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IBC2023 returns to Amsterdam 15-18 September
IBC is the world’s most inspiring content and technology event bringing together the global media, entertainment and technology industry. Planning is now well underway for this year’s event which will once again offer a world-class exhibition, a jam-packed content agenda plus the return of the Accelerator Media Innovation Programme and IBC Awards.
Register your interest today and we’ll keep you updated with all the latest news from IBC and let you know when registration goes live in May.
2023 ACCELERATOR
KICKSTART DAY HIGHLIGHTS
Missed our 2023 Accelerator Kickstart Day? The event saw a select group of industry leaders come together to hear the ‘longlist’ of pitches, with representatives from BBC, DAZN, Warner Bros. Discovery, Dolby, SKY, BAFTA/ Albert and Microsoft attending. A highlight of the morning was the Champion’s Roundtable, where previous Champions came together to discuss the value of the programme.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE EIGHT SELECTED 2023 PROJECTS COMING SOON.
IBC2O23 AWARDS
The IBC Awards celebrate that spirit of co-operation and collaboration. They are presented to the end user of the project – the broadcaster or media company that started with a requirement and who brought together the technology partners to find an exciting solution. At the same time, those technology partners are also honoured for their contribution to a co-operative process which delivered the successful result.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE
IBC2023 AWARDS COMING SOON.
Driving measurable sustainability in
broadcast and streaming
Join IBC365 for a webinar on one of the most discussed topics: Sustainability. Explore the methods introduced by experts for energy efficiency, building a culture of lower carbon consumption, setting standards for procurement and collaboration to decarbonise the supply chain.
Thursday, 16 March, 14:00 GMT
Building a culture of inclusivity:
Why D&I is for everyone
Having a diverse workforce is only successful if you can also create a strong culture of inclusion. Tune in to our webinar to gain advice for leadership on building a diverse and inclusive workplace, as broadcasting and streaming strives to improve this issue within the industry.
Wednesday, 29 March, 14:00 GMT
We hope to welcome you all back at IBC2023!
Kind regards,
The IBC Team
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ABC’s “The Bachelor” has earned a victory with its latest season. With a 2.39 rating, the January Season 27 premiere measures as the series’ highest-rated multiplatform telecast in 1 year among the adults 18-49 key demo. That’s its highest rating since Jan. 24, 2022 according to data from Nielsen.
Additionally, “The Bachelor” premiere outperformed the show’s prior season average by 3% among the demographic.
After 35 days of viewing across linear and digital platforms, Season 27’s opening episode showed a 268% increase among adults 18-49 over its initial Live+Same Day rating of 0.65 rating, marking the show’s biggest-ever delayed-viewing increase. The season premiere also managed to rake in an additional 3.6 million total viewers after 35 days of multiplatform viewing taking the original number from 3.0 million to 6.6 million.
For extra context, Season 26 of “The Bachelor” on ABC averaged a 0.81 rating in the key demographic and 3.66 million viewers in linear viewing.
In the latest episode, which aired on Monday, this season’s bachelor Zach Shallcross said goodbye to Charity Lawson, narrowing down his choices to the final three women after visiting each girl’s hometowns. The episode, hosted by Jesse Palmer, earned a .44 rating and attracted an audience of nearly 2.5 million total viewers, which is a 15% and 19% drop in both categories from previous episodes this season in linear viewing. That’s pretty consistent with the rest of the night’s programming — CBS’s “FBI,” Fox’s “9-1-1,” and NBC’s “Night Court” reboot all pulled a .4 rating in the demo on Monday night during the 8 p.m. block. However, “FBI” drew in the highest audience with 6.98 million total viewers.
Illustration by What’s on Netflix – Pictures courtesy of Netflix
Netflix now has over 50 mobile games available on its platform. Below, you’ll find a full list of every game it has released on iOS and the Android Google Play Store as of March 2023.
Gaming has already played a minor part in Netflix’s history, with a small collection of games and VR experiences released over the years. News of Netflix getting into gaming more coming throughout 2021, leading to the launch of Netflix Games within the Netflix app in November 2021.
For the most part, Netflix’s games have been acquired from other gaming studios but have also made some acquisitions in the space:
In September 2021, they acquired Night School Studio.
In March 2022, they acquired Next Games
In March 2022, they acquired Boss Fight Entertainment
The concept of Netflix gaming thus far is akin to Apple Arcade, whereby you get unlimited access to a collection of games as part of a membership fee (in this case, your Netflix membership). All games are free to play, have no advertisements, and have no microtransactions.
With over 30 mobile games to dive into, you may only want to try out some of the best titles. In this case, we’ve picked some of our top picks from Netflix’s game library.
How many times have Netflix’s games been downloaded? Here’s the data:
In January 2022, mobile games on Netflix saw 8.1 million downloads around the globe across both Android and iOS, according to Apptopia.
Updated stats in August 2022 suggest that the number increased to 23.3 million downloads, representing just under 1% of Netflix’s overall subscribers trying out the initiative.
In October 2022, we got an update that suggests it was 34.1 million, with 16% of all downloads coming from the United States.
Full List of Mobile Games on Netflix
Here’s a rundown of every game Netflix has released so far. As of March 2023, there are 54 mobile games available on iOS and Android.
Highwater
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Demagog Studio / Rogue Co. Released on Netflix: March 2023
Picture: Rogue Co
Published by Rogue Games and developed by Demagog Studio, Highwater is a 3D tactical turn-based strategy game set in a post-apocalyptic urban world amid the great climate catastrophe.
“Highwater thrusts players into a stunning vision of a climate change apocalypse and then challenges them to survive the aftermath,” teased Matt Casamassina, Rogue CEO.
Dust & Neon
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: David Marquardt Studios and Rogue Games. Released on Netflix: March 2023
Picture: David Marquardt Studios and Rogue Games
This top-down twin-stick shooter with RPG and looter shooter elements dropped on Netflix in early March 2023.
Per the listing, here’s what you can expect from the game:
“In a futuristic Wild West, robots that were once designed to help with life have taken over the planet, threatening humans. You play as the Gunslinger, the baddest in the Old West, cloned back to life by a mad human scientist to fight off the robot oppression. Dust & Neon is a classic top-down, twin-stick shooter with RPG progression and influences from the roguelite and looter shooter genres.”
Tomb Raider Reloaded
Based on Netflix IP: Sort of Developer: Emerald City Games and CDE Entertainment Released on Netflix: February 2023
Picture: Emerald City Games and CDE Entertainment
Republished and repurposed under the Netflix games umbrella is this top-down shooter/puzzler based on the classic Square Enix character of Lara Croft.
Per the official listing, you’ll travel “through the golden, arch-shaped doors of the treacherous underground tombs, scattered across hazardous mountain caves, flourishing jungles and lush waterfalls.”
It’s not based on Netflix IP, but Netflix is going to be receiving a Tomb Raider anime series in the near future.
Valiant Hearts: Coming Home
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Ubisoft Released on Netflix: January 2023
The game continues to tell stories of ordinary people thrust into the extraordinary circumstances of World War I.
Narcos: Cartel Wars Unlimited
Based on Netflix IP: Yes Developer: Tilting Point Released on Netflix: January 2023
Picture: Tilting Point
Another previously released game that will be transitioning over to Netflix Games is the mobile game for Netflix’s hit series, Narcos. It was first released in 2016 but was revived and refreshed for Netflix Games.
Here’s the official description for the previous release of the game:
“Step into the dangerous and thrilling role of cartel kingpin in the official game of the hit television show NARCOS. Decide between leading through raw power or gathering respect through loyalty. Sometimes bad people do good things… In the end you must decide, will it be “Plata o Plomo?”
TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Nickelodeon, Playdigious, Tribute Games, and Dotemu Released on Netflix: January 2023
Released throughout 2022 on PlayStation and Xbox, this side-scrolling beat-em-up is coming to mobile exclusively through mobile games. It’s developed by Tribute Games and inspired by and based on the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.
“Kick shell with Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo or other familiar friends in this totally tubular ’80s-inspired beat ’em up. Cowabunga!”
Puzzle Gods
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Boon Studios Released on Netflix: December 2022
Puzzle Gods is one of the several match-three games in the Netflix gaming library. The game already exists as a free app with microtransactions.
Here’s the official synopsis for the game:
“Match and switch elements to level up, defeat Little Hades and rescue the gods in this mythic puzzler. The Land of Olympus needs you!”
Classic Solitaire
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: MobilityWare Released on Netflix: December 2022
This is exactly what it says on the tin. A tabletop simulator of the classic card game, Solitaire.
Twelve Minutes
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Annapurna Interactive, HuWiz-TwelveMinutes, and 24bit Released on Netflix: December 2022
An interactive thriller that was featured at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2021.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Tap and drag to escape a time-loop nightmare. This interactive thriller features the voices of James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley and Willem Dafoe.”
Too Hot To Handle: Love is a Game
Based on Netflix IP: Yes Developer: Nanobit Released on Netflix: December 2022
Another Netflix show that got adapted into a video game is Too Hot To Handle, which is Netflix’s dating reality series.
Here’s what you can expect from the new simulation game:
“Meet and mingle with sexy singles all vying for your affection in this game based on Netflix’s hit reality series “Too Hot to Handle.” Will you give in to temptation? Or hold out for deeper emotional connections? The choice is yours!”
Scriptic: Crime Stories
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: ElectricNoir Released on Netflix: December 2022
A Netflix port of ElectricNoir’s previously named Dead Man’s Phone app.
Find clues. Catch a killer. You’re the lead detective in this crime drama, and the victim’s cell phone — ripe with evidence — is hot in your hands.
Kentucky Route Zero
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Cardboard Computer and Annapurna Interactive Released on Netflix: December 2022
Netflix will be the exclusive home of the point-and-click adventure game developed by Cardboard Computer. It was first released on PC back in 2013.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Unpayable debts. Abandoned futures. Mysterious travelers. Journey down a secret underground highway to find community in this mystical adventure game.”
Reigns: Three Kingdom
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Nerial Limited Released on Netflix: November 2022
From Devolver Digital and Nerial, based out of the United Kingdom, the fifth entry in the franchise will be inspired by a Chinese epic.
Here’s what you can expect:
“The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Reigns: Three Kingdoms thrusts players into the turbulent final years of the Han dynasty. There, they will encounter the many factions, wars, and heroes of the saga as they swipe their way through negotiations, marry to strengthen alliances, and convert to gain more power. Discover new ways to enjoy Reigns’ unique swiping mechanic as you uncover the many secrets of a vast storyline and a host of unexpected mini-games.”
