His name was Michael Aday. Better known by his stage name Meat Loaf, the bat out of hell who once proclaimed he would do anything for love (but wouldn't do that) was gone when the morning of January 21st came. He was best known for his powerful, wide-ranging voice and theatrical live shows. Outside of music, he appeared in several movies from the excellent, to awful, and television shows, typically as himself.
A trailer announced the return of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Oscar Isaac stars as the Egyptian-tinted alter ego of Marc Spector in a Disney+ show (#13) set to debut in March. This rich white man beats up criminals, drawing inevitable comparisons to another vigilante superhero with a flying mouse theme. The death of one of the cast (#9) brought further attention.
On January 14, an volcanic eruption occurred on one of Tonga's many islands. The blast was reportedly heard as far away as Anchorage, Alaska, 9,700 km (6,000 mi) away (some two hours later, due to the speed of sound), with pressure fluctuations recorded as far away as the United Kingdom (almost literally the other side of the world), the eruption was so large that the there is a global cooling effect of 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) for the next 6 months, and the southern hemi-sphere will experience purple sunsets, due to the volume of ash. At time of writing (12:42 UTC, on January 23) there are 5 deaths, two from a tsunami in Peru. However, with contact with Tonga only established on January 20, with the arrival of aid, expect more news in the days to come.
The second episode of the second season aired on January 16, somehow the Wikipedia entry got three times more views than the episode (officially). I guess this is proof of the power of streaming...
Betty White: A Celebration was released on January 17, being forced to change the original subtitle "100 Years Young – A Birthday Celebration" because White died on New Year's Eve, 17 days short of her centennial. The documentary shows well how long her acting career was for featuring friends across generations, from Clint Eastwood to Tina Fey.
January already had three deaths in the acting world, the Frenchman whose career included turns as Hannibal Lecter and Yves Saint Laurent (and will have a posthumous role in #13), a comedian who won Emmys for Life with Louie and Baskets, and the father of Full House who also had a raunchy stand-up act.
The latest and the next Marvel Cinematic Universe releases. Adequately, in the animated world the two characters have fought together and against each other.
The writer of (possibly) the most famous speech of all time would have been 93 on January 15. Whilst this is the day before this report's date range, the viewcount appears to have spilt over.
The latest Netflix scary show to gather attention, a James Wan-produced adaptation of the eponymous podcast where Dina Shihabi (pictured) and Mamoudou Athie research the catalogue of a missing filmmaker.
Usually, horror films come out in October, when there is most demand. So this is either 3 months late, or 9 early, depending on your outlook. Or maybe this is a clever strategy - no competition from other horror films. Who knows? Though at least Scream was deemed better than the films usually released in January.
You might think you know what you are going to get from this show, based on a DC comics character, starring wrestler-turned-actor John Cena, but the credits open with a big dance number to make you think again.
Playoffs are set for Africa's premier football championship, happening in Cameroon after a six-month delay. Defending champions Algeria embarrassed themselves and crashed in the group stage with no victories (Ghana, who had one of the continent's best World Cup campaigns, also went nowhere).
Schafer, who plays Jules in #6, had her first big break as a plaintiff in a lawsuit against North Carolina's transphobic Bathroom Bill. While Jules has been a main character in Euphoria since its premiere, this is Schafer's first appearance on the Report.
#3 has again Kit Harington as a guy who knows nothing. Though the post-credits has Whitman finding the Ebony Blade to enable him to become a hero sometime in the MCU.