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New York filmmaker Christian Nilsson has revealed how he made a zero-budget horror movie the number one film in America during the coronavirus lockdown.

Nilsson wrote on Facebook to explain how he and YouTuber Eric Tabach sent their Zoom-shot short film Unsubscribe to the top of the US box office after they bought out an entire cinema in Westhampton Beach, New York.

We joked any film put in a theatre would instantly top the box office, he said. Realising the unique situation presented a loophole, we hatched a plan.

Read more: Analysts warn of devastating box office plunge

Within 24 hours, Nilsson had written the script for 29-minute short Unsubscribe, in which five YouTubers join a video call and are haunted by a mysterious troll.

With a small cast made up of four YouTube stars and Ozark actor Charlie Tahan, the movie was shot entirely over Zoom a week later.

'Unsubscribe'. (Credit: Facebook/Christian Nilsson)

Nilsson added: If we rented out a theatre (what the film distribution world calls four-walling), we could keep every dollar made from ticket sales.

If we bought every seat, the money would funnel right back into our own pocket.

Nilsson and Tabach did exactly that, buying out every seat in the cinema, sending the zero-budget movie right to the top of the box office charts with its $25,000 (20,000) haul.

Read more: Drive-in cinemas heading to the UK

The movie managed to secure official recognition from IMDb and therefore is now listed as the top film in the US via Box Office Mojo, ahead of indie horror The Wretched and Kevin James thriller Becky, which have been playing at drive-in cinemas.

Christian Nillson and Eric Tabach. (Credit: Facebook/Christian Nilsson)

Nilsson told Patch: We saw an absurd loophole in the system that at any other time would be impossible to exploit and thought it would be funny.

Last year, the number one film at this time was The Secret Life of Pets 2. This year, it was a zero-budget horror film made over Zoom.

Read more: How will social distancing work when cinemas re-open?

Cinemas all over the world currently remain closed due to coronavirus, though major chain Cineworld/Regal has announced it intends to open doors on 10 July.

Christopher Nolans mind-bending sci-fi Tenet currently slated to arrive on 31 July is expected to be the first major blockbuster of the summer when multiplexes are able to re-open.

Unsubscribe is available to watch on-demand via Vimeo.

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How a filmmaker's zero-budget horror topped the box office in virus-hit America - Yahoo! Voices

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Like the A-10 Warthog, the Su-25 makes extensive use of titanium, using the metals lightweight and high strength to protect the pilot. The pilot sits in a bathtub-like armored cockpit, surrounded by welded titanium plates. This armor protection is absolutely essential. Close air support airframes need to fly relatively slow and low to target ground-based troops and tanks and are therefore much more exposed and at a greater risk from small-arms fire and surface-to-air missiles than their fighter jet or bomber compatriots.

Also, like the A-10, Sukhois Su-25 comes equipped with an underslung 30-millimeter cannon below the cockpit. The large cannon is loaded with 250 armor-piercing rounds that can take out main battle tanks in addition to thin-skinned vehicles like the ubiquitous technical often encountered on modern battlefields around the world.

The Su-25 also has five hardpoints under each wing for carrying a variety of munitions, including precision and unguided bombs, as well as air-to-ground missiles and rocket pods. During the Su-25s early years, a number of failures occurred due to firing full rocket salvos and may have been caused by the jets engines ingesting hot rocket exhaust gasses.

Service History

The Su-25 platform was completed in time for service with the Soviet Union during the Soviet-Afghan war, a geographic location where close air support is absolutely essential. The jet also saw very limited service with Iraq, who imported the airframes from the Soviet Union. The jets were woefully underpowered and outgunned compared to the American fighter jets they faced and likely did not score any combat kills.

One of the combat theaters where the Su-25 saw widespread service was during the First Chechen War. During combat, the Su-25 was criticized for using a large number of unguided munitions in dense urban areas and likely caused extensive civilian casualties. The platform suffered few combat losses thanks to the dearth of effective Chechen air defenses.

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Postscript

The Su-25 design may be enjoying a bit of a renaissance. A company in small post-Soviet Georgia says that it is primed and ready to make the design. It may be very ready to restart production, as Georgia was the Su-25s original build location. Though the company claims to have the necessary capacity, both in terms of human capital and industrial capacity, it remains unclear if there is a demand for the older Soviet design on todays arms markets. If there is, then the Georgian firm could cash in; if not, then it could be an economic black hole.

