movie theaters in the US had closed, some due to local rulings and others because of an inability to keep them open with no demand; on March 17, with national restrictions to social gatherings, cinemas across the United States closed. However, drive-in theaters, where customers stay in their own cars, were not closed, and quickly grew in popularity again.


text: The opening March weekend saw a dramatically lower box office than the same weekend in 2019. The 2019 opening March weekend saw the release of "Captain Marvel", which alone earned over US$153 million domestically that weekend, compared to the 2020 weekend's biggest film, "Onward", with around US$39 million. The next weekend saw the lowest total US box office intake since the October 30–November 1, 1998 weekend, with lower percentage drops than the weekend after 9/11, at US$55.3 million. "Onward" itself saw the biggest weekend-to-weekend drop of any Pixar film, making $10.5 million, though was still the weekend's biggest film and the only one to make over $10 million. On March 19, Walt Disney Studios and Universal Pictures announced that they would no longer report box office figures. Comscore therefore announced the next day that it would indefinitely suspend its reporting of box office estimates and charts.


text: On March 26, 2020, after local transmission of the virus had dropped to 0% in China, movie theaters there began to re-open, with reports that 250–500 theaters were opening, but the next day authorities again closed all movie theaters in the country.


text: Three award ceremonies were held after the coronavirus became widespread: the 10th Magritte Awards on February 1, the 45th César Awards on February 28, and the 43rd Japan Academy Film Prize on March 6. The Japanese Academy Prize ceremony went ahead on March 6. However, the ceremony was conducted without any guests or journalists. The 14th Seiyu Awards cancelled its live ceremony scheduled for March 7 in Tokyo and instead broadcast the winners on Nippon Cultural Broadcasting's internet radio program. The 40th Golden Raspberry Awards were initially intended to take place as planned on March 14. However, it was ultimately cancelled. The ceremony's winners were announced on their YouTube channel on March 16.


text: The International Indian Film Academy Awards, planned to take place on March 27, was cancelled, while the Italian Academy's David di Donatello ceremony has been postponed from April 3 to May 8. The American Film Institute's lifetime achievement ceremony to honour Dame Julie Andrews was pushed back from April to the summer. The 2020 Platino Awards were also postponed.


text: The Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards modified their eligibility criteria for their 2021 editions, as they usually require that a film be screened theatrically for a minimum length of time. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association mentioned that films released via non-theatrical means (such as digital) would be eligible if they were scheduled to have a "bona fide theatrical release" in Los Angeles after March 15 (with a cutoff date to be determined). The Best Foreign Language Film award would similarly offer eligibility for films originally scheduled for a theatrical release in their country of origin between March 15 and a date to be determined. The 93rd Academy Awards would also allow films released via password-protected or transactional video on demand to be eligible if they were originally scheduled to have a theatrical release. Once cinemas have sufficiently resumed operations, the requirement that a film be screened for at least a week would be reinstated. In addition to Los Angeles, eligible screenings would also be allowed to take place in one of five other major U.S. cities.


text: On June 15, it was announced that the Academy Awards would be pushed back by two months from February 28 to April 25, so that the cutoff for eligibility could likewise be extended from December 31, 2020, to February 28. The Academy Governors Awards and Scientific and Technical Awards were postponed indefinitely. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) subsequently announced that it would follow suit and postpone the 74th British Academy Film Awards to April. On June 22, the Golden Globe Awards were also delayed from early-January to February 28, 2021 (filling the Academy Awards' former date). The Screen Actors Guild Awards were also postponed from January 24 to March 14.


text: With the delay of the 2021 Grammy Awards to March 14 citing the current surge of COVID-19 cases in California, on January 13, 2021, the SAG Awards were delayed once again to April 4. SAG-AFTRA criticized The Recording Academy for not respecting the scheduling of other award presentations.


text: In Canada, the pandemic shutdown forced the cancellation of both the 8th Canadian Screen Awards and the 22nd Quebec Cinema Awards. Both programs ultimately announced their winners through virtual livestreaming, the Canadian Screen Awards presenting film winners on May 28, and the Quebec Cinema Awards presented on June 10. As of August 2020, neither the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television nor Québec Cinéma have announced their plans for the 2021 ceremonies.


text: The Omicron variant, which has had Los Angeles and New York City as particular U.S. epicenters, led to further disruption of the awards season in January 2022. The 27th Critics' Choice Awards were postponed to March 13, 2022, the same day as the 75th British Academy Film Awards, while the 49th Annie Awards were delayed to March 12, and the 79th Golden Globe Awards were held under strict COVID-19 protocols with only HFPA beneficiaries in attendance. The ceremony had already been downsized into a non-televised event due to boycotts of the organization by media companies and creatives (including its regular broadcaster NBC) over the lack of diversity among its membership.


text: Many festivals and events have been cancelled or postponed. Postponements include the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, set to begin on March 5 and rescheduled for June 2020; the Beijing International Film Festival, planned for April 2020 and postponed indefinitely; the Prague International Film Festival, moved from late March to sometime later in 2020; the Bentonville Film Festival, set for April 29 – May 2 and moved to August; the Istanbul International Film Festival, set for April 10–21 and postponed to a later date in 2020; and the Tribeca Film Festival. The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival, a two-week festival in March, experienced low attendance during its first week and postponed its second week to August 2020. The 20th Beverly Hills Film Festival scheduled for April 1–15 is postponed indefinitely. The 38th Fajr International Film Festival, scheduled for April 16–24 in Tehran, has been postponed, with plans to organize the event in late spring. The 2020 Metro Manila Summer Film Festival, originally scheduled for April 11–21, was also postponed after the decision to place Metro Manila (the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines) under community quarantine was announced, however, it was later cancelled.