Cats & Soup
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Hidea Released on Netflix: November 2022
Already available on app stores for free is Cats & Soup, described as a cute idle game. It then released on Netflix in a repackaged game that removes microtransactions. It comes from the developer HIDEA who is also behind Man or Vampire.
Here’s the official Netflix synopsis:
“Hungry for cuteness? Help cats boil soup to their hearts’ content in this cozy delight — stir and chop ingredients, dress ’em up and more. Blurp, blurp.”
Hello Kitty Happiness Parade
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Dabadu Games and Rogue Games Released on Netflix: November 2022
Based on the incredibly popular Japanese cartoon character, this was the first time Hello Kitty lands on Netflix in some form exclusively.
“Create a grand spectacle with Hello Kitty and friends. Make new allies and lean on your abilities to avoid traps that can rain on your parade!”
IMMORTALITY
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Sam Barlow Released on Netflix: November 9th, 2022
Announced to come out on Netflix Games in the summer and then in September to no avail is the interactive thriller game from Sam Barlow, best known for Her Story and Telling Lies.
Per Netflix Games, here’s what you can expect:
“Investigate the lost works of the silver-screen hopeful to unlock the secrets behind her disappearance. What happened to Marissa Marcel? Brimming with talent, magnetism and beauty, the young actress was poised for stardom — until, it seems, she evaporated into thin air. Piece it all together to uncover the truth behind this dark, hidden chapter in Tinseltown’s history.”
Country Friends
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Gameloft Released on Netflix: November 4th, 2022
Developed and first released in 2015, Country Friends has often been called a “Farmville” clone which will now be headed to Netflix Games, having been taken offline in its previous format.
This is the second major game from developer Gameloft to come to Netflix, following Asphalt Xtreme.
Per Netflix:
“Build the farm of your dreams — by yourself or with friends! Ditch city life to grow crops, feed animals and trade goods in this sunny adventure.”
Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales
Based on Netflix IP: Yes Developer: Next Games Released on Netflix: November 2nd, 2022
Based on Netflix’s biggest English language series, this puzzle game has already been released on various app stores but was taken down in its previous form and tweaked to become exclusive to Netflix Games. The game was shut down earlier this year and has changed to remove microtransactions from the gameplay.
It comes via Netflix’s acquisition of Next Games.
Flutter Butterflies
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Runaway Released on Netflix: October 28th, 2022
Developed by New Zealand company Runaway, this new Netflix game is a respin of the already available Flutter: Butterfly Sanctuary.
Per Netflix, here’s the rundown of what you can expect from the simulation game:
“Discover and raise butterflies in a peaceful habitat. Decorate your forest to attract, nurture and collect hundreds of real-life species.”
Skies of Chaos
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Brox Corp Released on Netflix: October 28th, 2022
This game comes from British game development company Brox Corp that’s described as “an awesome shoot em’ up. Explosions, colorful worlds, talking dogs and cyborg horses.”
The game has already been developing for several years and arrives on mobile on Netflix exclusively.
Nailed It! Baking Bash
Based on Netflix IP: Yes Developer: Paladin Studios Released on Netflix: October 3rd, 2022
Based on the Netflix reality series hosted by Nicole Byer, this tie-in released in the first week of October 2022.
Here’s the official Netflix synopsis for Nailed It! Baking Bash:
“Calling all home bakers! Host a party for your pals to see who creates the best-looking – or worst-looking – cakes in this game based on the hit series.”
Spiritfarer
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Thunder Lotus Games, Playdigious Released on Netflix: October 3rd, 2022
Spiritfarer was an already very successful and critically acclaimed game available on multiple platforms, including the PC but made the graceful jump over to Netflix games in early October 2022.
Here’s what you can expect from the simulation game that features controller support:
“You’re a ferrymaster to the great beyond. Build a boat to explore, then care for spirits before releasing them into the afterlife in this moving game.”
Desta: The Memories Between
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: ustwo games Released on Netflix: September 27th, 2022
Desta: The Memories Between is released on Netflix mobile exclusively, developed by ustwo games, the same team behind the critically acclaimed Monument Valley game series.
“Relive memories, rediscover friends and repair relationships in this unique turn-based strategy exploration through dreams and regrets from the creators of Monument Valley”
Spongebob: Squarepants Get Cooking!
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: iLLOGIKA Released on Netflix: September 27th, 2022
Based on the hit Nickelodeon franchise, Spongebob Squarepants, this new game will likely be a spin on the SpongeBob: Cooking Fever game that was released in 2020 but without the in-app purchases.
OXENFREE: Netflix Edition
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Night School Studio Released on Netflix: September 22nd, 2022
Picture: Night School Studio
Coming from Netflix’s acquired studio Night School Studio, this adventure movie had been ported to mobile before but moved exclusively to Netflix mobile on the same day as Netflix’s Tudum event.
Lucky Luna
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Snowman / Nachobeard Released on Netflix: September 2022
One of the best-reviewed Netflix games to date is Lucky Luna which has been in development for nearly a decade, previously going by the name of Cerulean Moon.
Here’s how Netflix describes the game:
“Guide Luna through hidden dungeons and mythical temples to unlock the secrets of her past in this platformer inspired by Japanese folklore.
Each level introduces new mechanics and features that open up different ways to explore. The only catch? There’s no jump button! Swipe to move Luna left and right as she plunges deeper into each evolving, treacherous environment. You’ll have to take advantage of your surroundings and rely on your wits to reach what lies below and help Luna find her true path.”
Wild Things: Animal Adventures
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Amber Studio Released on Netflix: September 2022
Picture: Amber Studio / Netflix
This is Netflix’s second major match-three game following Knittens with this iteration again featuring colorful creatures.
Heads Up!
Based on Netflix IP: Yes Developer: Ellen Digital Ventures, Gasket Games Released on Netflix: August 2022
Pictures: Netflix
This respun version of Heads Up! produced exclusively for Netflix has you playing the game of charades with your friends. The game works as follows, you pick a category with one player holding the device to their forehead while trying to guess the words on their screen as friends excitedly shout out clues.
Into the Breach
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Subset Games Released on Netflix: July 2022 Cloud Saves: No
Pictures: Netflix
This game is a mobile port of the beloved pixel-art strategy game available on PC.
Here’s what you can expect:
Civilization is in peril, and it’s up to you to defend it. Lead a team to save the world from alien threats in this turn-based strategy game.”
Before Your Eyes
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Ryot and Skybound Games Released on Netflix: July 2022
Picture: Skybound Games
This unique game notably uses your phone’s camera to help you immerse in the game world and gives you control using your blink.
Here’s the official description for the adventure game:
“Dive into a world of memories and experience a soul’s journey into the afterlife as your whole life flashes before your eyes.
It all begins after you die. You’re aboard the ship of a mysterious man tasked with shepherding souls to the afterlife. To help you pass on, he must learn the story of your life. Then he sends you back to relive your most important moments.”
Mahjong Solitaire
Based on Netflix IP: No (but has some tile packs related to Netflix IP) Developer: Smoking Gun Interactive Released on Netflix: July 2022 Cloud Saves: Yes
The tabletop game Mahjong made its way onto Netflix in July 2022 and is pretty much exactly what you’d expect. You match tiles with varying difficulty throughout.
Its special background and tile designs for Stranger Things have a small crossover with Netflix IP.
Poinpy
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: Team Poinpy Released on Netflix: June 2022
From the creator of Down Well comes a simple yet very addictive mini-game that is also compared to the likes of Doodle Jump.
You control a little green creature equipped with a hammer who is tasked with beating baddies and jumping up!
It features colorful assets and is one of the best-reviewed Netflix Games, with a 4.2 on Google Play.
Exploding Kittens
Based on Netflix IP: No (but it is set to be adapted into a Netflix series) Developer: Exploding Kittens, Inc Released on Netflix: May 31st, 2022
A card game that got a premium game release is also now available on Netflix too for free (the original game is also still available on app stores).
The game is notably one of the first major multiplayer-focused titles.
The game is also set to be expanded upon the arrival of the Netflix series in 2023 with “an exclusive expansion pack”.
Dragon Up
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: East Side Games Released on Netflix: May 24th, 2022
Here’s a rundown of what you can expect from this cookie-clicker-type game.
“Hatch and collect rare dragons — then help them revive their magic in this colorful and beautifully animated idle adventure game.
Save the kingdom by discovering each dragon’s unique design and personality. Some dragons — like the Pug Dragon, the Queen Dragon and the Robo Dragon — offer better rewards and moneymaking abilities.”
Moonlighter
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: 11 Bit Studios and Digital Sun Released on Netflix: May 24th, 2022
A top-down roleplaying game where you play Will, a courageous shopkeeper who secretly dreams of becoming a hero.
You’ll manage your store, build a community, and crawl various dungeons.
Townsmen – A Kingdom Rebuilt
Based on Netflix IP: No Developer: HandyGames Released on Netflix: May 24th, 2022
Townsmen is a strategy game that has been active in one form or another for decades and this is release on Netflix is a port of a PC game with redeveloped controls among other features.
Here’s the official description for the game:
“Build a medieval city, make smart financial decisions and do whatever it takes to keep your people happy. Who knew running a kingdom was so tough?”
Relic Hunters Universe
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Rogue Snail Released on Netflix: May 3rd, 2022
Picture: Rogue Snail
This new top-down game has many aspects to it. It’s a shooter, it’s a looter and has RPG elements. The game began its life as a Kickstarter project which got funded and is in early access on Steam currently. It’s a sequel to Relic Hunters Zero: Remix released in 2015.
Rogue Snail is a developer based in Brazil and described as a “fully remote” gaming studio with over 40 employees.
Into the Dead 2
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: PikPok Released on Netflix: April 5th, 2022
As revealed in our interview with PikPok games, the intention is to keep the old free-to-play version of the game available even when the Netflix game loads up.
Following its initial release, it added a Ghostbusters update later in 2022.
Shatter Remastered
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: PikPok Released on Netflix: March 22nd
This brick breaker game was released nearly a decade ago on consoles and has now been remixed exclusively for Netflix.
The game comes with four modes, global leaderboards and more.
We managed to speak to Shatter Remastered developers PikPok Games from New Zealand about the game and the remastering process for mobile.
This is a True Story
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: FrostyPop Released on Netflix: March 22nd
Another entry from the Frosty Pop team came in March with possibly one of Netflix’s most unique games to date and one of the best-reviewed.
