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Elsewhere
James Cameron's follow-up to his 2009 blockbuster continues to rule North America's box offices. "Avatar -- The Way of Water" grossed an additional 63-million-dollars over New Year's weekend. The special effects feature has made over 421-million-dollars in the U.S. and Canada since its release three weeks ago. Coming in second is "Puss in Boots -- The Last Wish" with just over 16-million-bucks followed by "Black Panther -- Wakanda Forever" with nearly five-million-dollars. Rounding out the Top Five are the Whitney Houston movie biography "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" followed by "Babylon."
Billy Idol is being awarded with a star on the Los Angeles' Hollywood Walk of Fame. The man whose hits include "Rebel Yell," "Dancing With Myself," and "Eyes Without a Face," will have name placed in front of the Amoeba Music shop on Hollywood Boulevard. The Billy Idol star ceremony will take place this Friday.
https://nypost.com/2023/01/03/billy-idol-to-be-given-first-hollywood-walk-of-fame-star-of-2023/
A star is born after a second-grader in California steals the show at his school's Christmas show. Eight-year-old Jaden, a student at Beechwood Elementary School in Menlo Park, was recorded as he spontaneiously broke into dance while the crowd cheered him on. The video went viral and racked up more than 700-thousand likes after a parent at the school shared it on TikTok. Jaden was decked out in 49ers gear in the video and caught the attention of the San Francisco football team with its team's account writing, "Ok Jaden!! We see you!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ytHxq42XZE&t=64s
Earth, Wind & Fire drummer Fred White is dead. The band and his brother, Verdine, confirmed the news. White joined his siblings in the band in 1974, and contributed to breakout hits like "September," "Shining Star" and "Boogie Wonderland." He left Earth, Wind & Fire in the early 1980s, but returned for their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He also continued to perform with other artists, and most recently appeared on Diana Ross' 2021 comeback album. No cause of death was given. Fred White was 67 years old.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/02/entertainment/earth-wind--fire-drummer-dead/index.html
From the what's old is new again department, sales of vinyl albums are setting a new modern-era record. Sales tracking group Luminate reports a little more than two-point-two-million vinyl albums were sold in the week ending December 22nd. That's the highest single-week sales total since the group began tracking sales in 1991. So far this year, nearly 42-million vinyl albums have been sold -- up three-point-six-percent from last year.
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2023/01/02/vinyl-sales-in-the-us-2022/
Marvel is announcing a Disney-plus documentary about Stan Lee. Lee is most well known for creating Marvel characters including Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, and Spider-Man. Marvel has released a short trailer for the documentary and announced its arrival in 2023. The trailer shows a montage of Lee's minor roles and cameos in Marvel films over the years. It was released last Wednesday, which would have been Stan Lee's 100th birthday