Steve Pond's Blog, page 1976
March 2, 2020
Clare Crawley Named New ‘Bachelorette’
ABC has chosen its next Bachelorette.
Clare Crawley, who competed on Juan Pablo’s season of “The Bachelor” and later appeared on “The Bachelor in Paradise” and “The Bachelor: Winter Games,” will be the leading lady on Season 16 of “The Bachelorette.”
Here is Crawley’s bio from ABC:
“A native of Sacramento, California, Clare, 38, enjoys spending her days playing with her two dogs Elby and Honey, doing yoga and hiking with friends. She loves her career as a hairstylist and hopes to style the man of her dreams one day. She looks up to her late father as an example of the man she hopes to marry, someone strong and compassionate that can live life to the fullest, just like her!”
The new season premieres Monday, May 18 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
More to come…
’90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days’ Draws Franchise’s Best Premiere-Episode Ratings Ever (Exclusive)
The premiere episode of “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” was the franchise’s highest-rated season premiere of all time.
The episode, which aired on Sunday, Feb. 23, drew 3.3 million total viewers and topped every other “90 Day Fiancé” season premiere in all key demos, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-three measurement. Among adults 25 to 54, the episode earned a 2.2 rating with 1.7 million viewers. Among women in the same age bracket, the show pulled a 3.0 rating and 1.2 million viewers.
The episode propelled TLC to #2 overall for the night, with the network ranking #1 in the time period among key women demos.
Also Read: This Promo for TLC's 'Save My Skin' Is the Grossest Thing You'll See All Day (Exclusive Video)
“Our audiences at TLC are obsessed with ’90 Day Fiancé’ and its spin-offs, and I’m excited to say, they haven’t seen anything yet,” said Howard Lee, president and general manager of TLC. “This franchise, along with our other hit series, have rocketed TLC to #1 on Sunday nights and #1 network overall in cable for women. ‘Before the 90 Days’ is our “fish out of water” series in the franchise and our fans go nuts seeing these people risk it all for love, and based on the couples we follow this season, I can guarantee it won’t disappoint.”
A spinoff of the flagship “90 Day Fiancé” series, “Before the 90 Days” follows couples before the K-1 Visa process begins, from how they found each other, to meeting in person for the first time and traveling to a foreign country with surprises along the way.
Sunday’s premiere followed the previous week’s two-part “90 Day Fiancé” season finale. Aired on Sunday, Feb. 16 and Monday, Feb. 17, the two-part “Tell All” specials won both nights among women 25-54.
Related stories from TheWrap:
This Promo for TLC's 'Save My Skin' Is the Grossest Thing You'll See All Day (Exclusive Video)
How '90 Day Fiance' and Its Spinoffs Are Hooking Up TLC With Blissful Ratings
Can March Box Office Survive the Coronavirus Scare in the US?
March will be a busy month for the box office as Disney, Paramount and Lionsgate prepare to send out major films like the Pixar animated film “Onward,” a $200 million “Mulan” and John Krasinski’s eagerly awaited sequel to “A Quiet Place.” But looming over the potential spring rush is the threat of the coronavirus, which is beginning to spread in some U.S. states after the epidemic caused movie theater closures in China and Italy.
“So far, it has been business as usual,” Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian told TheWrap. “This past weekend there was a strong opening for ‘The Invisible Man,’ and interest continues to remain high for upcoming releases. Of course, it is still an unfolding situation.”
As of writing, there have been roughly 90 reported cases of coronavirus in the United States, with the first death reported this past weekend. That’s a far cry from the situation that has developed in countries like China, Italy, Korea and Iran, where the disease has spread rapidly and caused widespread closures of businesses. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that further spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. should be expected in the coming weeks.
Also Read: Coronavirus Rocks Wall Street This Week: Apple, Disney Stocks Take Major Hits
How severe the spread will be and whether or not it will affect the box office and other businesses is still very much up in the air. Multiple studio execs told TheWrap they expect overseas box office grosses to continue to sag in the coming weeks, especially as tens of thousands of movie theaters across China remain closed. But on the domestic side, distributors are just taking things one movie, one day and one news update at a time.