Caleb Larson is a defense writer for the National Interest. He holds a Master of Public Policy and covers U.S. and Russian security, European defense issues, and German politics and culture.

Image: Wikimedia

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Meet the Su-25: Russia's Sort-of A-10 Warthog - Yahoo News

The University of Virginia has made changes to the redesign of its athletics logo after receiving significant blowback. The controversy arose because one element of the logo was designed to mimic the design of the serpentine walls found on campus walls that once were built to hide slaves.

The updated branding of the schools V-Sabre logo and Cavalier Shield was unveiled on April 24 and featured detail on the grip of the sabres that resemble that of the serpentine walls.

According to The Cavalier Daily, the walls were built in the 1820s and designed by university founder Thomas Jefferson to hide enslaved laborers from the university community and muffle the sounds of their daily life.

Virginia athletic director Carla Williams, who was hired in October 2017, announced the changes to the logos on Tuesday and said in a statement she was not previously aware of the historical perspective of the walls.

After the release of our new logos on April 24th, I was made aware of the negative connotation between the serpentine walls and slavery, Williams said. I was not previously aware of the historical perspective indicating the original eight-foot-high walls were constructed to mask the institution of slavery and enslaved laborers from public view.

Over the last few weeks, I have worked to better educate myself and that education will continue. There was no intent to cause harm, but we did, and for that I apologize to those who bear the pain of slavery in our history. As such, we have redesigned the logos to remove that detail. All other aspects of the logos will remain the same.

You can see below where the curves were removed from the grip of the sabre handle in the logo:

The university said in a news release that its athletic department has started the process of replacing the logos with new versions that return to straight-line handles.

The updated logos were part of a rebranding Virginia athletics underwent with Nike. The V-Sabre will continue to be Virginias primary logo with the Cavalier Shield mark as a new secondary logo.

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University of Virginia changes logo, removing design linked to school's history with slavery - Yahoo Sports

HONOLULU (AP) Twenty-one travelers arrested on suspicion of violating Hawaii's coronavirus quarantine order have agreed to leave the state because of threats, a member of the group said Monday.

Kendra Carter said some of the harassment involved death threats.

People started rolling up to our house calling us all types of names. Telling us to starve and a whole bunch of stuff. Weve been getting death threats in our inboxes, Carter said. People telling us to get the (expletive) off the island.

Carter wasn't arrested with the others last week because police decided to let her and another woman stay with their children.

Arresting them would have meant calling child protective services, which would have meant exposing more people, Hawaii County police Lt. Rio Amon-Wilkins has said.

The groups members spent two years traveling Central America and are misunderstood, Carter said.

People like to call us a cult because we like to live a certain lifestyle, she said about their vegan diet and a belief that everybody is different shades of brown.

Carter said the group didnt realize that Hawaiis mandatory 14-day quarantine on all people arriving in the state would be strictly enforced.

Court documents say members of the group were seen at a beach park on June 8. A video posted on YouTube showed their leader, Eligio Bishop, petting a sea turtle, police said in the documents.

Bishop, 38, pleaded no contest Monday to the quarantine violation, said Hawaii County Prosecuting Attorney Mitch Roth.

We take our quarantine and our safety very seriously, he said. Were not going tolerate people violating the law.

The group probably spent more time in jail on their trip to Hawaii than they spent outside of jail," Roth said.

Bishops attorney, Evans Smith, couldnt immediately be reached for comment.

Attorney Donald Wilkerson, who represents two other men arrested with the group, said Monday the other cases will be dismissed but would be refiled if they return to Hawaii and violate the quarantine.

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Theyre leaving Hawaii, Wilkerson said of his clients, Denedric Johnson, 23, of Texas and Jacob Benton, 24, of California. My clients intend to go back to the mainland.

Members of the group, known as Carbon Nation, which Carter described as a nature-loving family, were so excited to experience Hawaii that they they decided to stop at the beach before going to their Big Island rental home, she said.

The quarantine doesn't allow travelers to leave a residence or hotel room for any reason except medical emergencies.

We apologized for it and were still apologizing for it, Carter said.

Bishop's court file includes a copy of an Order for Self-Quarantine that arriving travelers receive at the airport. It shows what appear to be his initials and signature verifying that he would abide by the quarantine, including going straight to the residence from the airport.

The quarantine has helped Hawaii maintain relatively low infection rates compared to other parts of the U.S.

As of Monday, a total 736 people have tested positive since the outbreak began. There have been 17 deaths.