text: Canceled events include the Swiss International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, planned for early March; the Red Sea International Film Festival, which was to be held for the first time in March 2020; the March 2020 South by Southwest (SXSW), which would have included film screenings; the 2020 ; Nickelodeon's 2020 Slimefest festival; Qumra, the Doha Film Institute's international directors' conference; Hong Kong Filmart, a large film market event; the National Association of Theatre Owners' CinemaCon 2020; and Lille's Series Mania television festival. The 22nd edition of Ebertfest and the 44th edition of the Cleveland International Film Festival are cancelled. New Jersey's global film festival, Garden State Film Festival, scheduled for March 25–29, cancelled their in-person Asbury Park-based festival, however will be proceeding with the original schedule in a real-time live-streaming online format. The 55th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival was canceled and postponed to 2021; its organizers later announced plans to hold an unofficial "54 ½" edition in November, but it was cancelled due to the reinstatement of restrictions in the country.


text: The 2020 Cannes Film Festival sent out invitations on March 6, despite France implementing limits on public gatherings beyond its scheduled dates; the Cannes Television Festivals Canneseries and MIPTV chose not to run, however, with Canneseries rescheduling for October and MIPTV canceling its event. On March 19, the Festival de Cannes announced that it cannot be held on the scheduled dates, from May 12–23. Several options are considered in order to preserve its running, the main one being a simple postponement, in Cannes, until the end of June-beginning of July 2020. Cannes' main venue has been converted into a temporary homeless shelter.


text: Some festivals, including Tribeca, SXSW, ReelAbilities, TCM Classic Film Festival, and the Greenwich International Film Festival have created new online programming in lieu of having an in-person festival. The 2020 Toronto International Film Festival is also planned to proceed at least partially online; on July 30, TIFF programmers announced a much smaller than normal lineup of feature films that will be screened at drive-in theatre venues and online.


text: Within the industry, it is suggested that after the pandemic is contained and major events reschedule, the less-important business events and festivals may be more permanently removed from industry calendars, to allow more important events to happen, because they may be deemed unnecessary if no great effect is felt by their cancellations, and to ease finances of the industry as it enters a recession brought about by coronavirus-caused losses.


text: The Tribeca Film Festival and YouTube worked with several international partner film festivals to launch , an international online festival of films screening for free on YouTube between May 29 and June 7.


text: Due to the unprecedented interruption of film productions caused by the pandemic, the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland has asked directors including Lucrecia Martel and Lav Diaz to select films from the festival's 74-year history for a retrospective that will be screened online and in physical locations.


text: The Toronto International Film Festival announced that it would make "masks optional" once attendees were seated for film screenings. The actions were criticized for creating a potential superspreader event as the social nature of the festival could increase the risk for COVID-19 transmission. It reversed the decision within 24 hours citing a surge of new cases in Ontario.


text: The Tribeca Film Institute, a fundraising and educational non-profit, suspended operations on September 1, 2020, due to "uncertainties surrounding our new reality." The Tribeca Film Festival which operates under the same parent company will continue.


text: The Horrible Imaginings Film Festival extended their usual three day event to seven days for virtual screenings in 2020.


text: The Provincetown International Film Festival and its associated non-profit laid off its newly hired CEO and eight other staff members in 2020 due to the pandemic.


text: The San Diego International Film Festival, held in October 2020, screened both online and on drive-in screens.


text: In September 2021, it was announced that a person with COVID-19 attended several screenings at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Films affected included "Dune", "Bergman Island" and "The Humans".


text: The San Diego Women's Film Festival held their last event in 2021 and folded into a "Women's Series" at the San Diego International Film Festival due to infrastructure issues created by the impact of the pandemic.


text: On January 22, 2020, the Chinese blockbuster "Lost in Russia" canceled its theatrical release and was sent to streaming platforms. It was made available to watch for free, a move said to encourage people to watch it and stay home. The next day, all theaters in China were closed. On January 31, "Enter the Fat Dragon" also premiered online. "Lost in Russia" was streamed by 180 million accounts in the first three days after its release; China's highest-grossing film (and the highest-grossing non-English film ever) was 2017's "Wolf Warrior 2", which had sold a total of over 160 million tickets worldwide. At the beginning of February, American films set to premiere in China over February and March were officially canceled. Chinese media companies began making more films free online through January. Asian markets also saw Chinese and Hong Kong film distributors cancel exports over the Lunar New Year holiday, including for the films "Vanguard", "Detective Chinatown 3", "The Rescue", and "Legend of Deification"; Taiwanese film "Do You Love Me As I Love You" had its Asian release moved to April. Cinemas in Asian countries without public restrictions have been increasing hygiene measures, with the spokesperson for one chain saying that they added more hand sanitizer dispensers, performed temperature checks on staff and moviegoers, cleaned facilities more frequently, and displayed public health warnings on the movie screens. The Lunar New Year holiday is a large market for film releases across Asia, but was stunted in 2020 as the outbreak began rapidly spreading over this period of time.


text: At the start of March, the "James Bond" film "No Time to Die", which was scheduled to premiere in March 2020 and to wide release in April 2020, was postponed to November and then subsequently to April 2021. "No Time to Die" was the first film to change its planned release outside of China because of the early outbreak of COVID-19, and has opened discussions of dramatic implications on the film economy: many other productions had avoided scheduling releases at the same time as the 25th "Bond" film, and its new November date is in the busy holiday release period, leading to low box office intake in March/April and uncertain intake in November. However, the postponement could reportedly generate more publicity for the film, and is also taking the familiar November release slot of the past two "Bond" films. It has also been suggested that other high-profile films will follow and postpone releases, creating a similar effect. Several other films soon followed in postponing their releases worldwide: the heavily promoted Polish slasher film "W lesie dziś nie zaśnie nikt" ("Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight") was postponed from March 13 to some point in the future when the situation had settled, and the political documentary "Slay the Dragon" had its theatrical release moved from March 13 to April 3.