Here’s how the educational game is listed in the app stores:
“Explore a beautiful, hand-painted landscape in this lush narrative puzzle game that’s based on actual events and interviews.
Survive a windstorm, catch poachers, and even befriend a goat! Adventure and insight await you at every turn as you search for water and marvel at Earth’s natural beauty.”
Dungeon Dwarves
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Hyper Hippo Games Released on Netflix: February 1st, 2022
In the debut game for Canadian mobile game studio Hyper Hippo, you’ll be traversing dungeons in this crawler that’s labeled as a role-playing game.
Here’s how the Netflix game is listed on the app stores:
“Behold the ultimate idle dungeon crawler! Explore dungeons, vanquish monsters, and collect goodies to upgrade your warrior’s abilities and weapons.
Tap your way through deep dungeons, fight as a team and show your enemies what Dwarves are really made of!”
Hextech Mayhem Netflix Edition
Based on Netflix IP: Sort of. Developed by: Choice Provisions, Riot Forge Released on Netflix: February 2022
You’ll notice in the “based on the Netflix IP” section above that we say “sort of”. That’s because it’s based on the League of Legends game franchise, which got a Netflix series in Arcane and this game is based on League of Legends.
Here’s what you can expect from the side-scrolling rhythm game.
“In this fast-paced rhythm runner, every action has an explosive reaction and no amount of mayhem is too much. Take on the role of Ziggs as you rampage through the neighborhoods of Piltover.
Bomb, bounce and bop to the beat of the music to avoid obstacles, disarm enemies and light fuses to achieve maximum chaos. Cause musical mayhem while outrunning no-fun-allowed Heimerdinger in your quest to build the greatest bomb the world has ever seen.”
Arcanium: Rise of Akhan
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Supercombo, Released by Rogue Games, Inc Released on Netflix: January 18th, 2022
First released on PC back in December 2020, this strategy card game now makes its way exclusively onto Netflix via mobile.
Similar in concept to the likes of Hearthstone, the game sees you deck building while journeying across the rich world to save the world of Arzu.
Krispee Street
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: FrostyPop Released on Netflix: January 18th, 2022
Based on a webcomic, Krispee Street, developed by FrostyPop, is a Where’s Waldo-esque game that pits you with finding creatures and individuals within a large space.
It’s relaxing and does exactly what it says on the tin with colorful characters and landscapes.
Knittens
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Timecode Games Released on Netflix: December 2nd, 2021
Competing with the likes of Candy Crush and Bejeweled is Knittens, Netflix’s own match-3 puzzle game.
Dominoes Café
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Gazeus Games Released on Netflix: December 2nd, 2021
This incredibly simple board game allows Netflix users to play the classic game of dominoes.
Reviews for this game are among the lowest of any of the Netflix games, complaining about unfair AI advantages and lack of features, including an undo button or online play.
Wonderputt Forever
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Damp Knat and Rogue Games, Inc Released on Netflix: November 24th, 2021
Damp Knat is a small mobile game development company headed up by British-based Reece Millidge.
The official description for Wonderputt Forever reads:
“Wonderputt Forever brings a pocketable nostalgia trip to places you’ve never been before. A mini-golf game where you must plan your shots carefully and sink the ball into each unique hole. With each completed level, the courses come to life, shifting and changing to prepare for the next. Play in Par Mode, then keep the fun going through hundreds of geometric-themed holes as you unlock rewards in the Geometry Trips mode.”
The first Wonderputt game was first released back in 2012 which itself was a port of a Flash game with a subsequent release in 2017 called “Wonderputt – GameClub”.
Asphalt Xtreme
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Gameloft Released on Netflix: December 1st, 2021
Originally released in 2016, Asphalt Xtreme was yanked from the two mobile app stores recently and now has gone exclusive to Netflix without all the microtransactions that often were criticized in its original reviews.
Here’s what you can expect from the game:
“Charge through canyons, drift across dunes, and rocket past your opponents in this extreme off-road racing experience.
Forget everything you know about racing — all you need are your instincts and a fearless desire for speed.”
Bowling Ballers
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: FrostyPop Released on Netflix: November 10th, 2021
Released alongside the rollout of Netflix games onto iOS, FrostyPop’s second game joined Netflix.
“Bowling Ballers is a bowling endless runner that includes a level-based mode. Actively hit objects rather than avoid them. Mechanics include skateboarding, flying, and more, all with simple, intuitive gameplay.”
Card Blast
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Rogue, Amuzo Released on Netflix Games: November 1st, 2021
Card Blast features a really simple premise whereby you match pairs of cards. It’s got over 50 levels.
As of November 5th, 2021, the game is sitting on a 3.9,, the highest among the Netflix crop of games that aren’t based on IP. Many reviews point to the fact it’s a fun card game, albeit pretty simplistic.
Teeter (Up)
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Rogue, Amuzo Released on Netflix Games: November 1st, 2021
Over 150 levels await for this arcade game that has a simple objective, guide the ball into the hole.
It’s a simple physics game that means you only have to contend with gravity and various obstacles.
The game had over 50,000 downloads as of November 5th.
Shooting Hoops
Based on Netflix IP: No Developed by: Frosty Pop Released on Netflix Games: November 1st, 2021
The simplest game Netflix has released thus far is Shooting Hoops, a really simple game that sees you trying to get a basketball (or other types of ball) through a hoop.
Stranger Things: 1984
Based on Netflix IP: Yes Developed by: BonusXP Released on Netflix Games: November 1st, 2021
Previously released by Bonus XP in October 2017 (alongside the release of Stranger Things 2), this game was originally developed to have a similar style to the early Legend of Zelda games.
The game had over 100,000 downloads on the Play Store as of November 5th, 2021.
Stranger Things 3: The Game
Based on Netflix IP: Yes Developed by: BonusXP Released on Netflix Games: November 1st, 2021
Also resembling a feature-rich full game is the video game that was originally released alongside Stranger Things season 3 on July 4th, 2019.
The game improves in almost every aspect upon 1984 and is, without doubt, the best game in Netflix’s debut lineup of games.
This game received a wide release before hitting Netflix Games and is available (not for free) on various other platforms, including Steam, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and the Playstation.
What’s been your favorite game on Netflix so far? Let us know in the comments down below.
Sorvino first took to Twitter on Sunday night to share: “I for one am remembering Dad on this Oscars night…” Accompanying the comment was a loving tribute to her actor dad, who died of natural causes last July at age 83 — a video of her own 1996 Oscar win for Mighty Aphrodite, which an emotional Paul Sorvino was in the room to see.
Sorvino went on to say in a note posted to Twitter on Monday that she’s “incredibly hurt and shocked that my father’s lifelong, irreplaceable, enormous contribution to the world of cinema was overlooked by whomever made that list. We his adoring family, and you, his adoring public, know just how unique and incredible he was. We hope @theacademy does something to put this right.”
Added the Shining Vale and American Crime Story actress: “It is baffling beyond belief that my beloved father and many other amazing brilliant departed actors were left out. The Oscars forgot about Paul Sorvino, but the rest of us never will!!”
Her social media criticisms of the Oscars and tribute to her father can be found below.
Paul Sorvino was one of a number of notable figures to have been left out of this year’s In Memoriam segment. Among them were Charlbi Dean, the lead actress of Best Picture nominee Triangle of Sadness, who died suddenly last August at the age of 32; Emmy nominee Anne Heche, who passed last August following a car crash; Saving Private Ryan‘s Tom Sizemore, who died on March 3rd after suffering a brain aneurysm; and Fiddler on the Roof‘s Chaim Topol, who passed on March 8.
Boasting over 170 film and television credits, Paul Sorvino is remembered for turns in such classic films as Goodfellas, Nixon and Romeo + Juliet, and much more. Read our obituary of the iconic actor here.
This year’s Oscars, taking place at the Dolby Theatre, saw A24’s breakthrough film Everything Everywhere All at Once lead in wins at a tally of seven — the most secured by any film since 2013’s Gravity.
U2’s the Edge explained the chemistry behind his and Bono’s songwriting process in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “It’s not like Lennon and McCartney where there’s two guys [and] the rivalry probably made them better,” he told Lowe while sitting beside Bono. “They’re also basically doing the same thing – singers and songwriters. I do a lot of music composition, but I need Bono to finish the song, so we complement each other; we don’t ever cancel each other out. It’s additive.”
“So we shine brighter working together than we ever could on our own, and I think that’s why the band is still together, as much as the friendships are sort of the same,” he continued, “meaning, the friendships are real, and they work.”
Lowe’s full interview, which takes place in and around a camper somewhere in the desert, like some Joshua Tree–themed reboot of Breaking Bad, will premiere on Apple Music 1 today at 10 a.m. PT.
The Q&A comes ahead of the release of Songs of Surrender, U2’s new album, on which they strip down and reconfigure 40 of their biggest hits and songs that have been pivotal to their career. The recording complements Bono’s recent memoir, Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. Earlier this year, they debuted a new version of “With or Without You.”
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“We are firmly locked in the tower of song and working away on a bunch of new things,” the Edge told Rolling Stonein 2021. “I’m just having so much fun writing and not necessarily having to think about where it’s going to go. It’s more about enjoying the experience of writing and having no expectations or limitations on the process.”
The band will launch the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas this fall by performing their celebrated 1991 album, Achtung Baby! Drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., who is recovering from surgery, will be replaced by Bram van der Berg at the shows. “It’s going to take all we’ve got to approach the Sphere without our bandmate in the drum seat, but Larry has joined us in welcoming Bram van den Berg who is a force in his own right,” the other three members said in a joint statement.
Sales agency Taskovski Films has acquired “!Aitsa” and “Fighters,” which both have premieres at CPH:DOX, the Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival.
Dane Dodds’ “!Aitsa” has its world premiere in the festival’s Science Program.
The film focuses on the spiritual lives of the inhabitants of South Africa’s Great Karoo desert. This is the place where some of the first humans likely lived. Here, in the Blombos cave, an unearthed piece of engraved ochre represents perhaps the earliest ever example of abstract human thinking.
At the other extreme of the Karoo, bordering the Kalahari in the North, the town of Carnarvon is home to one of the biggest science projects in the world, the so-called Square Kilometer Array. Still under construction, the SKA will consist of hundreds of satellite dishes the size of three-story buildings. Its stated objectives are to explore dark matter, dark energy and the beginning of the universe, and search for extra-terrestrial intelligence.