Even after their arrests, the group had planned to remain in Hawaii, Carter said. But the threats led to their decision to leave, she said.

Jessica Lani Rich, president of Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii, which provides help to tourists, said Monday her organization is working on getting them plane tickets back to California.

A grant is funding a flight assistance program for people who break quarantine, she said.

This is the biggest amount that we have spent but we are concerned obviously about the coronavirus spreading and when you have such a large group of people coming to Hawaii safety and security is our top priority as well, she said.

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Travelers accused of breaking quarantine set to leave Hawaii - Yahoo News

The parent company of Uncle Bens rice said Wednesday that "now was the right time to evolve" the brand, including visually, but did not release details of what exactly would change or when. The move follows a similar announcement earlier in the day by Quaker Oats, the company that owns Aunt Jemimas syrup.

Mars Inc., the parent company, said in a release that as a global brand, "we know we have a responsibility to take a stand in helping to put an end to racial bias and injustices."

Racism has no place in society. We stand in solidarity with the Black community, our Associates and our partners in the fight for social justice, Mars said. We know to make the systemic change needed, its going to take a collective effort from all of us individuals, communities and organizations of all sizes around the world.

Uncle Bens was founded as Converted Brand Rice by co-founders Erich Huzenlaub and Gordon Harwell, according to the brands website. The name Uncle Bens began being used in the 1940s after Harwell and his business partner discussed a famed Texas farmer, referred to as Uncle Ben, known for his rice.

The image of the Black man on the box was modeled after Frank Brown, a waiter at the Chicago restaurant where Harwell had the idea, according to the website.

Critics have pointed out the problematic use of a Black man to be the face of a white company, noting that Black men were often referred to as boy or uncle to avoid calling them Mr. during the country's Jim Crow era.

Uncle Bens had a re-branding in 2007, when Mars portrayed the Uncle Ben character as a businessman, according to The New York Times.

Quaker Oats said Wednesday that it plans to change its Aunt Jemima syrup brand after acknowledging the characters roots in racial stereotypes. The 130-year-old brand features a Black woman who was originally dressed as a minstrel character.

Brands have faced intensified scrutiny in recent weeks as protests have sprung up around the world following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis on May 25. Consumers have been vocal in their expectations that companies take a moral stance on racism and systemic injustices against Black people.

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Uncle Ben's rice: 'Now is the right time' to change - Yahoo News

Hundreds of people lined up outside a temporary unemployment benefits office in the Kentucky Capitol on Wednesday to speak to a representative in person in hope of claiming their unemployment benefits.

A video that depicts a line stretching through the massive parking lot of the Capitol in Frankfort and around the block was posted on Twitter by Daniel Desrochers, a reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader. It had so far drawn around 8,000 retweets.

As states begin to reopen after the coronavirus-induced lockdowns, out-of-work Americans have made beelines for their labor departments, many of which have struggled to process a surge in unemployment claims that has overwhelmed systems creating backlogs that have left many applicants waiting as long as three months to receive benefits.

The pandemic has "made it difficult to help Kentuckians in person," Marjorie Arnold, chief of staff of the Kentucky Labor Cabinet, acknowledged in the Courier-Journal newspaper of Louisville.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

State police estimated that people would have to wait in the line outside the Capitol for eight hours before receiving assistance, according to Desrochers. Those who arrived after 9 a.m. were sent away. They were told to provide their information and expect a call back.

At 6:40 p.m., the line was "still out there," Desrochers tweeted.

Around 44 million Americans have filed for first-time unemployment benefits since the coronavirus pandemic hit, as lockdowns closed businesses and paralyzed the economy. The national unemployment rate now sits at 13.3 percent, down from 14.7 percent in April.

Kentucky has been hit particularly hard by coronavirus-related job losses. Since mid-March, 45 percent of the state's workforce 927,000 workers has filed for unemployment benefits for the first time, according to the Courier-Journal. As of Monday, over 7,500 unemployment claims filed in March had still not been processed.

Kentucky has not been the only state to see long lines for unemployment claims. Last week, hundreds of people lined up on the campus of Alabama State University in Montgomery to file unemployment claims in person, WIAT-TV of Birmingham reported. Some even waited overnight to ensure that they would be among the first in the line.

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The Alabama Labor Department continues to recommend that people use its website or hotline, but some residents said they struggled to get assistance.