“The best we can do at this point is to keep monitoring the situation and just encourage people to remain safe and follow health procedures,” said one distribution chief who asked to remain anonymous. “If it gets bad enough that movie theaters have to be closed, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. But for now, we’re just cautiously moving forward as usual.”
In the meantime, the March box office will kick off with “Onward,” the first of two original Pixar films coming out this year. As it is an original film and not a sequel, this fantasy film wasn’t expected to come anywhere near $1 billion globally even if the coronavirus wasn’t around. The domestic bar for this film will be set by Pixar’s last big original film, “Coco,” which opened to $50 million and grossed $209 million in North America in late 2017 (and $807 million worldwide).
Also Read: CBS Halts Production on 'Amazing Race' Amid Coronavirus Fears
A bigger opening weekend is expected for “A Quiet Place — Part II,” which will try to keep the strong momentum Paramount has suddenly gained from “Sonic the Hedgehog.” The original “Quiet Place” opened to $50 million two years ago and grossed $188 million in North America. Analysts tell TheWrap that they expect this sequel to be more front-loaded as interested audiences are more aware of “Part II” before release than they were for the original. As such, a $70 million-plus start is within reach.
But the biggest film of the month won’t come until the very end. Disney’s remake of “Mulan” doesn’t have box office tracking out yet, but if it performs as well as other recent Disney remakes, a $100 million-plus opening is in the cards.
Some fans of the 1998 animated film have grumbled about the changes that Niki Caro’s take on “Mulan” will make, including the removal of characters like Mushu and the reimagining and renaming of characters like Commander Shang and the villainous Shan Yu. But the film’s marketing also promises other elements not seen in the original like Wuxia fight scenes and a new villain played by famed Singaporean actress Gong Li.
Also Read: How Bad Was Disney's Box Office Before Bob Iger Turned It Around?
Online complaints haven’t stopped the Disney remakes from making billions over the last few years, but the coronavirus might. If the situation in China does not improve, Disney will likely have to postpone the release of “Mulan” there, which was timed with its American release on March 27. With a reported $200 million budget, losing such a critical market would put more pressure on the U.S. to deliver a strong run.
On the other side of the release spectrum is a film that will have a far smaller opening but is still critical for its studio: Lionsgate’s faith-based film “I Still Believe,” the first film from the new production outlet Kingdom Studios, founded by filmmakers Jon and Andrew Erwin after the surprising $83 million box office run of their 2018 hit “I Can Only Imagine.”
Lionsgate’s distribution deal with Kingdom is the first between a faith-based film studio and a major Hollywood company and is part of Lionsgate’s plan to reach out to evangelical audiences with a series of films that will alternate between appealing to devout Christians and reaching out to wider audiences with a more general, spiritual approach.
Also Read: Knives In: Lionsgate Bounces Back in 2019 After Worst Box Office Year in Over a Decade
“I Still Believe” is the latter, hoping to attract crossover appeal with “Riverdale” star KJ Apa in the lead role as real-life Christian singer-songwriter Jeremy Camp. A strong opening would be a big boost to Kingdom and Lionsgate, the latter of which is still riding high from the success of “Knives Out” and “John Wick: Chapter 3” last year.
Overall, March should be a solid month for the box office provided that the coronavirus stays relatively contained. However, it won’t be as big as last March, which was driven by the billion-dollar hit “Captain Marvel.” With February grosses sinking below expectations thanks in large part to the disappointing performance of “Birds of Prey,” the expected year-over-year drop from 2019 will likely start this coming weekend.
Related stories from TheWrap:
February Box Office Is Up From Last Year… but Only Because of Leap Day
How Bad Was Disney's Box Office Before Bob Iger Turned It Around?
Could 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Speed Paramount's Recovery at the Box Office?
New NY Times Media Columnist Suggests the Times Has Become a Monopoly That’s ‘Bad for Journalism’
Ben Smith, the former top editor of BuzzFeed, on Monday inaugurated his first media column for the New York Times by nibbling the hand that now feeds him — suggesting the Times is becoming a monopoly that’s “bad news for journalism.”
Smith noted that the paper had recovered from its financial slump of just six years ago by selling off businesses and focusing on growing digital subscriptions — a gambit that has paid off since the company, he noted, currently has more digital subscribers than The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and 250 local Gannett papers combined.
