HOLLYWOOD—As the famous New Year’s Eve ball descends, an estimated 1 million people will be in Times Square, millions nationwide and over a billion watching throughout the world are united in bidding farewell to 2016. In just a few days everyone will countdown, 10, 9, 8, 7,6,5, 4,3, 2,1…Happy New Year 2017! What a year it has been.
A year of growth, maturity, awareness and development. The end of the year is near and there’s still hope for you. Hope for you to grow, heal, and learn to be the best you can be. If you’re reading this, whoever you are, I just want you to know and realize, that your story is still going. You can’t give up on yourself. We are stories still going with possibilities of hope. Let’s make 2017, the best year ever, full of health, wealth and happiness.
The best of 2016 , in the music industry, the top songs were: “Side to Side,” by Ariana Grande featuring Nicki Minaj, “Closer,” by The Chainsmokers, “24K Magic,” by Bruno Mars, “Let Me Love You,” by DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber, “Water Under The Bridge,” by Adele, “Fake Love,” by Drake and “The Greatest,” by Sia featuring Kendrick Lamar.
Let’s look at the blockbuster landscape of 2016. it’s easy to say that the year was bad for the film industry. Plenty of disappointments, and the good films struggled to break through and find the audience. Thankfully, you didn’t have to hunt too far to find excellent films in a variety of genres. Some of the top films of 2016 were: “Deadpool,” “Snowden,” “Sully,” “Jackie,” “Manchester by the Sea,” and of course, “La La Land.”
So what will we be watching in 2017? There will be plenty of sequels and remakes in 2017. In the sequels arena, we will see skin-tight leather for Kate Beckinsale in “Underworld: Blood Wars,” more zombieness for Milla Jovovich in “Resident Evil: The Final Chapter,” and a double dose of Vin Diesel in “Fate of the Furious” and “XXX: The Return of Xander Cage.” How can we forget about Hugh Jackman. He will be back as Wolverine in “Logan,” a second ‘volume’ of “Guardians of the Galaxy” and Tom Holland making his web-slinging debut in “Spiderman: Homecoming.”
We will also see Gal Gadot, as “Wonder Woman” in both a World War I- set solo vehicle and alongside Ben Affleck’s Batman in “Justice League,” DC Comics’ riposte to Marvel’s all-conquering “Avengers” films. We will see a lot of monkey business in “Kong: Skull Island” and “War for the Planet of the Apes,” and more of Captain Jack in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.”
The remakes are always interesting to watch. Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” is the one to beat. Emma Watson plays Bellem while Luke Evans plays Gaston. Dwayne “The Rock,” Johnson will bring back “Baywatch” in May and “Jumanji” in December. Scarlett Johansson, will feature as a cyborg policewoman in “Ghost in the Shell,” a remake of 1995’s classic Japanese anime. The “Power Ranger”s will return in a live-action re-do starring Bryan Cranston, while “CHiPs” brings back the sexy highway patrolmen.
The beginning of the year we will see a lot of films hoping to boost the box-office. Already the Hollywood musical “La La Land,” is a favorite as an Oscar contender. “Manchester by the Sea,” sees Casey Affleck as tipped to win a slew of awards. The biopic “Jackie,” which stars Natalie Portman. So my friends, once again I want to thank you for your continued readership and let’s make 2017, the best year ever.
As we say goodbye to 2016, these celebrities, leave their legacies and so live on and continue to inspire and delight us. We lost David Bowie, Prince, George Michael, Glenn Frey, Greg Lake, Scotty Moore, Frank Sinatra Jr, Patty Duke, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Florence Henderson, Doris Roberts, and Garry Marshall.
Rose’s Scoop: On a personal note, I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Carrie Fisher. My deepest condolences to her mom Debbie Reynolds.
