Hugh Jackman, star of the upcoming film "The Greatest Showman," discusses the film during the 20th Century Fox presentation at CinemaCon 2017 at Caesars Palace on Thursday, March 30, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) --
"City of Stars" might still be stuck in your head, but the Oscar-winning "La La Land" songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul already have another big screen musical on the horizon: "The Greatest Showman" starring Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum.
20th Century Fox on Thursday unveiled a fever dream of a trailer at CinemaCon for the musical drama, set to bow Christmas Day. The Michael Gracey-directed P.T. Barnum story looks like a slightly less kinetic "Moulin Rouge" but with all the requisite bright colors and elaborate song and dance numbers.
Jackman was on-site in Las Vegas to introduce the trailer. He called the film, in-the-making for seven years, a pop period piece of hyper-reality.
"The Greatest Showman" also stars Zac Efron, Zendaya, Michelle Williams and Rebecca Ferguson.
Pepsi soft drinks in plastic bottles are on sale at a grocery store in New York on Weds., Nov. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
PepsiCo confirmed Friday that it's ending some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, even as rival Coca-Cola voiced support for its own inclusion efforts.
In a memo sent to employees, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company will no longer set goals for minority representation in its managerial roles or supplier base. The company will also align its sponsorships to events and groups that promote business growth, he said.
Laguarta wrote that inclusion remains important to PepsiCo, whose brands include Gatorade, Lay's potato chips, Doritos, Mountain Dew as well as Pepsi. The Purchase, New York-based company's chief diversity officer will transition to a broader role focused on employee engagement, leadership development and ensuring an inclusive culture, he said.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last month, U.S. government agencies, companies and schools have rushed to reevaluate policies and programs they adopted with the goal of reducing discrimination against members of minority groups, women and LGBTQ+ people.
Trump ended DEI programs within the federal government and has warned schools to end DEI programs or risk losing federal money.
PepsiCo's rollback came as Coca-Cola reaffirmed support for its DEI efforts.
In its annual report, Atlanta-based Coke warned that its business could be negatively affected if it is unable to attract employees that reflect its broad range of customers.
"Failure to maintain a corporate culture that fosters innovation, collaboration and inclusion … could disrupt our operations and adversely affect our business and our future success," the company said.
Coca-Cola has set a goal of having women in 50% of its senior leadership roles by... Read More