text: The sequel "" was initially scheduled to be released in the United Kingdom and the US in late March and early April respectively, but due to uncertainty over the outbreak, the film was postponed to early August before being postponed once again to December 11, 2020, and January 15, 2021, respectively. Sony Pictures, the film's production company, said that the changes internationally were because of coronavirus fears, with the US release moved in sync over worries of pirate copies and because the rival children's film DreamWorks/Universal's "Trolls World Tour" had moved its release date earlier, to the same weekend on which "Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway" was initially planned to be released. "Trolls World Tour"'s forward rescheduling takes it to what would have been "No Time to Die"'s weekend (both are distributed by Universal), and leaves it as the biggest film in April.


text: Other major films have postponed releases in certain countries. The Pixar film "Onward", released on the opening March weekend, was not opened in the areas most affected by the coronavirus outbreak; while cinemas were closed in China, it also chose not to open in South Korea, Italy or Japan. Other March 2020 releases "A Quiet Place Part II" and "Mulan" postponed their releases in affected areas, too. This prompted worry that, should March film openings underperform, blockbusters set for release in May (specifically Disney/Marvel's "Black Widow" and Universal's "F9") would move their dates later in the calendar. However, "A Quiet Place Part II" had its world premiere on New York City on March 8 scheduled as planned. "Mulan" not opening in China, where it aimed to make most of its money, was particularly concerning, especially with the possibility that pirate copies will appear and prevent Chinese moviegoers from going to see it in cinemas when it is released. Comparatively, "A Quiet Place Part II" had not anticipated a large Chinese draw, as the box office for the first film in the country was only 10% of its total.


text: On March 12, 2020, it was announced that the global release of "A Quiet Place Part II" would be delayed, based on widespread advice and policies against large gatherings and it was first rescheduled to September 4, 2020, in time for the Labor Day weekend, then to its new date of April 23, 2021 due to the continuous virus surging in the United States. On the same day, the release of Indian film "Sooryavanshi," which was initially scheduled to release on March 24, was postponed indefinitely, and the release of "F9" was pushed to April 2, 2021. "Mulan"'s March 12 London premiere went ahead without a red carpet, and on March 13, it was announced that the film was removed from the release calendar, but had been rescheduled for July 24, 2020, taking the release date of another Disney film "Jungle Cruise" and was further delayed by four weeks to August 21, 2020. With no further rescheduling options, "Mulan" was removed from the release calendar again.


text: Disney also postponed the releases of "Antlers" and "The New Mutants", but not "Black Widow". This is speculated to be because the other films are standalone, while moving "Black Widow" – the first film of the – would affect the development and distribution of the future Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Marvel Disney+ works, with Disney holding off on an early postponement announcement until March 17, when they postponed "Black Widow" and their other May releases, "The Personal History of David Copperfield" and "The Woman in the Window". Though it had earlier been speculated that "Black Widow" would be able to take Marvel's November release date planned for "Eternals", it was not initially given a new date. On April 3, 2020, "Black Widow" was rescheduled to November 6, 2020, taking the release date of the aforementioned "Eternals". Three months later, on July 25, 2020, Disney announced that "Antlers" would get its new release date of February 19, 2021, nearly a year later after its original release. In August 2020, Disney announced that it cancelled the theatrical release of "Mulan" (live-action remake) in North America and would premiere the film on Disney+ with Premier Access instead. It went on to have a theatrical release in select countries, including China. On September 23, Disney postponed "Black Widow" to May 7, 2021, "Death on the Nile" to December 18, 2020, and "West Side Story" to December 10, 2021. As a result, "Eternals" was also delayed to November 5, 2021, in order to maintain the MCU continuity.


text: Warner Bros. followed Disney by announcing the postponement of the rest of their upcoming slate on March 24. "Tenet" was pushed from July 17, 2020, to July 31, 2020, then August 12, 2020 before it was held up indefinitely. "Wonder Woman 1984" was pushed to August 14, 2020, then to October 2, 2020, and then again to December 25, 2020, with "Scoob!", "In the Heights", and "Malignant" being delayed indefinitely. This resulted in "Scoob!" not having a theatrical release in North America and that film went straight to video on demand, while "In the Heights" moved to its new release date of June 18, 2021. Prior to this, on March 19, Universal and Illumination announced that "" had been pulled from its intended release date of July 3, 2020, not only due to the pandemic but also due to the temporary closing of its French Illumination Mac Guff animation studio in response to the pandemic, which would leave the film's animation to be unfinished on its original date. On April 1, 2020, the film was rescheduled for July 2, 2021 taking the planned release date of "Sing 2", a year after its original date.


text: The August 26 release of "Tenet" marked the first major American blockbuster film to be released theatrically. Due to safety concerns in the United States, the film premiered in 70 international markets through a staggered release model, before being released in select U.S. cities on September 3. Its box office revenue had reached $150 million by September 6, 2020, with a modest $20 million in the United States.


text: In September 2020, Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman Tony Vinciquerra stated that the company will not release any big budget films to theatres until the pandemic is over. On October 2, "No Time to Die" was delayed once more to April 2, 2021, due to a requirement for the film to have "a worldwide theatrical audience". This came amid continued closures of cinemas in the key U.S. markets of Los Angeles and New York City, as well the reinstatement of restrictions in the United Kingdom due to a second wave. As Universal Pictures held the international distribution rights to "No Time to Die", its film "F9" was delayed to May 28, 2021 (Memorial Day weekend) as to not cannibalize "it". "No Time to Die" has since been postponed again to September 30 in the UK and October 8 in the U.S. In March 2021, "F9" was postponed once again to June 25.


text: The lack of theatrical releases from Hollywood studios resulted in an anime film—""—becoming the first non-Hollywood film to ever top the annual worldwide box office. The film benefited from Japan's relative control of the pandemic at the time of its release, the popularity of the , and reduced competition from international films.