"I haven't been able to get through on the phone lines, because even if you wait until they open the phone lines, which is at 8 a.m., you can't get in it already says, oh, we've got too many, you know, too many calls," Angelica Hugely, an Alabama resident, told WIAT.

Kentucky's governor office has yet to respond to a request for comment.

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Some out-of-work Americans are waiting in line overnight hoping to get their claims processed - Yahoo News

At the White House on Monday, President Trump spoke about testing for the coronavirus in the U.S., saying, If we stopped testing right now, wed have very few cases, if any.

DONALD TRUMP: Again, our testing is so far advanced. It's so much bigger and better than any other country that we're going to have more cases. We're always going to have more cases. And as I said, this morning, that's probably the downside of having good testing is you find a lot of cases that other countries, who don't even test, don't have. If you don't test, you don't have any cases.

If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any, but we do. We're at a level that Mike is going to talk about that's so high, but we will show more cases when other countries have far more cases than we do. They just don't talk about it, but the testing, on the other hand, is very good. Because we find out where it's going, how it's going, who it's going to, and we take care of it.

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Trump on coronavirus testing: If we stopped testing right now, wed have very few cases, if any - Yahoo News

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will not be happy if NFL players take a knee in protest during the 2020 season. Brees told Yahoo Finance he viewed the gesture as disrespectful to the flag, which is something he will never agree with.

Brees, 41, also compared the sacrifices of those in the military to the sacrifices made by those who fought for civil rights.

Brees full answer:

I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country. Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States. I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during World War II, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corp. Both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, thats what I think about. And in many cases, that brings me to tears, thinking about all that has been sacrificed. Not just those in the military, but for that matter, those throughout the civil rights movements of the 60s, and all that has been endured by so many people up until this point. And is everything right with our country right now? No, it is not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect to the flag with your hand over your heart, is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together, we can all do better and that we are all part of the solution.

Brees comments about disrespecting the flag come days after Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn explained how Colin Kaepernicks protest was misunderstood. In a wide-ranging interview with LZ Granderson of the Los Angeles Times, Lynn explained Kaepernick was protesting criminal justice reform and police brutality, not the flag.

People completely misunderstood Colin and what he was trying to do, Lynn said. People talked about disrespecting the flag . . . the flag covers a lot patriotism and civil rights and other things. And Colin was speaking out against the injustice and a lot of people didnt catch on to that because it was happening during the national anthem. They thought it was disrespectful to the flag. I was surprised by the number of people who didnt know why he was protesting. I got letters from people. I had people walk up to me and ask, Coach, what are you going to do if someone on your team protests? And I had to explain to them that Colin is taking a knee for criminal justice [reform] and police brutality and once you broke it down, they were like, Oh, we didnt know that. We thought he was protesting the flag. And that was the case for a lot of people I came across.

Kaepernick was inspired to take a knee during the national anthem after speaking to Nate Boyer, a retired Army Green Beret.

The death of George Floyd, and the protests surrounding his death, has sparked conversation over whether more NFL players will take a knee in 2020. A number of NFL players have spoken out following Floyds death, including Joe Burrow, D.K. Metcalf, Richard Sherman and Carson Wentz. Floyd died in police custody after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was seen on video forcing his knee into Floyds neck for nine minutes. Floyd repeatedly said he couldnt breathe throughout the video. Bystanders urged Chauvin to assist Floyd.

Saints receiver Michael Thomas appeared to respond to Brees comments Wednesday.

On Tuesday, a Blackout Tuesday hashtag circulated encouraging people to take a break from social media to reflect on racism. A number of athletes, celebrities, companies and sports teams took part in the movement, including Brees.

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Drew Brees addresses NFL players kneeling in 2020: 'I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag' - Yahoo Sports

On Thursday, the NBA announced a 22-team plan to resume the 2019-20 season in Orlando, Fla.

The plan passed by an overwhelming 29-1 vote amongteams, with the Portland Trail Blazers as the only organization to vote against it. Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, obviously, was one of the many in favor of the plan and discussed why Friday on Felger & Mazz.

"The point that seemed the most fair is not to give a team that was lagging farther behind in the East, and that was for example [the Charlotte Hornets] who are seven games back," Grousbeck said. "In the history of the NBA, no one has ever come from seven games back at this point in the season. And so, it's more fair to say no, we can only take so many teams because of safety.

"We don't want to have 500 more people with all 30 teams. We'd just have more of a chance of getting shut down because of the virus. So there was a line to be drawn, and we all decided 29-1 that this was the most fair line."