And as much of the news media has seen mass layoffs of reporters and editors and major slump from investors, the Times has tripled its share price since 2014 and added 400 new employees — and how has an industry-high 1,700 journalists on staff.
Also Read: BuzzFeed News Editor in Chief Ben Smith Exits to Join the New York Times
Axios founder Jim VandeHei predicted that the paper “is basically going to become a monopoly.”
And some feel that the paper already holds that status as industry consolidation has mushroomed in recent years and local papers have either shut down or scaled back coverage. “The moat is so wide now that I can’t see anyone getting into it,” former Vice News SVP Josh Tyrangiel told Smith. “There’s no new thing coming. And the editor of BuzzFeed News, who was probably the chief insurgent, is now writing this column for you at The New York Times.”
Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger — whom Smith said he once tried to hire to join BuzzFeed — shrugged off the suggestion of a Times “monopoly” even as the paper is now seeking to expand its influence in the podcast space with the likely purchase of Serial Productions.
“What I actually think you’re seeing is not a winner-take-all dynamic — what you’re actually seeing is a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats dynamism,” Sulzberger told Smith.
But one sign of the Times dominance is the very fact that Smith is no longer working at a digital upstart in the media space. “I’m proud to be leaving BuzzFeed News as one of a handful of strong, independent newsrooms still standing amid the rubble of consolidation,” Smith wrote in his column. “But I miss the wide open moment 10 years ago, when we were among a wave of new players reimagining what news meant.”
Related stories from TheWrap:
BuzzFeed News Editor in Chief Ben Smith Exits to Join the New York Times
David Brooks' Column on 'Class War' Gets Pushback – From Fellow NY Times Columnist Paul Krugman
March 1, 2020
‘Judge Judy’ to End After 25 Years in Syndication – but Here Comes ‘Judy Justice’ (Video)
Judy Sheindlin announced Monday that her record-breaking syndicated court show “Judge Judy” will come to an end after its 2020-2021 season after 25 years on the air… but she has another show in the works.
Sheindlin made the big announcement on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Monday.
“CBS [Television Distribution] sort of felt, I think, they wanted to optimally utilize the repeats of my program,” she said. “Now they have 25 years of my reruns. What they decided to do is sell a couple of years’ worth of reruns.”
“But,” she quickly added, “I’m not tired, so ‘Judy Justice’ will be coming out a year later.”
Also Read: 'Judge Judy' Tops Syndication Ratings for 10th Straight Year
Where, exactly, her fans will be able to catch the news show is a big secret… for the time being. But she did go into a tiny more detail about both shows.
“‘Judge Judy,’ you’ll be able to see next year — a full year, all new shows,” she said. “The following couple of years, you should be able to get all the reruns that CBS has sold on the stations currently carrying ‘Judge Judy.’ And ‘Judy Justice’ will be going elsewhere. Isn’t that fun?”
Sheindlin easily topped Forbes’ list of the highest-paid daytime TV hosts for 2018. Thanks to a lucrative deal that sold the rights to the thousands of episodes of her long-running courtroom show, took in an estimated $147 million pretax in the 12 months preceding June 2018, Forbes said.
Also Read: Judge Judy Endorses Michael Bloomberg for President -- Even Though He Isn't a Candidate
The former Manhattan family court judge recently went all-in on endorsing former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg for the Democratic party’s candidate for president, saying she would “fight to the death” to stop those trying to “revolutionize” the country.
Watch her interview with DeGeneres above.
Related stories from TheWrap:
Syndication Ratings: James Holzhauer's 'Jeopardy' Run Snaps 'Judge Judy's' 40-Week Winning Streak
Judge Judy's Multi-Million Dollar Salary Is 'Reasonable,' Court Says
Judge Judy Hit With Lawsuit Over Proceeds of Series Library Sale
‘The Hot Wing King’ Theater Review: Katori Hall Blends Sticky Schmaltz With Spicy Sauce
Katori Hall has written two new plays, a comedy and a drama, and put them under one title. Even the direction, by Steve H. Broadnax III, and the scenic design, by Michael Carnahan, put that bifurcation in sharp focus in the Signature Theatre’s production of “The Hot Wing King.” Hall’s play opened Sunday at Off Broadway’s Pershing Square Signature Center.