“Combining high end science with ancient spiritual knowledge, with the passionate awareness of the colonial burden of South African society, Dodds takes us on a journey beyond space and time in search of the mysteries of human existence,” Taskovski Films’ chief Irena Taskovski said. “It is a brave and cheerful piece with the powerful voice of the new generation of artists.”
She added: “We always aim to search for new directors and a fresh approach to filmmaking and Dane Dodds’ debut ‘!Aitsa’ is exactly that.”
The producers are Dodds, Clara Sølvsteen and Eno Morten Stabell. The production company is Med Cine.
Jon Haukeland’s docu-drama “Fighters” has its international premiere in CPH:DOX’s Nordic:Dox Competition
Jon Haukeland’s docu-drama “Fighters” has its international premiere in CPH:DOX’s Nordic:Dox Competition.
The film follows youth worker Berat, tasked with rescuing the restless youngster Mamo, who’s headed for trouble. The two develop a close relationship that helps Mamo to go in a new direction. When Berat takes Mamo’s side in a police case, the police begin digging into Berat’s background as a youngster in a small town in the mountain area of Hallingdal. There they find information that threatens his position as a youth worker.
Haukeland said: “ ‘Fighters’ is a hybrid film where Berat, a real life social worker, and Mamo, a restless youngster, play themselves and re-enact important scenes from their lives. As a director, when I interviewed Berat and Mamo, I realized early on that they possessed a unique sensibility and self-awareness. I never doubted that the story would contain enough contradictions and internal conflicts to form a real-life drama.”
The film is produced by DOX:AWARD 2022 winner Ingvil Giske whose “The Eclipse” was also represented by Taskovski Films.
Grace Caroline Currey is the only actor in Shazam! Fury of the Gods to both versions of her character Mary Bromfield. The rest of the Shazam! has two different sets of actors playing the younger versions of the characters and their older superhero versions. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Grace about tackling two sides of the same character.
Meagan Good, Grace Caroline Currey, and D. J. Cotrona in ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods.’ (Warner Bros.)
“It’s just so special to get to be responsible for Mary’s throughline from her human form to her super form,” Grace said. “Not to mention, I have so much love and respect for her from her comic book history and the massive amount of history attached to her. It was definitely a dream come true. I was thrilled. I mean, to get to wear a superhero suit is the kind of thing you don’t think is going to happen in your career.”
Grace revealed that Mary “hasn’t left home” when the Shazam! sequel begins. “She’s in some sort of gap year situation, not to mention, she’s a superhero now,” she added. “There’s this responsibility to use these powers for good while also being the oldest of the family and having a sobering knowledge of what it’s like to be a human in society and contribute and have a job because she doesn’t get checks anymore in the mail as a foster kid now that she’s over 18.”
The film introduces the Daughters of Atlas, played by Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, and Rachel Zegler. “Rachel and I became best buds, and I gained a sister on set. That was really a fun surprise for me. I didn’t know I was going to gain such a sweet friendship,” Grace gushed. Despite already being “such a giant cast,” Grace admitted that it felt like “we gained people that were supposed to be there all along.”
Becoming a superhero isn’t easy. The 26-year-old Fall actress did Taekwondo and kickboxing leading up to Fury of the Gods. Grace is a trained ballerina and said “Taekwondo was really helpful to break me out of the softness and get a little bit more strength and awareness in my body, as well as with kickboxing. That was really helpful for me to get in touch with my power physically and the power of my limbs and my legs. I think it helped me stand a little bit taller and stronger and sturdier instead of that ballet kind of wavy, floaty place.
Grace Caroline Currey stars as Mary in ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods.’ (Photographer: Nailah Barcelona)
There have been a lot of changes in the DC Studios world after James Gunn and Peter Safran took over, leaving the fates of several DC projects uncertain. HollywoodLife asked Grace if Shazam! Fury of the Gods leaves it open for the possibility of seeing these characters again in the future.
“Having seen the movie, I got really excited about this deeper look into the Shazam! world, and I couldn’t help but think this is such a rich playground,” she said. “It just filled me with wonder. I genuinely felt the wonder I would feel watching Jurassic Park or Harry Potter when I was a kid. I think we’ve got a lot to play with, and it’s funny always to talk about these things before people have seen it. I’m just dying for people to see it because I think they’ll feel the same way.” Shazam! Fury of the Gods hits theaters on March 17.
After Netflix pulled the plug on Nancy Meyers’ $130 million ensemble comedy “Paris Paramount” on Tuesday, Jimmy Fallon is pretty confident in what will happen next. According to the “Tonight Show” host, the streamer will probably win back Nancy Meyers in a very Nancy Meyers-esque way.
The romantic comedy was expected to star Scarlett Johansson, Owen Wilson, Michael Fassbender and Penelope Cruz, and followed a filmmaking duo who reunite on set after falling in and out of love with one another. The film would’ve marked Meyers’ first feature in the director’s chair since Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro’s “The Intern.”
In the end, it was budget clashes that sealed the fate of film, as Meyers wanted a budget of $150 million, while Netflix drew the line at $130 million, an insider told TheWrap. But, Fallon thinks maybe this is just the climax of a Nancy Meyers rom-com about a Nancy Meyers rom-com.
“I know what’s gonna happen. Any minute now, Netflix is gonna realize they messed up, and run to catch Nancy Meyers at the airport,” Fallon joked. “‘Hold the doors! Hold the doors Nancy! I’ve made the biggest mistake of my life. We’re gonna make that movie!’”
Meyers is, of course, a legend when it comes to filmmaking, particularly in the world of rom-coms. She is known for both writing and directing some beloved films, including “The Holiday,” “Something’s Gotta Give,” the 1998 version of “The Parent Trap” among several others.
And indeed, in many of those films, the big romantic gesture at the climax of the story involves one love interest catching up to the other at the very last minute.
You can watch Fallon’s full monologue in the video above.
Lindsey Graham may think that President Joe Biden is “the Rodney Dangerfield of world leaders,” but Tucker Carlson inadvertently defended the president Wednesday night after pinning the South Carolina senator as a peddler of “anti-American stupidity.” And it all goes back to Russia.
The takedown began Tuesday when Graham, speaking on “Hannity,” shared how he thinks the United States, specifically President Joe Biden, should respond after a Russian jet reportedly collided with a U.S. drone and sent it crashing down into the Black Sea.
“We should hold them accountable, and say that if you ever get near another U.S. jet flying in international waters, your airplane will be shot down,” Graham said. “What would Ronald Reagan do right now? He would start shooting Russian planes down if they were threatening our assets. American foreign policy is in free fall.”
Carlson, however, wasn’t buying it. After casting doubt that the drone crashed at all due to Russian aggression (“It’s all we have, we’re gonna have to take their [the Biden administration] word for it”), the Fox News host accused Graham of not asking enough “penetrating questions.” Instead, “he moved immediately, seized the opportunity to demand that the Pentagon attack the Russian air force.”
But what would Ronald Reagan actually do? Carlson drummed up his best guess.
“Good question, Sen. Graham,” Carlson began. “Ronald Reagan’s two-term presidency was notable for the fact that he did not declare war on the Russian air force and therefore the United States did not go to war with Russia and millions of lives were saved as a result. That’s not a small thing. Put one in the Reagan ‘win’ column there.”
The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” host then accused Graham of aligning with the “war party.”
“Their plan is to ignore our borders in the United States but to defend Ukraine’s. They’re even funding the Ukrainian pension system—not kidding—as our own American banks collapse. What would Ronald Reagan do? He’d probably vomit if he saw it,” Carlson said. “We’re glad Ronald Reagan is not here to watch Lindsey Graham invoke his name to justify anti-American stupidity. What about Lindsey Graham’s plans, the plans of almost every Republican senator in the U.S. Senate and all the democrats—how do they help the United States? Well, they never answer that question because they couldn’t be less interested.”
Carlson goes on in the 14-minute opening segment to break down his precise grievances with U.S. involvement in Ukraine’s war with Russia, what messaging the 2024 Republican presidential nominee should embrace and more.
Watch the full “Tucker Carlson Tonight” segment in the video above.
The Elephant Whisperers (which won the Oscar for best documentary short subject) takes place in the Theppakadu Elephant camp in Southern India, the largest contiguous wild space for the Asian elephant. The short documentary centers around Bellie and Bomman, a Kattunayakan couple who devoted their lives to caring for elephants who can no longer survive alone. It gives viewers a small glimpse into their lives, and its stunning cinematography captures the beauty of not only the forest, but also the powerful relationships forged between humans and elephants. Simple and moving, this short documentary is perfect for animal lovers or anyone looking for a heartwarming story.
There’s a good chance you recognize many of these popular child stars. They came onto the screen and entertained us, made us laugh, and helped us feel less alone. But now that they’re all grown up, can you recognize them and match them to their character? Let’s see!
On paper, Nancy Meyers’ ambitious in-the-works Netflix movie seemed to have all the ingredients of a classic Hollywood romantic comedy.
A semi-autobiographical plot about a filmmaking duo falling in and out of love; A-listers, including Scarlett Johansson, expected to star; and Meyers herself, known for box-office hits including “The Holiday” and “Something’s Gotta Give.”
But the film’s ample budget — itself a throwback to the peak of the genre’s commercial powers in the ‘90s and 2000s — proved too much for Netflix. The film was reportedly set to cost well more than $100 million to produce, a scale normally seen in action spectacles, not meet-cutes.
Netflix backed out of the project Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter, after a disagreement over the budget between the filmmakers and the streaming giant became public. Puck News reported that Meyers’ team wanted a $150-million budget, while Netflix wouldn’t spend more than around $130 million. A person close to the production disputed the reported numbers but declined to give specific figures.
Representatives for Netflix and Meyers declined to comment.
The decision comes as streaming services, including Netflix, become more cautious with their content spending to satisfy investor pressure to increase profits. Streamers have recently canceled previously renewed shows , pulled out of films and cut jobs to save money.
With Netflix pulling out, Meyers’ movie, titled “Paris Paramount,” will be shopped to other studios, according to one of the people familiar with the situation, who was not authorized to comment. But it’s not clear what company, if any, would pick up a project with those costs.
“This was not just a huge number — it was an insane, unthinkable, unrealistic sum,” said Stephen Galloway, dean of Chapman University’s film school. “There’s a train that starts moving forward and people keep jumping on, and at some point you start saying, ‘Hold on, the freight is too much for this train to bear.’”
During the heyday of the studio romantic comedy, Meyers established herself as one of the biggest brand names in the genre and one of the most powerful female directors in the industry.