text: With both Los Angeles and New York City having allowed cinemas to reopen by March 2021, it was expected that film distributors would be more confident in releasing higher-profile films. During that month, Disney announced that "Black Widow" would open in theaters on July 9, 2021 and would also be available on Disney+ the same day with Premier Access, following the same release strategy that was used for one of the company's other films, "Raya and the Last Dragon". Two more of Disney's films, "Cruella" and "Jungle Cruise", were also given this hybrid release.


text: Despite the United States' progress on vaccination, spread of Delta variant intensified across the country in July 2021. As there was not yet a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for children younger than 12, a number of studios announced plans to delay films targeting families or pursue hybrid premium video on-demand (PVOD)/streaming releases; on July 31, Paramount Pictures cancelled the release of "Clifford the Big Red Dog" initially scheduled for September, and later rescheduled it for November with a hybrid release on Paramount+, while United Artists Releasing's "The Addams Family 2" was also shifted to a hybrid PVOD release. On August 12, Sony Pictures delayed the release of "" by three weeks to October 15, citing Delta variant, while it was also reported that Sony was planning to sell the distribution rights to "" to a streaming service. On September 1, 2021, Paramount announced that the releases of "Jackass Forever", "" and "" would be delayed to February 2022, May 2022, and July 2023, respectively, amid surging cases of Delta variant.


text: Some films still went on with exclusive theatrical releases; Disney decided against a hybrid release for "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", and used a 45-day theatrical window; it went on to gross $90 million over the four-day Labor Day long weekend, the largest four-day total for a Labor Day release since "Halloween" in 2007. By late-September, it bad become the highest-grossing film of 2021 in the U.S., and the first film since COVID-19 to surpass $200 million in the domestic box office. The success of "Shang-Chi" led to the re-evaluation of hybrid releases by Disney, which announced on September 10 that all of its remaining films for 2021 would be released exclusively in theaters.


text: On September 6, Sony moved the release date of "Venom: Let There be Carnage" up to October 1, 2021, replacing "Hotel Transylvania" on its schedule after selling it to Amazon Prime Video in a nearly $100 million deal. The film would become the second film to surpass $200 million during the pandemic. "", a Marvel Cinematic Universe film distributed by Sony Pictures, was released on December 17, 2021, and grossed over $601 million in its opening weekend. It also became the first film since "" (2019) to exceed a gross of $1 billion in the global box office. By early-January 2022, it had grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide, overtaking "The Avengers" as the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time.


text: The popularity of "No Way Home", as well as other pandemic-related factors, were cited in the box office failure of another prominent holiday release, Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story"; despite positive reviews, analysts argued that the film skewed towards an older audience (mainly adult women) that was still hesitant to see films in theatres due to COVID-19 risks (especially with the recent emergence of Omicron variant), may have lacked a prominent star, and further argued that there had been a trend of live action musical films falling out of favour among audiences (citing examples such as 2019's "Cats," and 2021 releases "In the Heights" and "Dear Even Hansen)."


text: The 2019 sequel "Frozen II" was originally planned to be released on Disney+ on June 26, 2020, before it was moved up to March 15. Disney CEO Bob Chapek explained that this was because of the film's "powerful themes of perseverance and the importance of family, messages that are incredibly relevant". On March 16, 2020, Universal announced that "The Invisible Man", "The Hunt", and "Emma" – all films in theaters at the time – would be available through premium video on demand as early as March 20 at a suggested price of each. After suffering poor box office since its release at the start of March, "Onward" was made available to purchase digitally on March 21, and was added to Disney+ on April 3. Paramount announced on March 20, "Sonic the Hedgehog" was also planning to have an early release to video on demand, on March 31. On March 16, Warner Bros. announced that "Birds of Prey" would be released early to video on demand on March 24. Three days later, the studio then announced that "The Way Back" would also be available on video on demand the same date as "Birds of Prey". On April 3, Disney announced that "Artemis Fowl", a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, would be released straight to Disney+ on June 12, skipping a theatrical release entirely.


text: Chinese regulators, as well as the U.S. National Association of Theatre Owners, have highly discouraged film distributors from engaging in this practice, in defense of the cinema industry.


text: "Trolls World Tour" (sequel to the 2016 film) was released directly to video-on-demand rental upon its release on April 10, with limited theatrical screenings in the U.S. via drive-in cinemas. NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell told "The Wall Street Journal" on April 28 that the film had reached $100 million in revenue, and stated that the company had not ruled out performing releases "in both formats" as cinemas reopen.


text: On April 28, in response to Shell's comments, American chain AMC Theatres announced that it would cease the screening of Universal Pictures films effective immediately, and threatened similar actions against any other exhibitor who "unilaterally abandons current windowing practices absent good faith negotiations between us". On July 28, the two companies announced an agreement allowing Universal the option to release a film to premium video on demand after a minimum of 17 days in its theaters, with AMC receiving a cut of revenue. Universal later reached similar pacts with Cinemark Theatres and Cineplex Entertainment.


text: In a strategy called virtual cinema, some film distributors have created new partnerships with small movie theaters and art houses to provide a portion of online streaming sales, including Kino Lorber, Film Movement, Music Box Films, Hope Runs High, and Oscilloscope Labs.


text: Warner Bros. Pictures announced in December 2020 that it would simultaneously release its slate of 2021 films both as theatrical releases and available for streaming on HBO Max for a period of one month. This approach, called "Project Popcorn", led to many filmmakers, production companies and theater chains to voice their disappointment and displeasure over the move, especially since they were not informed and consulted with over the move, as well as in regards to contractual and legal obligations.


text: In March 2021, it was announced that Warner Bros. would discontinue same-day releases in 2022, as part of an agreement the studio reached with Cineworld (which operates Regal Cinemas), and would instead use a 45-day exclusive release window for theaters. The studio made a similar deal with AMC Theatres in August 2021.


