In a Friday, April 21, 2017 file photo, Susan Sarandon arrives at the "Feud: Bette and Joan" FYC screening at The Ebell of Los Angeles. Organizers of the Woodstock Film Festival say Sarandon will receive the Maverick Award on Oct. 14 at the the annual film festival in New York's Hudson Valley. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
WOODSTOCK, NY (AP) --
Susan Sarandon will receive the Maverick Award at an annual film festival in New York's Hudson Valley.
Organizers of the Woodstock Film Festival say the star of such films as "Thelma and Louise" and "Bull Durham" will receive the award during the Oct. 11-15 event. She also will screen "Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story" for which she was executive producer.
Sarandon will receive the award Oct. 14 during a ceremony at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston, one of the host communities of the festival.
Previous recipients include Steve Buscemi and the late movie director Jonathan Demme.
Sarandon won an Academy Award in 1996 for best actress for her role in "Dead Man Walking."
Besides Kingston, the festival is hosted by nearby Woodstock, Rhinebeck, Rosendale, and Saugerties (SAW'-ger-teez).
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 โฆ 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