After making her successful directorial debut with 1998’s “The Parent Trap” (starring Lindsay Lohan), Meyers went on to make such hits as “The Holiday” and “It’s Complicated,” often centered on the romantic entanglements (and impeccably furnished homes) of mature, affluent professional women.
Those films benefited from their strong appeal to an underserved older, female audience. At the time of its release in 2000, Meyers’ “What Women Want” was the highest-grossing film ever directed by a woman, taking in $182 million domestically.
Meyers remains a magnet for stars, who are drawn to her sharp dialogue, swoon-inducing settings and exacting devotion to getting the smallest details on her films just right. “The most important thing is that I get what I feel the movie needs, and I’m the one in the moment who has been entrusted with the job of getting the movie to work,” Meyers told The Times in 2009.
But the level of established star power Meyers is accustomed to comes at a steep price. “Something’s Gotta Give,” starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, cost an estimated $80 million to produce, after “What Women Want” (Mel Gibson opposite Helen Hunt) cost $70 million.
And today’s theatrical landscape is far less hospitable to the romantic comedy. Of the 100 top-grossing rom-coms at the domestic box office, only five were released during the last decade, according to Box Office Mojo. (The genre’s all-time biggest non-inflation-adjusted hit, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” came out more than 20 years ago.)
Last year’s Jennifer Lopez-Owen Wilson film “Marry Me,” released simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock, took in just $22.5 million at the domestic box office, while Universal’s “Bros,” centered on two commitment-phobic gay men, bombed with $14.8 million.
October’s “Ticket to Paradise,” starring seasoned rom-com veterans Julia Roberts and George Clooney, fared better, earning a respectable $168 million worldwide, but still lagged far behind the blockbusters that Roberts and Clooney each regularly made in earlier decades.
“We’re not in a rom-com-friendly era,” Galloway said. “I don’t know if it’s because there’s less naivete or optimism or because people swipe Tinder and that’s their idea of a date. But for whatever reason, romance doesn’t have quite the same social appeal.”
Meyers herself hasn’t directed a film since 2015’s workplace dramedy “The Intern,” starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro, which grossed $195 million globally. That film carried a $35-million budget, which is at the high end of what a typical romantic comedy now costs. “Crazy Rich Asians,” a massively profitable hit in 2018, cost just $30 million.
With studios placing fewer bets on midbudget films, romantic comedy found a new outlet on streaming services. Netflix showed a particularly robust appetite for the genre, cranking out inexpensive rom-coms like “The Kissing Booth” and “Set It Up” that struck a chord with younger viewers.
More recently, Netflix released “Your Place or Mine,” starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher, and “You People,” with Jonah Hill, Lauren London and Eddie Murphy — projects that would have been box office slam dunks in an earlier era. They were the top two streaming movie premieres for romantic comedies during the past six months, according to Samba TV.
“While broadly drawing in strong audiences, millennial parents, and women in particular, tend to turn out for the escapist romantic comedies more than any other group,” said Dallas Lawrence, senior vice president of Samba TV in a statement. “Overall, star power appears to be critical to drawing in audiences.”
But today’s successful streaming rom-coms often feature a younger generation of actors who may not be household names, and thus aren’t as expensive.
“Set it Up” starred Zoey Deutch and a pre-”Top Gun: Maverick” Glen Powell, alongside the more seasoned Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs. “Kissing Booth” stars Joey King, Jacob Elordi and Joel Courtney were little-known before the Netflix smash.
The streamer continues to invest in the rom-com space, with upcoming movies “A Tourist’s Guide to Love” set for April 21 and “The Perfect Find” on June 23. Netflix executives have long expressed the importance of having a mix of different types of content on the platform to satisfy its diverse customer base.
“There is a stronger valuation on average for romance films on streaming compared to theatrical releases when taking into account revenue generated per film compared to production budget,” said Julia Alexander, director of strategy at Parrot Analytics in an emailed statement. “As companies attempt to better their portfolio optimization, matching the right romantic comedy at the right budget to the right streaming service is crucial.”
Twitter is full of insightful news and trends. But integrating those insights into your research flow can be overwhelming and time-consuming. We hear from users all the time that you want to be able to bring parts of Twitter into your Feedly feeds for researching and monitoring trends.
Today, we’re excited to share the new Twitter Integration for Feedly!
You can follow Twitter accounts, hashtags, Lists, and searches. Even more exciting, Feedly can pull content from linked articles directly into your feeds. And Feedly AI, can cut through the noise and prioritize or mute certain topics to make sure you only see tweets with essential information for your research.
One of my favorite features is the Feedly Twitter integration. I can stay informed about events and conversations I might otherwise miss, without it affecting how I use Twitter and cluttering up my feed.
Jon Henshaw, Founder of Coywolf
Get started with the Feedly Twitter integration
Get your tweets in Feedly and let Feedly AI filter out the noise. Now available to all users in our new Pro+ plan.
Search for any Twitter handle in the ‘Twitter feeds’ tab, just like you would with any other source on Feedly.
When you search for an account, you’ll see two options: ‘Tweets’ and ‘Tweets with Links’.
Follow ‘Tweets’ to see all tweets from an account.
Follow ‘Tweets with Links’ to follow only tweets from this account that link out to articles, videos, pictures, or any other type of external content. This lets you skip any tweets without external content.
Choosing ‘Tweets with Links’ is great because:
If possible, we’ll extract the content of linked articles and make the content appear inline, just like any other article in your feeds.
You can create an AI Feed on both the tweet and the content of the article when it’s extracted. We’ll tell you more about AI Feeds in a second.
Search for an account, and then choose whether you want to follow all tweets, or only tweets that link to external content.
Scan tweets — and the articles they link to — in your feeds
Tweets are aggregated into your feeds with the rest of your content. When you click on a tweet that links to an article, the article will open in Feedly.
Tweets are aggregated into your feeds with the rest of your content.
Read and annotate linked articles directly in your Feedly
We’ll pull the content of linked articles inline so you can read and annotate them in your Feedly. Add notes or highlights without having to click away to Twitter or another site to read or save the article.
When a tweet links to an article, you can open the article right in Feedly.
I can interact with tweets the same way I would with articles by saving, highlighting, and pushing them to other services.
Jon Henshaw, Founder of Coywolf
Train Feedly AI to prioritize specific topics, companies, or business events
This is where it gets powerful. Feedly AI helps cut through the noise of tweets in your feeds and find what’s essential to you. Click ‘Train Leo’ to create a priority.
Ask Feedly AI to prioritize topics, like “Tik Tok”, and then use AND, OR, and NOT to refine your priority.
Feedly AI reads both the content of the tweet and any linked content to decide whether or not a tweet should be prioritized.
Train Feedly AI to mute tweets that aren’t important to you
Just like any other piece of content in Feedly, you can train Feedly AI to mute tweets about topics you don’t care about, so you only see essential news in your feeds.
Feedly AI reads both the content of the tweet and any linked content to decide whether or not to mute a tweet.
You can ask Feedly AI to mute any content related to a topic, like COVID-19.
Follow Twitter hashtags in Feedly
You can follow all tweets mentioning a specific hashtag. You’ll see two options, just like when following an account: ‘Tweets’, and ‘Tweets with Links’.
If you follow the hashtag #b2bmarketing, for example, you can choose:
#b2bmarketing Tweets: all tweets will be pulled into your feeds
#b2bmarketing Tweets with Links: only tweets about #b2bmarketing that link to external content will be pulled into your feeds
Follow all tweets with #b2bmarketing, or choose to follow only tweets that link to other content.
Follow Twitter Lists in Feedly
You can also follow Twitter Lists, which are curated groups of Twitter accounts.
Follow both your own Lists and other users’ public Lists. Just paste the link of the Twitter List directly into the search bar in the ‘Twitter feeds’ tab.
Copy the URL of the List you want to follow, and paste it directly into Feedly.
Follow Twitter searches, or create advanced search queries to follow in Feedly
Type your search directly into the search bar in Feedly, and the integration will continually pull updated results of the search into your feed.
Type your search directly into Feedly to add it as a source. Use operators like -filter:retweets to remove retweets from the results.
You can also use the advanced search options on Twitter. Once you’ve created an advanced search in Twitter, click ‘Search’ and then paste the link to the advanced search directly into the search bar in your Feedly.
I was struggling to search through my bookmarked tweets on Twitter. But now I can follow my favorite Twitter users, star articles from Twitter and add them to boards. They are easily searchable and I can even annotate and highlight parts.
David, professor at a large public university
Get started with the Feedly Twitter integration
Get your tweets in Feedly and let Feedly AI filter out the noise. Now available to all users in our new Pro+ plan.
How do I get started with the Twitter integration? What can I follow?
Anyone on a Pro+ or Enterprise plan has access to the Twitter integration. Once you’ve connected your account to Twitter (go to the ‘Twitter feeds’ tab in Feedly to set it up) you can follow accounts, hashtags, searches, or Lists.
Can I follow protected Twitter accounts?
Yes. If the Twitter account you want to follow is protected, just make sure the Twitter account you’re using to connect to Feedly follows the protected account.
How do I remove retweets?
Right now, it’s not possible to explicitly remove retweets. If you want to remove retweets from your feeds, our recommendation is to hide retweets from inside your Twitter account. Here’s how
Do I need to follow both ‘Tweets’ and ‘Tweets with links’ for an account or hashtag?
You only need to follow one. Choose ‘Tweets’ and you’ll get all tweets, with and without links.
Choose ‘Tweets with Links’ to get only tweets that link to external content, like articles or videos.
Is it possible to filter a search further once I follow a hashtag?
Yes. Our advice is to first use Twitter’s advanced search to refine your search. Then, once you’re satisfied with the results, copy and paste the URL of the search in Feedly to create a new source.
Can I publish to Twitter from Feedly?
When you connect your Feedly to your Twitter account, this is a read-only connection allowing your Feedly to read tweets. Feedly doesn’t write any tweets. To share insights from Feedly to Twitter, click the Twitter icon at the top of any article to generate a tweet and share your insights.
Can I follow my own Twitter account?
Yes. If you want to follow the timeline you see when you go to twitter.com, then type “twitter.com/” into the search bar. The timeline of the Twitter account that’s connected to your Feedly account will be pulled into your feeds.
If you want to see your own tweets, you can follow yourself — just type your Twitter username into the search bar.
Will every single tweet from that hashtag get pulled into my feeds?