text: Pixar's "Luca" went directly to Disney+ in the U.S. and Canada on June 18, 2021, along with a simultaneous limited run at the El Capitan Theatre. The 2021 films "" and "Halloween Kills", both distributed by Universal Pictures, received similtaneous releases in theaters and on Peacock. During the summer of that year, Paramount Pictures announced that it would release "" on Paramount+ on the same day as its theatrical release. The studio also decided to cancel the theatrical release of "Rumble" and instead released it on the streaming service on December 15, 2021.


text: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures released "Encanto" on Disney+ 30 days after an exclusive theatrical run. On January 7, 2022, it was announced that the Pixar film "Turning Red" would be skipping theaters entirely in the United States and Canada and would instead be released to Disney+ on March 11 along with one-week limited engagements at the El Capitan Theatre, AMC Empire 25, and Grand Lake Theatre, as well as several Showcase Cinema de Lux venues across the United Kingdom, amid the surge in COVID-19 cases fueled by the Omicron variant. In the following months, Universal Pictures announced that four more of their films, "Marry Me", "Firestarter", "Halloween Ends", and "Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul." would be released to Peacock on the same day as their theatrical releases.


text: Film productions in the key outbreak zones (predominantly China, South Korea, and Italy) have changed their schedules, changed location, or have shut down completely. Sony Pictures closed its offices in London, Paris, and Poland after an employee was thought to have been exposed to the virus. The Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA have canceled all in-person meetings. The Hengdian World Studios in Dongyang, China, has closed indefinitely. The Philippine movie studios Star Cinema, Regal Entertainment, and Cinema One Originals also suspended shooting of their films, effective March 15, the same day as a quarantine in Metro Manila and Cainta, Rizal was enacted.


text: Several Chinese and Hong Kong films have stopped production, including "Blossoms", the upcoming film directed by Wong Kar-wai, which was scheduled to shoot in Shanghai; Jia Zhangke's next film, which was planning to begin filming in China in April, but has been put on hold until at least next spring, with Zhangke saying he might even rewrite the script; and "Polar Rescue", a Donnie Yen film, which shut down production until the end of the year.


text: One of the first big production shutdowns was that of "", which was scheduled to begin filming in Venice, Italy when the crew was sent home and the sets left behind. After actor Tom Hanks became infected with the coronavirus, the Elvis Presley biopic he was working on in Queensland, Australia was shut down, with everyone on the production put into quarantine. Production company Warner Bros. began working with the Australian public health services to identify other people who may have been in contact with Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, who had been performing at venues including the Sydney Opera House shortly before both were tested positive. The Marvel Studios film "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings", which was also shooting in Australia, had its first unit production temporarily suspended on March 12, 2020, due to director Destin Daniel Cretton self-isolating while awaiting results for a coronavirus test, which came back negative.


text: The Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) released a set of guidelines and work place practices in early-May 2020 as restrictions began to lift across the U.S. This set included specific guidelines for all departments and worksites involved in productions. An industry task force of studios and unions submitted a report on June 1, 2020, with various recommendations on health and safety guidelines for cast and crew of productions. These guidelines include regular testing, wearing face coverings at all times when not filming, actors practicing social distancing "whenever possible", reducing or modifying scenes involving "close contact", and recommending that casting be performed via videoconferencing or self-recorded video rather than in-person.


text: On June 5, 2020, Governor of California Gavin Newsom announced that film and television production could resume in the state beginning June 12, provided that conditions permit and approval is received from a county's public health officials. Newsom incorporated key guidelines from the task force's report. The next day, a group of unions (including the Directors Guild of America, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and SAG-AFTRA) published a 36-page report detailing safety protocols agreed upon for union film and television productions, including regular testing of cast and crew members, closed sets, access zones, shooting limited to 10-hour sessions, and all productions requiring an on-set health safety supervisor.


text: On February 9, 2021, it was announced that Blue Sky Studios, a computer animation studio which had been acquired by Disney during its purchase of 21st Century Fox, would be closed due to the economic impact of the pandemic on their business operations. The closure of Blue Sky also resulted in its cancellation of a film adaptation of "Nimona", which was reported to be 75% complete.


text: The stock of exhibitors, companies that own and finance showing films in cinemas and theaters, continued falling even as the global stock market rebounded. Mid-week on March 4, 2020, Cinemark fell by 0.53% and AMC by 3.5%. That day, "No Time to Die" had its release postponed; by March 6, AMC's shares had fallen by 30% over two weeks. Between March 4 and 6, Cineworld's shares fell 20%, and fell another 24% on March 12. The falls result from a combination of AMC closing selected cinemas in Italy and the lack of confidence in the market created by "No Time to Die" moving its release date; other new releases on its original opening weekend will not be as much of a draw for moviegoers and could result in financial losses for the chains showing them. The in-theater advertising company National CineMedia also reported stock falling, by 1.25% on March 4.


text: By March 12, Cinemark, AMC and National CineMedia stocks had all fallen by over 35% since the beginning of the month. Cineworld, the world's second-largest cinema chain, warned on March 12, when multiple films pushed back their releases, that extended disruption and continuing falling stock could cause the company to collapse.


text: In August 2020, California announced a new color-coded tier system that would allow restrictions to be lifted in specific counties based on health metrics, effective August 31. Cinemas would be allowed to operate at limited capacity if a county is in the red (""Substantial") tier or better. This would scale from at 25%/100 patrons (whichever is smaller) in red counties, to 50%/200 patrons in orange ("Moderate") counties, and 50% with no hard maximum in counties under the lowest yellow ("Minimal") tier. The majority of the state was still in the purple ("Widespread") tier at the onset of the system, where cinemas remained closed. These health orders can still be superseded with stricter rules by local officials.


text: On October 3, after "No Time to Die" was delayed until April 2021, it was reported that Cineworld was considering suspending the operations of all of its cinemas in the UK and Ireland, and most US Regal Cinemas indefinitely, citing the lack of tentpole releases as impacting its business. The company confirmed the move on October 5, with CEO Mooky Greidinger stating that it was too expensive to continue operating its cinemas without a consistent lineup of new releases (having initially planned to hold out until "No Time to Die" was released), and argued that the continued closure of cinemas in the state of New York has made studios reluctant to release films due to the underperformance of "Tenet". The closures excluded seven Regal locations in California that had recently been allowed to reopen.