The raucous comedy plays out center stage in the kitchen and living room, while the domestic drama is relegated to the far sides of the stage where a same-sex couple bickers in a bedroom (stage left) and a backyard (stage right). Anyone versed in Gay Theater 101 has seen both these plays before. Fortunately, the more easily digestible half takes place center stage in the kitchen.
Memphis, Tennessee, is once again gearing up for another food contest. Cordell (Toussaint Jeanlouis) hopes his chicken wings will win him first place. Being unemployed, he has all the time in the world to cook. And living with a prosperous lover, Dwayne (Korey Jackson), he can indulge his hobby without obsessing too much over the prize money. But Cordell has his pride — and his problems.
Also Read: 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' Theater Review: Meredith Willson's Classic Musical Gets a Major Rewrite
Playwrights love putting cooking scenes in their plays. Jez Butterworth’s “The River” and Theresa Rebeck’s “Seared” are just two examples. These culinary scenes usually play out in silence as actors busy themselves preparing a meal. Hall takes a much noisier route. For reasons not explained, Cordell needs an army of sous chefs to prepare a very simple dish, chicken wings, and every ingredient is discussed as if he were the last drop of paint on a Pollock canvas. He tries to rule this roost, and that includes bossing around a barber friend (Nicco Annan), a troubled teenage nephew-in-law (Cecil Blutcher) and a screaming queen named Isom (Sheldon Best).
Cordell gives orders, but Isom runs this show. The comedy side of “The Hot Wing King” belongs to him, and like Emory in “The Boys in the Band” and Jason #2 in “The Inheritance,” Isom gets most of the best lines. Without question Isom also gets the best outfits (costumes by Emilio Sosa), and that translates into plenty of sparkle in Act 2 and plenty of bare midriff throughout. Spotting a macho man in the backyard, Isom screams, “We all know one outta three black men like that prostate tapped, MMMKAAYYYYY!”
Isom also says things that a dramaturg should have edited out before rehearsals, like, “I can smell shade a mile away — I’m a walking umbrella.” Regardless of whether Hall is writing on fire or automatic pilot, Best delivers every syllable of Isom’s one-liners with a finger snap, a hip twirl or a leg kick. Sometimes he manages all three at once.
Also Read: 'Dana H.' Theater Review: She Lip Syncs Her Way to Hell and Back
The play’s most inspired moment finds Best not uttering a line, however. Stuck in the kitchen stirring Cordell’s special sauce, Isom jeopardizes the cook’s chicken wing dream. It’s a long drawn-out moment that should not be revealed here. Let’s just say that Best is equal to Buster Keaton in milking laughs through a series of silent stares.
Elsewhere, Broadnax directs the kitchen scenes as if “The Hot Wing King” were a musical. At one point, the men take time off from the stove to sing and dance. It’s difficult to tell if Hall lifted this chorus-line moment from “The Boys in the Band” or “Tina — the Tina Turner Musical,” for which she wrote the book.
Best is the major reason to see the comedy half of “The Hot Wing King.” It speaks to this play’s lopsidedness that his character has almost nothing to do with the drama side of “The Hot Wing King,” which proves that gay couples can be just as tiresome as straights. Cordell’s offstage wife won’t give him a divorce. His two sons, also unseen, think he has abandoned them. That guilt, for some reason, does not prevent this amateur chef from vehemently objecting to Dwayne’s young nephew, who has shown up to live with them. The barber Dwayne, on the other hand, shows all the adoptive paternal instincts of Arnold Beckoff from “Torch Song Trilogy.” Maybe that’s why Hall burdens these characters with Harvey Fierstein’s brand of schmaltz. As one of her characters explains it, “Daddies ain’t nothin’ but God’s babysitters….”
Jackson is very Mayor Pete in his portrayal, but with slightly more adventurous fashion sense. And Jeanlouis manages to make Cordell far more palatable than he is written. Fortunately, the nephew’s deadbeat dad (Eric B. Robinson Jr.) is no Mrs. Beckoff from “Torch Song Trilogy.” His homophobia doesn’t fuel the drama. It provides, in fact, one of Hall’s wryer “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” jokes. After mildly deriding the gay “lifestyle,” Robinson’s character walks off with Dwayne’s finest cashmere sweater.