Yes. If you add a hashtag as a source, all the tweets generated for that hashtag get pulled into your feed. If you’re getting too much noise from a hashtag, we recommend training Feedly AI to prioritize or mute certain keywords or topics so that you only see what’s most important to you.
What’s the limit for articles from Twitter per day?
Feedly has a limit of 1,000 articles per day from each Twitter source.
Crazy Jane of the Doom Patrol is getting a makeover for the new limited series Unstoppable Doom Patrol and fans of the HBOMax series may recognize her look.
In a recent interview Doom Patrol artist Chris Burnham explained “Visually, we’re taking notes from the show,” he explained, joking that the comic would be like the HBO series but better. “They drive the same bus as on the show. Crazy Jane’s outfit is similar to what she looks like on the show. It’s all part of the visuals too.”
“I think a lot of the [same] themes are always there,” writer Dennis Culver added. “That overarching theme with the Doom Patrol dealing with their trauma and processing it carries through a lot of the older Doom Patrol series… [In our series,] they’ve done a lot of the internal work. They’re not perfect, but I think when you get to that place where you’ve dealt with your own shit, the next thing you want to do is help other people. That’s our mentality. Looking at the Doom Patrol TV show, this is really a logical progression because in that current season they’re getting more serious about becoming superheroes. I think [with] our book, you can say they’ve been a little serious about it for a while. It feels like it can connect if you squint your eyes.”
This is a testament to how influential the show has become. Although it’s ending after season 4, Doom Patrol has become a cult hit. The show’s audience may not be huge, but the fans are passionate. Fans love Diane Guerrero’s take on Crazy Jane. It’s nice to see that the show will have a legacy that spreads into the comics. If you haven’t watched the show, now’s the time. If you haven’t read the comics start with Unstoppable Doom Patrol .
Back in January 2023, the anime adaptation of Square Enix’s cult classic NieR: Automata started airing. After a COVID-related break the show is back on, but that’s not the only news. Aniplex also announced the English dub cast for NieR: Automata Ver. 1.1a, alongside a debut date of March 18. We’ve gathered a list of the cast below, if you want to see who is playing who in the upcoming English version. Here’s the full NieR: Automata anime English dub voice cast, listed.
NieR: Automata Ver. 1.1a Anime Dub Voice Cast
2B – Kira Buckland
9S – Kyle McClarley
A2 – Cherami Leigh
Commander – Colleen O’Shaughnessey
Pascal – Alexis Tipton
Adam – Greg Chun
Eve – Ray Chase
Lily – Erica Mendez
That’s the list of voice actors for the NieR: Automata anime English dub revealed so far. You can check out a trailer to see some of these voices in action right here:
Sounds pretty familiar, right? If you’re a fan of the original game, you’ll be pleased to know that these are, well, all the same voice actors! From 2B to Pascal, each of these roles have been reprised by the original actors. So if any fans out there were worried about roles being recast, y’all get toss those worries in the garbage for the time being.
The exception is Erica Mendez as Lily. But that’s not because someone has been replaced. Rather, Lily is a character who wasn’t present in the original game. Lily was originally introduced in the YoRHa stage play, which told the story of the Pearl Harbor mission from before the game’s events. Lily also appeared in the manga adaptation of said stage play (localized as YoRHa: Pearl Harbor Descent Record – A NieR: Automata Story), and obviously has a role in the new anime.
Are you as terrified reading this as I am writing it?
Right now, Hollywood is a place filled with fear and anxiety, and we need to break that mold if we’re going to get original storytelling back.
Hollywood is known for producing some of the most iconic and influential films in history, but behind the glamour and glitz, there is a culture of fear and risk aversion among many executives. Despite the significant resources and talent available to them, Hollywood executives often prioritize profit over creativity and originality, leading to a proliferation of sequels, remakes, and formulaic films.
In this context, it’s worth exploring why Hollywood executives are driven by fear and what factors contribute to this trend. From pressure to maintain positive public perception to the need to appease investors, there are many reasons why executives may shy away from taking creative risks.
By understanding the drivers behind this culture of fear, we can gain insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the film industry today.
Let’s dive in.
‘A Fish Called Wanda’Credit: MGM/UA Communications Co.
Why Are Hollywood Executives Driven By Fear?
One of the hardest things about getting a project off the ground in Hollywood is that executives are driven by fear. They want to keep their jobs. Taking a risk could cost them everything, so they are very cautious about what gets a green light and who they hire.
I want to be mad at them all the time, but I feel like it’s way better to understand why this is happening and work with them to be brave together.
There are a few reasons why Hollywood executives might be driven by fear:
Risk Aversion: Hollywood is a highly competitive industry, and executives are often under pressure to deliver profits and high box-office returns. In order to minimize the risks associated with investing in films, executives may be more inclined to choose projects that have a proven track record or are similar to successful films in the past. This risk aversion can lead to a lack of creativity and originality in the films that are produced. Why take a chance on something weird or new if it costs you everything? How can you justify it in a board meeting?
Public Perception: The success or failure of a film can have a significant impact on the public perception of a studio or executive. A string of box-office failures can be seen as a sign of incompetence or lack of vision, which can be damaging to an executive’s career. This can lead to a focus on producing films that are safe and predictable rather than taking risks on new and innovative ideas. No one wants their name on a huge flop especially when this business is about what you have done for me lately.
Pressure from Investors: Hollywood studios are often owned by large corporations or investment firms, who are primarily concerned with making a profit. These investors may put pressure on executives to deliver returns on their investment, which can lead to a focus on box-office success over artistic integrity or creativity. The biggest problem with Hollywood right now is that commerce is valued over art. And these big firms who bought studios are forcing them to only make what they perceive might make money, instead of taking chances.
The competitive and high-stakes nature of the film industry, combined with pressure from investors and the need to maintain a positive public perception, can lead to fear and risk aversion among Hollywood executives.
‘High Fidelity’Credit: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
How Can a Writer or Director Sustain a Career if Hollywood Executives Are Driven By Fear?
As I mentioned up top, no matter what, you still have to work in this town. So, how can you work in a market driven by fear? Well, find brave people who want to make good things. Also, work with the people in fear to become the kind of person that be relied on in this tumultuous industry.
Although Hollywood executives may be driven by fear, it is still possible for a writer or director to sustain a career in the film industry.
Here are a few strategies that can help you actually work in this town:
Build a Strong Reputation: One of the best ways to overcome the risk aversion of Hollywood executives is to establish a strong reputation as a writer or director. This can be done by creating high-quality work, winning awards, and receiving critical acclaim. By building a reputation as a talented and innovative artist, you may be able to convince executives to take a chance on your ideas. Be someone who they can rely on to get things done. Someone who brings out the best in them as well.
Network and Collaborate: In addition to creating great work, it’s important to build relationships with other professionals in the industry. Networking and collaborating with other writers, directors, producers, and executives can help you gain access to opportunities and resources that may not be available otherwise. Meet people. Help people. Create an environment
Seek Alternative Funding Sources: If Hollywood executives are hesitant to invest in your projects, there may be alternative funding sources that can help you bring your ideas to life. This could include crowdfunding platforms, grants, or independent investors.
Embrace Independent Filmmaking: Another option is to embrace independent filmmaking and focus on creating films outside of the Hollywood system. This can be a challenging path, but it can also provide more creative freedom and control over your work.
Ultimately, while the risk-aversion of Hollywood executives can make it difficult to sustain a career in the film industry, there are still opportunities for writers and directors who are willing to be persistent, creative, and flexible in their approach.
‘Old Guard’Credit: Netflix
Summing Up Why Are Hollywood Executives Driven By Fear?
Hollywood executives are often driven by fear due to a variety of factors, including risk aversion, public perception, and pressure from investors. These factors can create a culture of playing it safe and avoiding risks, which can limit creativity and originality in the films that are produced.
However, it is important to note that not all Hollywood executives are driven by fear, and there are many examples of successful films that have taken risks and pushed boundaries.
As the film industry continues to evolve and adapt to changing audience preferences, it will be interesting to see how Hollywood executives balance the need for profitability with the desire to create innovative and thought-provoking films.
Looking back has never been U2’s thing. They were always about the future, or at least the present, craving to be the best and biggest band in the world. But with the release of Songs Of Surrender—a collection of subdued re-recordings of their 40 most celebrated songs—U2 finally have acknowledged that they’ve entered…
(Pictured: Drake Hogestyn and Deidre Hall, Photo by: Randy Shropshire/Peacock)
The residents of Salem have received some good news. Peacock has renewed Days of Our Lives for two more years — seasons 59 and 60 — which will keep the venerable drama running through the 24-25 television season. The soap moved to the streaming service last September after nearly 57 years and 14,430 episodes on NBC.
Premiering on November 8th of 1965, Days of Our Lives is set in the fictitious Midwestern town of Salem. It revolves around the Brady, Horton, and DiMera family members — along with their friends, enemies, and lovers. Season 58 cast members have included Camila Banus, Brandon Barash, Brandon Beemer, Nadia Bjorlin, Carson Boatman, Raven Bowens, Bryan Dattilo, Mary Beth Evans, Dan Feuerriegel, Billy Flynn, Galen Gering, Linsey Godfrey, Stacy Haiduk, Deidre Hall, Jackée Harry, Drake Hogestyn, Abigail Klein, Lauren Koslow, Martha Madison, Eric Martsolf, Stephen Nichols, Emily O’Brien, James Reynolds, Suzanne Rogers, Josh Taylor, Paul Telfer, Robert Scott Wilson, and Arianne Zucker.
Peacock notes that Days has been a top 10 title on the streaming service since it became a Peacock exclusive last year. The streamer and cast celebrated the renewals via social media.
What do you think? Are you a fan of Days of Our Lives? Are you glad to hear that the series has been renewed for two more seasons? Were you expecting it to be cancelled by Peacock?
Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.
The victory of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” at the 95th Oscars on Sunday is a milestone for Asian talent in front of and behind the camera. It’s also a sign that the Academy Awards is unafraid to make bold, unconventional bets and to embrace a movie that, on paper, could not be farther removed from typical Oscar bait.
And yet the A24 film walked away with the most Oscars with seven, including statues for best picture, director and original screenplay for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, actress for Michelle Yeoh, supporting actress for Jamie Lee Curtis and supporting actor Ke Huy Quan. This marked A24’s second best picture win since the stunning upset of “Moonlight” (2016) over “La La Land,” also known as “envelope gate.”
