Absence

Credit: Aleksey Kurguzov/Shutterstock The pandemic has exacerbated the problem of school absences. When schools reopened, fewer pupils went to school than before the COVID-19 school closures. In England, 25% of students were consistently absent—missing 10% or more of classes—in the 2022 autumn term. Before the pandemic, that number…

Tom Cruise got plenty of attention at the 2023 Oscars, though he was not even present at the ceremony. The star and producer of Top Gun: Maverick, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including best picture, did not attend the ceremony held Sunday at the Dolby Theatre. Cruise, who received a best picture nomination as a Maverick producer, has been busy with production on the eighth film in his long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, reported The Hollywood Reporter. But footage of Cruise from the movie was…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeScream VI has been released – but, sadly for fans, it’s the first one without Neve Campbell.Campbell, who had played Sidney Prescott in every Scream film to date, announced in June 2021 she had quit the sixth instalment as she wasn’t getting paid what she thought she deserved.“Sadly, I won’t be making the next Scream film,” Campbell said in a statement to Variety. “As a woman I have…

PayPal Holdings Inc. said Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen will step down following a leave of absence for health reasons, amid a shuffle of upper management at the online-payments platform.Gabrielle Rabinovitch, who was named acting chief financial officer when Jorgensen’s leave of absence began in September, will continue in that role, PayPal said in a statement. She is also treasurer, and senior vice president of investor relations. Last month, PayPal said longtime Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman will…

“Today” co-anchor Hoda Kotb has been absent from the morning show for more than a week, sparking a wave of confusion and concern among viewers.The veteran broadcast journalist most recently appeared live on the NBC news program on Feb. 17, according to Newsweek. She also participated in the Feb. 20 President’s Day episode of “Today,” which was pretaped on Feb. 17.So far, Kotb’s prolonged absence has gone unexplained as some of her NBC News colleagues — including Craig Melvin, Tom Llamas, Willie Geist and Sheinelle Jones —…

Image via Marvel Studios Michael Peña is a scene-stealer even when he’s not in the movie. One of the biggest talking points ever since Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hit theaters last week has been the absence of Peña’s fan-favorite Luis from the familial adventures. Director Peyton Reed has said his piece on the matter, but fans aren’t buying it. Reed has revealed, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, that Luis was never in the plans for Quantumania, unfortunately. As much as the director loves the…

It was common knowledge back in August that Neve Campbell — who has been playing Sidney Prescott in the Scream franchise since 1996 — would not be reprising her role in the upcoming Scream VI. Along with Campbell, Friends‘ Courteney Cox and Buffy the Vampire Slayers‘ David Arquette returned for Scream (2022), but while Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers lived to fight another day, beloved fan-favorite Dewey Riley sang his swan song. Campbell’s exit from Scream VI has been seen as “controversial,” but the 49-year-old…

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. is bringing HBO Max back to Amazon . com Inc.’s streaming portal, reversing a decision made last year by HBO’s previous owner to reduce its reliance on third-party platforms for subscribers. As a result of the agreement between Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO Max will be offered on Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Video Channels platform for $14.99 a month, the same price it is available to consumers via other distribution platforms. Warner Bros. Discovery…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeSylvester Stallone has cleared up any confusion regarding his absence from the forthcoming Creed III. The 76-year-old Oscar-nominated actor announced in June that he would not be reprising his iconic role as Rocky Balboa in the Creed II sequel. Earlier this week, he addressed the decision as a “regretful situation”, further explaining that the film “ was taken in a direction that is…

Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse LoughreyGet our The Life Cinematic email for freeSylvester Stallone has spoken about his absence from Michael B Jordan’s forthcoming Creed 3, calling it a “regretful situation”.It was revealed in June that Stallone would no longer reprise his iconic role as Rocky Balboa in the ninth instalment of the Rocky franchise.In earlier interviews, Stallone had said he “bowed out” of Creed III because he “didn’t know if there was any part” for…