Related stories from TheWrap:
'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' Theater Review: Meredith Willson's Classic Musical Gets a Major Rewrite
'We're Gonna Die' Theater Review: Quick, Pull the Plug Now!
'Dana H.' Theater Review: She Lip Syncs Her Way to Hell and Back
‘SNL’ Lampoons ‘Love Is Blind’… With a Coronavirus Quarantine Twist (Video)
Wouldn’t ya know that it would take the creative geniuses at “SNL” to make the best of the worldwide coronavirus crisis by adding a touch of romance.
Introducing “Love Is Blind: Quarantine Edition.”
In this “SNL” sketch that was cut for time, a Hazmat-suited Alex Moffat and Melissa Villasenor play Nick and Vanessa Lachey, the hosts of the Netflix dating show where singles get engaged without ever meeting face to face.
“They have to get to know each other in isolated windowless pods,” the announcer says. “They all share something in common — not only are they TRULY desperate to get married; they’re also being quarantined because of exposure to the coronavirus.”
Also Read: 'SNL': Democratic Candidates Crash Pence's Coronavirus Press Conference (Video)
The couples introduce themselves to their prospective partner through a wall, sharing how they each became exposed. After brief conversation, they are madly in love.
“I love our connection!” Heidi Gardner beams.
“I never felt this way before, just like, light-headed. I have the shivers,” Kyle Mooney responds with concern.
“I wish I could be there to hug you because I’m a hugger. And also I don’t wash my hands and I put my fingers in my mouth,” guest host John Mulaney — who is hooked up to an IV — tells Ego Nwoodim.
Check out how their fairy tale romance evolves and if they live happily ever after in the clip above.
Related stories from TheWrap:
'SNL': Democratic Candidates Crash Pence's Coronavirus Press Conference (Video)
Watch 'SNL' Star Chloe Fineman Impersonate Scarlett Johansson – Right Next to Colin Jost (Video)
‘Doctor Who': 13th Doctor Will Face the Daleks in the Next Holiday Special
“Doctor Who” Series 12 ended with the Doctor in a very bad spot. But it’s about to get even worse, because showrunner Chris Chibnall has announced that when “Doctor Who” returns in December for its holiday special, it will be time for Jodie Whitaker to face off against the Doctor’s most hated nemesis: the Daleks.
“We can’t leave the Doctor there! On that cliffhanger!” wrote Chibnall in a statement released by BBC. “Well, we did. But rest assured, the Doctor and her friends will be back for a one-off extended special around Christmas and New Year. (I don’t know when they’re going to put it on yet, otherwise we’d tell you!). There will be Daleks. There will be exterminations. Thrills, laughter, tears. You know. The usual. See you at the end of the year.”
It has been a tradition for “Doctor Who” to release a special episode at year’s end since the show’s return in 2005. For several years, the special was named a “Christmas Special” with a story fitted to the yuletide festivities. But when Chibnall and Whitaker’s run on the show started in 2018, their first special, “Resolution,” took a New Year’s theme and was released on New Year’s Day 2019. Expect this special to also abandon the Christmas concept.
Also Read: Jodie Whittaker to Return to 'Doctor Who' for Another Season
Christmas or not, the December holiday specials have historically been major episodes of “Doctor Who,” introducing new companions or bringing back infamous villains. The specials have also marked the final episodes of the last three actors to play the Doctor: David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi. The next special, which will be called “Revolution of the Daleks,” will join “Resolution” as only the second episode of the Whitaker era to feature the Daleks, who were first introduced in the show’s second-ever serial back in 1963.
“Doctor Who” airs on BBC America in the U.S. and BBC One in the U.K. All episodes of the revived series will be available to stream on HBO Max when it launches in May.
