This combination photo shows director Ron Howard at the Kaleidoscope 5: LIGHT event in Culver City, Calif., on May 6, 2017, left, and opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. Howard's production company announced Thursday, June 1, 2017, that the Oscar-winning director's next project would be a documentary on famed Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. (AP Photo/File)
LOS ANGELES (AP) --
Following his successful Beatles documentary, Ron Howard is sticking with music. The Oscar-winner is directing a documentary about Luciano Pavarotti, the Italian tenor who rose to superstar status.
Howard's Imagine Entertainment and White Horse Pictures announced the untitled project Thursday.
Pavarotti transcended opera to become a leading tenor. Howard says Pavarotti's life is full of great drama and contradictions.
The tenor became a best-selling classical artist, with more than 100 million records sold, and he had the first classical album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts. He died from pancreatic cancer in 2007 at age 71.
The untitled documentary does not have a release date.
Howard's last film, "The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years," won the Grammy Award for best music film.
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