Kwan became the second Asian to pull off the “hat trick” — winning picture, director and screenplay — after Bong Joon Ho for “Parasite” (2019). He’s also the fourth Asian directing winner after Ang Lee (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Life of Pi”), Bong and Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”). “Everything Everywhere” is the third movie to win best picture with Asian producers, including co-producer Jonathan Wang.
It was also a night full of comebacks and rediscoveries.
Yeoh’s historic win for best actress made the 60-year-old veteran star the first Asian, and second woman of color, to be recognized by the Academy in 95 years. Coming 22 years after Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”), who happened to be a presenter at the ceremony, Yeoh bested her main competitor Cate Blanchett, who had been lauded for her towering achievement as a lesbian music conductor in “Tár.” It’s a well deserved victory for the Malaysian-born sensation, coming after she was snubbed for her turns in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) and “Crazy Rich Asians” (2019). Her historic feat comes 40 years after Ben Kingsley, who is of Indian descent, became the first Asian lead actor winner for “Gandhi” (1982), which also won best picture.
However, with a sense of celebration comes anxiety. How long will we have to wait to see another woman of color honored by the Oscars?
The weight of an 8 1/2 pound statuette can be hard to carry. After Berry became the first Black woman to win best actress (her achievement came the same night as Denzel Washington winning lead actor for “Training Day” and Sidney Poitier being given the Honorary Oscar) the “chase” for the second has been exhausting. We’ve had near triumphs with Viola Davis (“The Help” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”). Then there have been setbacks, such as this season when Danielle Deadwyler (“Till”) and Davis (“The Woman King”) failed to score nominations for their acclaimed performances.
Similar worries surrounded Quan, who won supporting actor for his role as the goofy husband Waymond Wang in “Everything Everywhere,” his first major film role in over 30 years. He’s the second Asian person to win the category after Haing S. Ngor was recognized for “The Killing Fields” (1984). Will we see Quan at the Oscars again? Just like year’s winner Troy Kotsur for “CODA,” only the second deaf actor to win an Oscar, that will depend on if Hollywood creates the roles that the two actors, and other great talents from underrepresented communities, deserve.
My long belief in historic milestones is that the enemy of progress is complacency.
We often take our feet off the gas pedal because “we got one.” When we should be pushing harder so we can ensure this “one” isn’t the last. We had two years of women winning best director — Zhao and Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”) — and yet no female filmmakers were recognized this year. I struggle to understand how the likes of Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”) or Charlotte Wells (“Aftersun”) failed to make the cut.
Each year of historic representation is often followed by an extreme pendulum swing and shortcomings at the next ceremony. Yeoh is only the second Asian woman ever nominated in the category, in the year that saw the most Asian actors recognized in history with four. More specifically, Yeoh is first Asian actress to win, since Merle Oberon’s (“The Dark Angel”) Asian descent was not known until after her death. Think about all 94 ceremonies, year after year, calling 20 white names, then rewarding four white people. And the numbers don’t lie.
In all, more than 3,100 Oscar statuettes have been awarded across every category, both active and now inactive. Asian people hold 43 and have thankfully added four with Wang, Kwan, Quan and Yeoh. Black and African-American people hold 41, with one new addition with Ruth E. Carter, who became the first Black woman to win a second Oscar. More specifically, Black women are 19 of those, and this year’s crop of Black women nominees all came from one movie, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Furthermore, Latinos have 34, and Indigenous people, only two.
Let me be clear, the Academy is not the villain in this story, at least not anymore.
The role of the Academy in the history of cinema has long been criticized and debated regarding its selections and snubs of popular films and beloved performers. With the new diversity and inclusion requirements to submit for best picture set to go into effect for next year’s 96th ceremony (as part of the Academy Aperture 2025 initiative), in addition to the addition of new members, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for the organization.
Even though “Everything Everywhere” wasn’t my personal choice (No. 9 on my top 10 list), the cultural representation, zany and imaginative risks it took and the celebration of new voices and creative talent its win represents should make any dreamer wanting to break into Hollywood more hopeful. And that’s a win for all of us.
Since the expansion of the best picture lineup in 2009, only two movies have won five or more Oscars – “The Hurt Locker” (2009) and “The Artist” (2011) with six and five respectively.
Other takeaways from this awards season are the embracing of populist titles such as the two sequels, “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” finding recognition in best picture, and taking home one apiece.
While awards punditry isn’t the most necessary skill to sustain life on planet Earth, a year such as this one that offered plenty of twists and turns in the acting races, with multiple guilds and organizations disagreeing on the winners, will make the art of predicting more interesting moving forward.
Are You Lonesome Tonight? is so precisely wound and elegantly constructed that it shows a master helmsman at the top of his craft. Wait, scratch that. This handsome, dramatic mystery is Shipei Wen’s feature-length directorial debut. He also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Noé Dodson, Yinuo Wang, and Binghao Zhao, who are also entering full-length territory for the first time.
The night is hazy and drenched in neon lights. The port city of Guangzhou (in Hong Kong) teems with life as its citizens go about their lives. Repairman Wang Xue-ming (Eddie Peng) is driving along when he hits someone. Scared and panicking, Wang flees. However, the man is racked with guilt over the incident to the point he tries to turn himself in to the police. While that doesn’t pan out, he does meet the victim’s widow, Liang Ma (Sylvia Chang), and the two strike up a friendship.
Meanwhile, Detective Chen (Yanhui Wang) is put in charge of the investigation looking into a body riddled with bullet holes. It turns out this body is Liang’s husband, the same person Wang ran over. So, if the repairman isn’t reasonable for his death, who is? Well, years later, these questions and the case still haunt everyone involved. Who did kill Liang’s husband and why? Will the truth ever come out?
“…a body riddled with bullet holes. It turns out this body is Liang’s husband, the same person Wang ran over.”
The cinematography and lighting make Are You Lonesome Tonight? look like a realistic Blade Runner, of all things. There were four directors of photography working on this: Cedric Cheung-Lau, Xiaosu Han, Zhang Heng, and Andreas Thalhammer. They work together seamlessly to bring forth a beautiful cinematic experience in which the visuals telegraph the characters’ mood before anyone speaks. In that vein, the violent outbursts, of which there are many, are riveting and intense, flawlessly shot and choreographed.
It would be a shame if all this visual panache were wasted on a poorly thought-out story or dumb script. Thankfully, the screenwriters put as much work and love into that as Wen does the look and feel of his picture. All the characters have strong motivations, and their arcs keep all watching engaged from their introduction to their final scene. In addition, Wen structures the story non-chronologically, jumping back and forth through time to fully explore the events of that fateful night. It is a stellar way to keep the mystery afloat for much of the speedy 95-minute runtime.
Also ensuring the success of Are You Lonesome Tonight? is the cast. Peng is brilliant as the frustrated but well-intentioned Wang. He makes the character’s reaction believable while conveying guilt and angst with conviction. Chang is elegant, underplaying her first few scenes. That way, when the character loses it, that impact is felt all the more. Yanhui Wang avoids many of the stereotypes usually found in the obsessive cop, making viewers connect with him on a deep level. Even the supporting actors do their share of the heavy lifting as no one turns in a mediocre, much less bad, performance.
Are You Lonesome Tonight? is a masterclass of cinematic storytelling. Every element works together to enhance and build up each other. This might be Wen’s first feature film, but it heralds a top-notch director with a lot of swagger and much to say.
US forces had to bring the $32million drone down in international waters on Tuesday night after the fighter poured fuel on the unmanned aerial vehicle and then struck its propeller, sparking a race between Moscow and Washington to recover it.
The new footage follows Russian claims its jet did not make contact with the drone, instead blaming ‘sharp maneuvering’ for the crash.
This is the first direct confrontation between Russia and the US since the start of the war in Ukraine, occurring close to Crimea.
Video shows the Russian fighter approaching the American drone from behind and beginning to release fuel as it passes – the Pentagon said
Released footage shows the moment a Russian fighter dumped fuel on an American drone
The 42-second clip shows the UAV come into contact with a Russian jet.
One of two Russian jets flying over international waters pulls up on the drone, approaching from behind.
The jet is shown to dump fuel as it passes. Fuel dumping is usually used by aircraft in emergency situations to lose weight.
The UAV’s camera suffers damage before it is forced to make an emergency landing in international waters below.
Moscow previously said it would work to retrieve the wreckage of the $32million drone in what would be a propaganda coup for Vladimir Putin, after earlier warning that it will ‘consider any action with US weaponry as openly hostile’.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby confirmed the US was reviewing ‘imagery’ collected from the region.
He also said the UAV may never be recovered from the crash site, admitting that the Reaper wreckage is still in the Black Sea.
Kirby said that US officials told Moscow to be more careful when flying in international air space around American assets.
Russia’s Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, meanwhile accused the US of committing an ‘act of provocation’ after the $32 million US surveillance drone was intercepted by two Su-27 fighter jets in international airspace.
Antonov warned Washington it must stop ‘hostile’ flights near his country’s border – or face the consequences.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told reporters: ‘We know that the intercept was intentional. We know that the aggressive behavior was intentional.’
It was unclear whether the collision itself was deliberate.
Even so, the incident over international waters has triggered fears that such a mistake or misunderstanding could spark an escalation in hostilities.
Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said he spoke to his Russian counterpart on Wednesday in their first call since October.
‘I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu,’ Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing.
‘As I’ve said repeatedly, it’s important that great powers be models of transparency and communication, and the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows.’
Russia said it made clear in the call that it sees things differently and that U.S. aerial operations in the region are a threat.
‘It was noted that flights by American strategic lethal drones by the Crimea coastline were provocative in nature and created pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone,’ the defense ministry statement said after Shoigu’s telephone conversation with Austin.
Earlier the Kremlin said it would try to retrieve the remains of the drone.
The plane begins to dump fuel on the drone before the camera suffers damage
The drone’s camera stabilises after the SU-27 passes overhead, clipping its propeller
Video shows damage to the UAV after the jet dumped fuel over it in the Black Sea
According to US officials the MQ-9 Reaper drone was intercepted by two Russian Su-27 jets that dumped fuel on top of the drone before clipping its propeller, forcing it to crash
An American MQ-9 Reaper drone (left) and a Russian Su-27 fighter jet (right)
‘I don’t know whether we will be able to retrieve it or not, but that it has to be done. And we’ll certainly work on it. I hope, of course, successfully,” Kremlin Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told the Rossiya-1 TV channel,’ according to Reuters.
However, Milley played down the prospect of losing sensitive technology. He said it had gone down in four or five thousand feet of water.