Related stories from TheWrap:
Jodie Whittaker to Return to 'Doctor Who' for Another Season
HBO Max Lands Streaming Rights to BBC's 'Doctor Who,' 'Top Gear,' 'The Office' and 'Luther'
Chuck D Says Flavor Flav’s Cease and Desist Letter to Sanders Campaign Is ‘Not About Bernie’
Public Enemy Frontman Chuck D opened up about the cease and desist letter sent by his former rap partner Flavor Flav to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign, saying in a series of tweets Sunday that Flav’s issue is “not about BERNIE.”
Flav’s attorney sent a letter Friday to Team Sanders, telling them to stop using his likeness and Public Enemy’s name for his campaign. (Sanders’ campaign had announced a stop in Los Angeles last week with a poster using the title of Public Enemy’s famed song “Fight the Power” as a call to action for his campaign. The poster also said the rally will be Bernie Sanders and Public Enemy.)
Chuck D, who has publicly endorsed Sanders for the Democratic nominee for president, admonished those who ascribed the cease and desist letter to any perceived distaste by Flav of Sanders’ candidacy. Instead, he says that Flav isn’t politically involved.
Also Read: Public Enemy's Flavor Flav Sends Cease and Desist Letter to Bernie Sanders
“It’s not about BERNIE with Flav… he don’t know the difference between Barry Sanders or Bernie Sanders, he don’t know either,” Chuck D tweeted, referencing an incident earlier this weekend when country singer Garth Brooks wore a Barry Sanders football jersey during a performance in Detroit, causing some to mistake it for an endorsement of the senator rather than a shoutout to the Detroit Lions legend.
“I don’t attack FLAV on what he don’t know,” Chuck D continued. “I gotta leave him at the crib so y’all trying to fill his persona with some political aplomb is absolutely stupid. Obviously I understand his craziness after all this damn time.”
Chuck D will perform on Sunday evening at a Bernie Sanders rally in Los Angeles as part of a spinoff group called Public Enemy Radio. While the poster includes the word “Radio” in the Public Enemy logo in smaller font, the news of the performance still brought out a response from Flav through his lawyers.
Also Read: Joe Biden Wins South Carolina Democratic Primary; Sanders Is Distant Second
“Sanders has promised to ‘Fight the Power’ with hip hop icons Public Enemy – but this Rap Icon will not be performing at the Sanders Rally,” Flavor Flav’s cease-and-desist letter sent Saturday read.
“To be clear Flav and, by extension, the Hall of Fame hip hop act Public Enemy with which his likeness and name have become synonymous has not endorsed any political candidate in this election cycle and any suggestion to the contrary is plainly untrue. The continued publicizing of this grossly misleading narrative is, at a minimum, careless and irresponsible if not intentionally misleading.”
Related stories from TheWrap:
Public Enemy's Flavor Flav Sends Cease and Desist Letter to Bernie Sanders
February Box Office Is Up From Last Year… but Only Because of Leap Day
Estimates for the February box office show a small uptick from last year’s slump… but only because 2020 had an extra day to add to the monthly total.
According to estimates from Comscore, calendar grosses for February finished at $644.7 million, up 2.6% from last year’s $628.3 million. But without the grosses from Leap Day on Saturday, February would have finished with a $600 million total. Either way, this is the second straight year that February grosses have fallen below $700 million after climbing above that mark from 2014-18.
At the start of the month, February totals were expected to be well above $700 million thanks to strong numbers from “Birds of Prey” and “Sonic the Hedgehog.” But “Birds of Prey” has fallen short of expectations despite positive word of mouth, with a running domestic total of just $78.7 million. That has left “Sonic” as the month’s top grosser with $123.3 million.
Also Read: Could 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Speed Paramount's Recovery at the Box Office?
March is expected to be a better month for the box office, but will begin the year-over-year drop predicted throughout the industry, as there are no films like “Captain Marvel” that are expected to be billion-dollar hits. In its place are a series of films expected to make solid openings like “Onward,” “I Still Believe” and “A Quiet Place – Part II”; but a chance at $100 million-plus opening won’t come until the release of “Mulan” at the end of the month.
Related stories from TheWrap:
How Bad Was Disney's Box Office Before Bob Iger Turned It Around?
Will 'The Invisible Man' Become a Box Office Hit No One Sees Coming?
'Emma' Sets Per-Screen Average Record, as 'Parasite' Nears $50 Million at Indie Box Office
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