text: Although San Francisco County began to allow cinemas to reopen on October 7, the majority of cinemas remain closed due to a boycott by the National Association of Theatre Owners of California/Nevada, due to local guidelines prohibiting the sale of concessions. The group stated that this restriction "makes it economically impossible for our members to reopen and significantly limits the moviegoing experience for our audiences." Cinemark announced later that month that it would reopen selected cinemas in the Bay Area and Santa Clara County, operating in compliance with the concessions prohibition. On October 17, New York announced that it will allow cinemas outside New York City and situated in counties with a 14-day average of cases below 2% to reopen on October 23, at a maximum capacity of 50 patrons per-screen.


text: On November 9, 2020, Regal announced that the selected California and New York locations it had recently reopened would close indefinitely November 12. The same day, the share prices of AMC, Cinemark, and Disney rose on early reports by Pfizer on the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine in development by the company and BioNTech.


text: On March 5, 2021, cinemas in New York City were given authorization to reopen, subject to the same 50-patron limit as the remainder of the state. On March 11, after Los Angeles County moved from purple to red on the "Blueprint for a Safer Economy", the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) gave authorization for cinemas to resume operations in the area at 25% capacity. 42 of the approximately 107 cinemas (as of 2019) in the LA area had resumed operations by March 26, with some chains and independent cinemas expecting to reopen over the next few weeks for the opening of "Godzilla vs. Kong".


text: Two weeks later, movie theaters in Los Angeles began reopening with 25% capacity. On March 23, 2021, Regal Cinemas announced that they would reopen their cinemas beginning April 2, 2021. On April 19, it was announced that capacity for New York cinemas would be raised to 33% on April 26. The same day, California issued an addendum that orange-tier counties would be restricted to 50% with no hard cap on patrons, and that counties under the yellow ("Minimal") tier would be allowed to operate cinemas and other selected venues at up to 75% capacity if all attendees present proof of full vaccination or a recent negative COVID-19 test. Guidance was also issued for seating sections with less physical distancing for those who are fully vaccinated.


text: After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2020 and March 2021, respectively, Studio Movie Grill and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema respectively emerged from Chapter 11 in late-April 2021 and early-June 2021 with new funding, and some underperforming locations closed along with plans for new theaters being built. On April 21, 2021, The Decurion Corporation, parent company of Arclight Cinemas, the Cinerama Dome, and Pacific Theaters, announced they would be shutting down all of its locations, due to the financial impact of the pandemic. Two months later, Pacific Theaters filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In the following months, the leases to many former Arclight Cinemas and Pacific Theaters locations were acquired by other movie theater chains such as Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres, and Landmark Theaters. In June 2022, it was announced that Decourion Corp. has plans to reopen the Cinerama Dome and former 14-screen Arclight Hollywood cinema. In September of that year, it was reported that the locations would not be reopening until at least the latter part of 2023. During that month, Cineworld filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and closed 12 U.S. cinemas.


text: On May 3, 2021, the governors of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York jointly announced that they planned to lift most capacity restrictions on businesses on May 19; for cinemas in New York, they would not be limited in how many patrons may be present, but there must be social distancing between groups. On May 4, Los Angeles County was moved to yellow ("Minimal") tier by state health officials, but the LACDPH did not allow cinemas to use the 75% option. Due to progress on vaccination, New York and California lifted capacity restrictions, including those on cinemas, in June 2021.


text: By August 2021, however, due to spread of Delta variant and waning vaccination rates nationwide, New York City (where only 55% of residents were fully-vaccinated) announced on August 3 that effective September 13, access to indoor entertainment venues (including cinemas) will be restricted to those who are vaccinated. In October 2021, Los Angeles announced that starting November 4 residents will be required to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter movie theaters.


text: In March 2022, India’s two largest cinema chains PVR Cinemas and INOX Leisure agreed to merge following the impact of COVID-19 on the country's cinemas.


text: The BBC noted that the popularity of streaming services could increase, especially if more people are isolated at home, with "The Guardian" suggesting that non-blockbuster films may be sent to streaming more quickly than anticipated after release, to catch this market. One popular film to stream was 2011's "Contagion", which moved up from being the 270th most-watched Warner Bros. film in December 2019 to become its 2nd most-watched film in 2020 (by March) and entered the top 10 on iTunes film rentals, ostensibly due to the similarities its story bears to the outbreak. The stock of Netflix increased in 2020 by March 12. The platform had released its original docuseries "" at the end of January 2020. Disney+ went live in India on March 11 via its domestic service Hotstar, eighteen days before it was set to, though Disney's shares had fallen by 23% on March 9.


text: In various trade publications and media outlets, insurance brokers from Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc. have provided commentary on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, and specifically on film production insurance. COVID-19 made film production insurance more difficult to obtain for many productions. Many insurance companies added "communicable disease exclusions" to these policies, meaning that the film insurance would not cover losses caused by COVID-19. The only film insurance solutions offering COVID-19 coverage came with very high premiums; much higher than productions were used to paying (pre-COVID).


title: Toni Basil

text: Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song "Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit the top ten in several other countries.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil was born Antonia Christina Basilotta on September 22, 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Jacqueline Jessica Anderson, a vaudevillian acrobatic comedienne in her family's act Billy Wells and The Four Fays, and Louis Basilotta, an orchestra leader who conducted orchestras at the Chicago Theatre and at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, among other locations. Basil has Italian ancestry.