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With safety as the No. 1 concern going forward, it's a no-brainer to limit the teams heading down toWalt Disney World to only the ones that can fight for a playoff spot.

Grousbeck also suggested that the Eastern Conference No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks could be the C's first opponent when the league returns to action. The Celtics were preparing for a matchup in Milwaukee when the season was suspended in mid-March.

"I think our first game is going to be Milwaukee, which that would be interesting," Grousbeck said. "Because that's what the schedule looks like just from the current schedule. We don't have the new schedule yet. But we'll probably start right off with Milwaukee."

The C's currently have the No. 3 seed in the East as they prepare to return to the court.

You can hear the rest of what Grousbeck had to say in the video above.

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck offers thoughts on NBA's 22-team return plan originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

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Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck offers thoughts on NBA's 22-team return plan - Yahoo Sports

Over the past two days, President Trump has twice been asked how he plans to address the systemic racism in U.S. police departments spotlighted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and both times he has made clear that he believes the solution is a healthy economy.

In a Thursday radio interview with Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, Trump was asked about his reaction to the fact that just 36 percent of African-Americans say they trust local police, compared with 70 percent of whites. How do you change things? Kilmeade asked the president.

Well, I think its a very sad problem, Trump replied. As you know, as a Republican Im doing very well with African-Americans and with the vote, with the in polls and everything especially, I mean, I havent seen one very recently because you had the plague come in from China, so that changed things up, but we had the best economy ever. We had the best numbers for African-American employment and unemployment in history. Best homeownership, best everything. We had the best numbers in everything not only African-American, but the African-American numbers were great.

Kilmeade, who is friendly to Trump, briefly pressed the president further. But how do you handle the law enforcement part of this? How do you handle the law enforcement part of this?

Trump went off on another tangent in his answer, complaining that he didnt get enough credit for his remarks about Floyds death during an unrelated speech about space exploration. He did not address Kilmeades question about systemic changes.

Well, I think you have to get better than what theyve been doing. I mean, obviously that was a terrible thing, Trump replied. And Ive spoken about it numerous times in various speeches. And you know, its interesting, I spoke about it when we launched a very successful rocket a tremendous program that culminated on that day and obviously it goes on from there. But I then made a speech and it was a speech about the rocket, and I devoted 25 percent of the speech, probably, to what happened or more to what happened with respect to George George Floyd and it was ... and then you listen to news, He doesnt talk about George Floyd. The rocket went off, then I made a speech and I talked about George Floyd, but they said he didnt talk about George Floyd. Half, maybe even almost half of the speech, but a large portion of the speech was devoted exactly to that. And so, you know, with the media you basically basically no matter what you do, its never going to be good enough.

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On Friday at a White House press conference at which the president touted better-than-expected May job numbers, which he said represented a great day for Floyd despite the fact that the figures showed African-American unemployment continued to rise Trump was asked by PBS reporter Yamiche Alcindor about his plan to address systemic racism.

Our country is so strong, and thats what my plan is. Were going to have the strongest economy in the world. We are almost there now, he responded.

Trump who stoked a conspiracy theory that the first African-American president was not born in the United States, went to war with NFL players who during the national anthem protested police killings of African-Americans, and overturned an executive order put in place by Barack Obama forbidding the distribution of military surplus to police departments nationwide said on Twitter this week that he had done more for the black community than any president since Abraham Lincoln.

He is correct that African-American employment was at historic highs before the coronavirus pandemic struck, although those gains began during Obamas presidency. And while Trumps signing of the First Step Act was hailed by many African-Americans as an important accomplishment for criminal justice reform, his dismissal of the Obama administrations plan to address racism in police departments has been sharply criticized.

I can only assume its in keeping with whatever macho image he wants to convey to America, but this was a well-thought-out plan that came from the Obama-Biden administration, and I think to the extent that weve had any grace in Atlanta is that weve still been following that handbook, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told Yahoo News on Wednesday.

Were trying to build and legitimize relationships with our police and our communities long before theres a problem, she said. Having our police recruits volunteer at our youth center, having meaningful engagement and dialogue, having our police officers attend community meetings so that our community can call upon them for the good and the bad its working in Atlanta, and its unfortunate that Donald Trump would disregard something thats working well. Thats not leadership.

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Trump says the economy will cure the 'very sad problem' of police killing blacks - Yahoo News