RIAN JOHNSON

The latest wave of COVID-19 infections is leading to more hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S., and there are rising concerns about the emerging Omicron variant. CBS news correspondents Nikki Battiste and Debora Patta report from New York City and South Africa. Then, University of Virginia critical care and infectious disease physician and medical ICU director Dr. Taison Bell joins CBSN's Lana Zak to discuss the latest coronavirus news.

This week’s new entertainment releases include new music from producer and multiinstrumentalist Jack Antonoff and Billie Eilish, whose upcoming “Happier Than Ever” is the second studio album from the 19-year-old superstar.

FILE - Daniel Craig attends the "Knives Out" photo call on Nov. 15, 2019, in Los Angeles. Netflix said Wednesday, March 31, 2021, it has reached a deal for two sequels to Rian Johnson's acclaimed 2019 whodunit, "Knives Out." Johnson will direct with Daniel Craig returning as inspector Benoit Blanc. It also lands Netflix something it has dearly sought: the kind of major film franchises that traditional studios have long depended on. Made for $40 million, “Knives Out” grossed $311.4 million in worldwide ticket sales and landed Johnson an Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay.

FILE - Christopher Plummer arrives at the Oscars on March 4, 2018, in Los Angeles. Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award winner in history, has died. Plummer, the dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von Trapp in the film The Sound of Music and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award winner in history, has died. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)It’s one of the great Hollywood ironies that Christopher Plummer didn’t like the film that made him a legend. Please.”Born in Toronto in 1929, Plummer was the great grandson of Canadian Prime Minister John Abbott and fell for the theater at a young age.

This image released by Netflix shows, from second left, Norm Lewis, Clarke Peters Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Delroy Lindo in a scene from "Da 5 Bloods," named one of the top 10 films of the year by The American Film Institute. (David Lee/Netflix via AP)The American Film Institute on Monday announced its top 10 films of the year, including Pixar’s jazz themed “Soul” and two of Chadwick Boseman’s final films: the August Wilson adaptation “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” and Spike Lee’s Vietnam drama “Da 5 Bloods,” both of which are Netflix films. AFI also selected Warner Bros.’ Black Panther Party film “Judas and the Black Messiah” which will have its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on Feb. 1. The AFI also named its top 10 television shows, including Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit,” the Disney+ phenomenon “The Mandalorian” and Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso.”The selection jury included filmmakers Rian Johnson and Lulu Wang. The group also included a special citation for “Hamilton.”In lieu of the annual luncheon celebrating the honorees, AFI will hold a virtual benediction on Feb. 26 streaming on YouTube and the AFI website.

are developing a "Star Wars" project for Lucasfilm, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Dillard directed the 2016 horror film "Sleight," and followed that up in 2019 with "Sweetheart." He recently directed an episode of the upcoming Amazon series "Utopia," and is in pre-production on the Korean war film "Devotion." Related: Baby Yoda 'Star Wars' toys launch unstoppable campaign of cutenessOwens served as a writer and story editor on Marvel Television's "The Defenders," "Luke Cage," and "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." THR does say specifically that although Owens has a connection to Marvel, this project is unrelated to Marvel Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige's "Star Wars" film, as well as "The Last Jedi" writer/director Rian Johnson's promised trilogy.

Rian Johnson, the writer and director of "Knives Out," revealed that Apple will permit film productions to use its products onscreen, but with one very big caveat villains can't have an iPhone on camera. "Not 'cause it's lascivious or something, but because it's gonna screw me on the next mystery movie that I write. "Apple, they let you use iPhones in movies, but, and this is very pivotal, if you're ever watching a mystery movie, bad guys cannot have iPhones on camera," he said. During the scene, Jamie Lee Curtis' character Linda Drysdale can be seen with an iPhone, prompting Johnson to reveal the behind-the-scenes secret. However, the ultimate bad guy in the film, Ransom, played by Chris Evans, does not have an iPhone in the film.

John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Oscar Isaac in "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" coming to theaters Dec. 20th, 2019. "'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker' suffers from a frustrating lack of imagination, but concludes this beloved saga with fan-focused devotion," the site says of the film. When Disney purchased Lucasfilm, the owner of Star Wars, in 2012, the company decided it wanted more creative control over the future of the franchise. It announced that the only canon elements to Star Wars were the six feature films and the animated series "Clone Wars." Meanwhile, Atom Tickets said the film is currently selling nearly four times the amount of tickets as "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Solo: A Star Wars Story" combined for the presale period.

That's the premise for Rian Johnson's latest film "Knives Out." The flick, which has been billed as a comedic whodunit, has been warmly received by critics ahead of its Wednesday release. "Knives Out" currently holds a 96% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many praising the films' use of old murder-mystery tropes, its suspenseful storytelling and its stellar ensemble. Analysts currently project the film to make around $20 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, once it reaches 3,300 theaters on Wednesday. Here's a rundown of what critics have said of "Knives Out" ahead of its opening:

David Benioff and D. B. Weiss attend the "Game Of Thrones" season 8 premiere on April 3, 2019 in New York City. "We love Star Wars," Benioff and Weiss said in a joint statement to Deadline. Getting to talk about Star Wars with him and the current Star Wars team was the thrill of a lifetime, and we will always be indebted to the saga that changed everything." It was also recently announced that Marvel's Kevin Feige would also be throwing his hat into the Star Wars ring. "We hope to include them in the journey forward when they are able to step away from their busy schedule to focus on Star Wars."

So, when writer-director Rian Johnson called him to ask if he'd be interested being the eighth episode of the Skywalker family saga, "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," Heinrichs was a bit taken aback. I think every person who takes on a new episode in 'Star Wars,' in the best way possible, wants to take it to the next step. "Rian always described the casino as like a Monte Carlo for galaxy a------s. The rich 1 percent of the galaxy," Heinrichs said with a laugh. "The reason he did it that way was specifically, so it could feel real. But for a "Star Wars" film, building as little as possible is not an option, as proven by the 125 sets on "The Last Jedi."