title: Toni Basil

text: She was raised in Las Vegas, Nevada, where her father moved the family for his work when she was a child. Basil graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1961, where she was a head cheerleader. Already known by the nickname "Toni", she later incorporated her cheerleading experience into her dance career, including her choreography/performance of "Mickey". The cheerleader uniform that she wore in the video was the one she wore in high school.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil started dancing professionally in childhood, but her career started when she served as an assistant choreographer to David Winters and as a dancer on "Shindig!" a breakthrough music variety show that premiered on the ABC network in 1964. In addition, she was assistant choreographer and a dancer on the 1964 concert film "The T.A.M.I. Show" (Teen-Age Music International) choreographed by David Winters, which featured fellow dancer and friend Teri Garr. Her 1960s film choreography work includes "Village of the Giants" (1965), "The Cool Ones" (1967), and the Monkees' 1968 film "Head" in which she is partnered on-screen with Davy Jones during "Daddy's Song". She was a lead dancer in the 1964 beach party film "Pajama Party", and a dancer in the Elvis Presley movie, "Viva Las Vegas". She is credited as a choreographer for some episodes of "The Carol Burnett Show".


title: Toni Basil

text: In 1980, Basil choreographed, and co-directed with David Byrne, the music video for "Once in a Lifetime" by Talking Heads. She worked with Talking Heads again to direct and choreograph the video for the song "Crosseyed and Painless", taken from the same album "Remain in Light". She choreographed David Bowie's Diamond Dogs Tour in 1974, his Glass Spider Tour in 1987, and his video for "Time Will Crawl" (1987). She has worked with Bette Midler for many years, including her 2008/2009 Las Vegas show "The Showgirl Must Go On." She served as the associate director and choreographer of the worldwide in 2008/2009. Her expertise as a choreographer led her to be invited to sit as a guest judge on season four and five of Fox Broadcasting Company's "So You Think You Can Dance?" In addition, she is credited with bringing street dance to prominence as a founding member and manager of The Lockers.


title: Toni Basil

text: Her film choreography through the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s include "American Graffiti" (1973), "The Rose" (1979), "Peggy Sue Got Married" (1986), "Something to Talk About" (1995), "That Thing You Do" (1996), "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997), "Legally Blonde" (2001), "" (2003), "Charlie Wilson's War" (2007), and "The House Bunny" (2008).


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil is one of the seven original Lockers, the street dance group considered "the group that changed the face of dance". She is recognized as having been a seminal influence in bringing street dance to the attention of the American public. A 2012 "Dance Magazine" article cited Basil as the pioneer in merging ballet with street dance for a piece she choreographed for "Saturday Night Live," "Swan Lake" in 1978.


title: Toni Basil

text: The Lockers opened and toured with Frank Sinatra, including performances at Carnegie Hall. They opened for Funkadelic at Radio City Music Hall and many acts in Las Vegas, and made countless television appearances including the third episode of "Saturday Night Live."


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil choreographed the TV Land Awards salute to "Soul Train" in 2005, as well as the TV Land Awards salute to Sid and Marty Krofft in 2009.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil choreographed Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" at the age of 75, and appeared in an uncredited cameo, wearing her trademark fedora and dancing with Margot Robbie on the Pan Am flight. She was surprised by Tarantino's detailed knowledge of both 1960s dances and her previous work, and said she personally knew two of the real-life people who are portrayed in the film: Sharon Tate and Jay Sebring, who were both killed in the Tate-LaBianca murders.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil's recording career began in 1966 with a single for A&M Records, which was the title song of the short film "Breakaway" by artist Bruce Conner. The B-side was "I'm 28" written by Graham Gouldman who later co-founded 10cc. Basil sang, solo, the swinging jazz number "Wham Rebop Boom Bam" in the first season of "Saturday Night Live" for the January 17, 1976, show with Buck Henry as host. Toni sold out solo shows at The Roxy in Los Angeles in June 1976, and sang the song on "The Merv Griffin Show". She guested with The Lockers during the first season of "Saturday Night Live" and, in later seasons, as a singer and filmmaker, to perform in her urban style "Swan Lake". She was signed to Warner Bros. Records at some point in 1976, but never released any material for the label.


title: Toni Basil

text: In 1982, her single "Mickey" achieved international success. The song is a cover of "Kitty", a 1979 release by the UK band Racey, written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and produced by the latter. The original song did not include the "Oh Mickey, you're so fine" chant, which Basil added. The video was conceived, directed, and choreographed by Basil for the UK-based label Radialchoice, before the inception of MTV in July 1981. Issued on Chrysalis Records in September 1982 in the US, the song knocked Lionel Richie from No. 1 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 in December. It topped the chart in Canada where it was issued by Virgin Records. The 45 was quickly certified Gold and in early 1983 reached Platinum status for sales of over 2 million copies in the United States alone. The music video for "Mickey" was one of the most popular early MTV videos. In the video, Basil wore her head cheerleader uniform from Las Vegas High School from which she graduated. During an interview on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of The 80's", Basil said that she still owns the same cheerleader sweater she wore in the video. In 2009, VH1 ranked "Mickey" Number 6 on its list of the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the '80s. In 2017 she launched an unsuccessful lawsuit against the makers of South Park over their use of the song in parodying Barack Obama's 2008 election win.


title: Toni Basil

text: For television, Basil has appeared as an actress and featured singer/dancer in many television shows and specials. She co-directed and choreographed two BBC specials with Alan Walsh and Ken Stephenson called "Toni Basil Tape 1" and "Toni Basil Tape 2".


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil's recording career consists of only two albums. Her first album, 1982's "Word of Mouth", included a second Hot 100 single "Shoppin' from A to Z", as well as three songs by Devo, with the group providing the backing track. The track "Space Girls" was a re-recording of a 1974 Devo demo titled "Space Girl Blues" that was later released on Devo's "Hardcore Devo: Volume One". Devo member Gerald Casale and Basil were in a relationship at the time, and Basil had been an early supporter of the group.


title: Toni Basil

text: "Toni Basil" (1983), her eponymous second album, yielded a third and final Hot 100 charting single, "Over My Head", which reached No. 4 on the U.S. Dance chart. Her song "Girls Night Out" appeared on the 1986 movie soundtrack "Modern Girls". To date, there have been five Toni Basil best of collections released on CD. In 1999, DJ and producer Jason Nevins's dance remix of "Mickey" was a club hit in Europe and Australia.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil contributed vocals for the Devo song "The Only One" in 1987, part of the soundtrack of the horror film "Slaughterhouse Rock", in which Basil starred. The song was not released until 2000, on the demo compilation "Recombo DNA".


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil began her acting career by appearing in the films "Easy Rider" and "Five Easy Pieces". Some of her other films are "The Last Movie" (directed by Dennis Hopper), "Greaser's Palace" (directed by Robert Downey, Sr.), "Mother, Jugs & Speed", "Village of the Giants", "Rockula" (with Thomas Dolby) and "Slaughterhouse Rock". On TV, she has appeared in episodes of "Laverne & Shirley" (in which she played the character, Mickie), "Dark Justice", and in "Baywatch Nights" as a fortune teller.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil directed short art films including "Game of the Week", "A Dance Film", "Out Trip", and "The Ping Pong Match". Predating music videos, these avant garde pieces found a new audience and were exhibited at the Santa Monica Museum of Art, the Getty Museum, and New York University's Grey Art Gallery. The Los Angeles Times noted Basil's deft editing transformed an ordinary ping pong match into an energetic dance routine.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil's "Word of Mouth" video album was nominated for both a Grammy Award and an MTV Video Music Award.


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil's late 1960s 8 mm and 16 mm films toured the U.S. with the show "Semina Culture: Wallace Berman and His Circle" in 2007.


title: Toni Basil

text: Aside from directing her own video for "Mickey", she directed and choreographed the video for Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime". The video features lead singer David Byrne against a white background in a style similar to "Mickey".


title: Toni Basil

text: Basil's awards include Hip Hop International's Living Legend Award, a Grammy nomination for Long Form Video ("Word of Mouth") 1983, an Emmy nomination and win for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography for "The Smothers Brothers" in 1988, two MTV Award nominations, American Choreography Awards: four nominations and two wins including Lifetime Achievement Innovator, and The Los Angeles Theater Ovation: Street Dance Award. Exhibitions include the Museum of Modern Art: Videos, and the Santa Monica Museum of Art: Short Films. She has received platinum and gold discs in the US, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Philippines, and France. Her single "Mickey" was installed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the groundbreaking singles of the 1980s. She was given tribute at , Monsters of Hip-Hop Masters of Movement, and in Portraits of America's Great Choreographers. She was featured in the Museum of Modern Art Calendar of Artists and on the cover of "Dance Magazine".


title: Toni Basil

text: On January 25, 2012, Basil presented The Electric Boogaloos with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th anniversary show of "" for their role in popularizing dance styles such as popping and electric boogie.


title: Jessie Mei Li

text: Jessica Mei Li (born 27 August 1995) is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Alina Starkov in the Netflix fantasy series "Shadow and Bone".


title: Jessie Mei Li

text: Li was born in Brighton, East Sussex to an English mother and a Hong Kong-Chinese father. She grew up in Redhill, Surrey and has an older brother. Li attended Reigate College from 2010 to 2012 and began studying French and Spanish at the University of Sussex, but eventually dropped out. For nearly two years, Li worked as a teaching assistant for children with special needs at secondary school.


title: Jessie Mei Li

text: Li joined the National Youth Theatre in 2015 and trained part-time at Identity School of Acting from 2016 to 2017.


title: Jessie Mei Li

text: Li made her professional stage debut in February 2019 playing the role of Claudia Casswell in "All About Eve" at Noel Coward Theatre, directed and adapted for the stage by Ivo van Hove, alongside Gillian Anderson and Lily James.


title: Jessie Mei Li

text: In October 2019, it was announced Li would star in the lead role of Alina Starkov in the 2021 Netflix series "Shadow and Bone", an adaptation of Leigh Bardugo's Grishaverse fantasy book series "Shadow and Bone" and "Six of Crows". Li initially had reservations about auditioning for the character of Alina Starkov, whose ethnicity was changed from white to mixed race for the show, citing concerns about whether the change was being made due to a diversity quota. However, during the audition process, Li observed that the change in Starkov's ethnicity "wasn't just a diversity box ticker" and "was something to help build the world and to help build her character."


title: Jessie Mei Li

text: Li has spoken on growing up with a lack of positive Asian and biracial representation onscreen. Her conflict over her dual heritage was compounded when she began auditioning, where she noticed mixed-race roles would sometimes go to fully Asian or white actors. In an April 2021 interview, Li emphasized the importance of nuanced portrayals of Asians in media.


title: Smiley face murder theory

text: The smiley face murder theory (also known as the smiley face murders, smiley face killings, and smiley face gang) is a theory advanced by retired New York City detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, as well as Dr. Lee Gilbertson, a criminal justice professor and gang expert at St. Cloud State University. It alleges that a number of young men found dead in bodies of water across several Midwestern American states from the late 1990s to the 2010s did not accidentally drown, as concluded by law enforcement agencies, but were victims of a serial killer or killers.


title: Smiley face murder theory

text: The term "smiley face" became connected to the alleged murders when it was made public that the police had discovered graffiti depicting a smiley face near locations where they think the killer dumped the bodies in at least a dozen of the cases. Gannon wrote a textbook case study on the subject titled "Case Studies in Drowning Forensics." The response of law enforcement investigators and other experts have been largely skeptical.


title: Smiley face murder theory

text: As recently as 2017, Gannon and Duarte were examining evidence going back to the late 1990s that they believe connects the deaths of 45 college-age males whose dead bodies were found in water in 11 states, often after leaving parties or bars where they had been drinking. The men, according to the former detectives, often fit a profile of being popular, athletic and successful students, and most were white.