‘We don’t have any ships there. But we do have a lot of allies and friends in the area that will work through recovery operations,’ he said.
‘That’s U.S. property, and we’ll leave it at that at this point.
‘But it probably broke up. There’s probably not a lot to recover, frankly,
‘As far as the loss of anything sensitive … intelligence etc … as normal we would take — and we did take mitigating measures — so we are quite confident that whatever was of value is no longer of value.’
The Sukhoi Su-27 is a Soviet twin-engine fighter in operation since 1977.
It is used by the Russian Air Force, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force of China, and others.
The MQ-9 Reaper drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, often used for reconnaissance.
Sometimes called Predator B, the MQ-9 can also be attached with missiles to conduct precision airstrikes.
“Raquel validates everything Tom needs to be validated,” Doute, 40, told the Bacheloralum, 42, in a Wednesday, March 15, Instagram clip from the upcoming episode of his “Viall Files” podcast, which will drop on Thursday, March 16.
Doute — who called the 28-year-old model “fraudulent to the core” — added that Ariana Madix“asked” her to speak out about the scandal. “She was like, go talk about it, be my mouthpiece,” the Michigan native explained.Us Weekly confirmed earlier this month that Madix, 37, split from the 40-year-old Schwartz & Sandy’s co-ownerafter finding out about the affair with Leviss.
Elsewhere in the teaser, Viall asked Doute what Sandoval’slongtime BFF Tom Schwartz — who made out with Leviss in August 2022 at Scheana Shay and Brock Davies’wedding — thought about the situation.
The trailer then cuts to Doute, saying, “I’m like, ‘No, the four of you were like, going on double dates.” Though she did not mention any names in her response, the cut seemed to imply she was claiming that Schwartz, 40, knewabout the affair longer than the rest of the Pump Rules cast.
Doute also recalled an instance where someone “had a show, got completely smashed and had sex with some fan girl,”though she didn’t address anyone by name.
The former SUR waitress previously opened up about the cheating scandal on the March 8 episode of her own podcast, “Sex, Love and What Else Matters.” She alleged at the time that Schwartz knew about the affair “a month ago” and warned Sandoval to come clean.
“[Schwartz] said that he told [Sandoval] he needed to tell Ariana before it blew up in his face and humiliated the hell out of her,” she claimed. “Too little too late.”
She then posted that Madix discovered Sandoval’s infidelity when the former bartender “just felt like she had to look” at her longtie beau’s cellphone,where she discovered “a screen recorded a FaceTime of him and Raquel masturbating with each other.”
Us confirmed last week that Doute is shooting new Vanderpump Rules footage for season 10 after cameras went back up amid Sandoval and Leviss’ affair. The former Bravo star was photographed filming outside of Madix and the TomTom co-owner’s home on March 9 after publicly announcing she was “Team Ariana.” (Doute was let go from the reality series after season 8.)
“I don’t know why I feel like I need to make this clear, but there’s so many people right now wondering if this is making me happy,” the former reality said via Instagram Stories on March 3, referring to her past feud with Madix. “And you guys, Ariana and I’ve been really good friends for many, many years now. So, I am team Ariana — all day, every day. That’s what’s up.”
While Douteand Madix were initially at odds — Madix made out with Sandoval while he was still dating Doute — the women have long since pushed back their differences and become good friends. Doute and Sandoval, however, have continued to have a contentious relationship following their 2014 split.
It’s déjà vu all over again: The Biden White House has told TikTok that Chinese parent company ByteDance must sell its ownership position in the popular video app or face a ban in the U.S., TikTok said on Wednesday. The U.S. government is demanding the divestiture on the basis of national security concerns.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), an interagency group overseeing national security risks that is led by the Treasury Department, “recently” demanded that ByteDance’s Chinese owners divest TikTok, per the Journal.
Lawmakers in the U.S. (and other countries) perceive TikTok as a potential threat to user privacy and national security given the app’s Chinese ownership. The fear is that the Chinese government could access sensitive information via TikTok. According to TikTok, it has never shared user data with the Chinese Communist Party; the company also says Chinese authorities have not made any such requests.
In a statement, TikTok spokesperson Hilary McQuaide said, “If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access.” According to TikTok, it is already responding to concerns from U.S. lawmakers and regulators by putting in place “U.S.-based protection of U.S. user data and systems, with robust third-party monitoring, vetting and verification.”
In the U.S., legislation introduced in Congress would grant President Biden the authority to ban TikTok under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The White House last week signaled its support of the bill.
In attempting to address the Biden administration’s concerns, TikTok has formed a U.S.-based data security division and has an agreement with Oracle to store user app data in the U.S.. In addition, TikTok has proposed giving Oracle the ability to review app and server code as well as creating a board to oversee the U.S. security division — which would not be subject to ByteDance control — comprising three members who would be screened by CFIUS.
According to the company’s own admission, ByteDance employees have used TikTok to spy on American citizens. In December 2022, ByteDance said that four of its employees violated company policy by inappropriately accessing data on U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists, in an attempt to track down the source of information leaks. ByteDance said it fired all four of the employees, two based in the U.S. and two in China. An internal ByteDance investigation found that the employees had accessed internet addresses and other data of two American reporters via their TikTok accounts to determine their approximate location, in an attempt to see whether the journalists had been in the vicinity of other ByteDance staffers.
Logline: The story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world’s first smartphone.
Sales Agent: XYZ Films
Panelists: Matt Johnson, Matthew Miller, Glenn Howerton
Premiered: March 13, 2023
Key Quote: Johnson: “What Glenn and Jay are doing in the film is so unique and, I don’t want to say bizarre, but it is not the type of film that anybody is expecting about a stupid dead cellphone… Real movies are always funny because people are funny. I’ve never been in a situation in my entire life that, even the tensest, wasn’t at some level funny and I that most movies are dead and cold if they don’t admit that.”
Howerton: “Anyone with an extreme point of view is going to be funny, and if a person doesn’t have an extreme point of view, then they’re not very dramatic and interesting to watch.”
Johnson: “This movie winds up being funny because you can’t believe people are actually acting like this, right? Because they’re taking the drama so seriously.”
The Deadline Studio at SXSW runs March 10-13, where the cast and creatives behind the best and buzziest titles in this year’s lineup sit down with Deadline’s festival team to discuss their movies and the paths they took to get to Austin, Texas.
Somewhere along the way in Jon S. Baird’s fleet and compelling fictionalized look at the invention of Tetris, you forget that you’re watching a film about a video game. Zippy car chases, farcical negotiation scenes and a tour of 1980s-era conference rooms around the world make Tetris, which premiered at SXSW and airs on Apple TV+ at the end of March, more than an ordinary origin story. Baird (Stan & Ollie) uses the convoluted licensing battle around the game to frame a sturdy and occasionally funny drama about capitalism, intellectual property and the specter of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Tetris’ willingness to tackle these themes indeed makes it more absorbing than your average streamer fare, but it also makes you wish the film went farther in exploring its ambivalence about the relationship between creative expression and greed.
The story starts in ’80s Las Vegas, where Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton), a Dutch national raised in New York and living in Japan, is trying to sell his game, Go, at a convention. His efforts to corral passersby are, to put it bluntly, unsuccessful. Not only is Henk competing with the city and its promise of slot-machine riches, but he’s stationed next to a far more gripping game: Tetris. The falling tetriminoes, which must be turned and flipped to create a complete line, have even stolen his salesgirl, who floated to the next station and never returned.
Tetris
The Bottom Line
Enjoyable, as far as it goes.
Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Headliners) Release date: Friday, March 31 (Apple TV+) Cast: Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Sofia Lebedeva, Anthony Boyle, Ben Miles Director: Jon S. Baird Screenwriter: Noah Pink
Rated R,
1 hour 58 minutes
Like any good businessman, Henk nosily investigates the competition. What he finds just a few feet away is an addictive puzzle game, an enthralling composition of multicolored blocks. He impulsively buys the computer and arcade rights for Japan (a move he clumsily rationalizes to his impatient bank manager, played by Rick Yune).
Everyone who encounters Tetris feels like Henk. The game, invented by Russian computer engineer and game designer Alexey Pajitnov (portrayed by Nikita Efremov) in 1984, was unlike anything on the market at the time. The simple aesthetic and straightforward goal (to create a complete row, which then disappears) drew players in. The brief thrill of incremental problem-solving kept them hooked.
In the 2004 documentary Tetris: From Russia with Love, Pajitnov and a gallery of talking heads attribute the game’s widespread appeal to how it tapped into a more creative part of the human psyche. Tetris inspired you to build something; it was, in Pajitnov’s words in the doc, imbued with the “spirit of constructing.”
I suspect timing also played a large part in the game’s early success. Tetris breached the digital walls of the Iron Curtain as the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse. The game gained notoriety within Russia and then the rest of the Soviet countries before its license was acquired by Robert Stein (played by Toby Jones), a shrewd businessman who created a market out of shoddy license acquisitions. It linked, however tenuously, people around the world to a place they had been taught to fear.
Tetris efficiently covers this history in its opening moments through Henk’s voiceover narration and expository sales pitch to his bank manager. But Baird is more interested in the bizarre events that subsequently made the game a runaway success internationally and eventually secured a credit for its creator. By truncating the early part of the game’s origin story, the film pushes interesting questions about its underground distribution (Pajitnov copied it for friends, who copied it for other friends, etc.) to the margins.
Baird’s approach is similar to David Fincher’s in The Social Network, another film that uses a protracted legal battle to frame inquiries about greed and capitalism. Like the earlier movie, Tetris, with its dour visual palette, menacing score and jittery camera angles, plays like a thriller. But Baird adds flourishes that save the film from cynicism, most notably the 16-bit animation interludes introducing characters as players and chapters as levels and using Europe’s “The Final Countdown” as a musical motif.
Noah Pink’s screenplay gives us solid enough foundations to understand the motives of each character, but not enough to prevent them from occasionally feeling like avatars. Egerton’s Henk, played with an earnest goofiness, becomes a symbol for integrity and honesty. More than the license for distribution, he wants Efremov’s Alexey, whom he tries to develop a friendship with, to get credit and royalties. The other businessmen, like Robert (Jones) and the billionaire Maxwells (Roger Allam plays shady patriarch Robert and Anthony Boyle is his thin-skinned son, Kevin), couldn’t care less about the inventor.
When Henk lands in Russia, he discovers a system unsympathetic to his Western ideals, and even more vultures. There’s Nikolai Belikov (Oleg Stefan), the manager of Alexey’s company, whose motivations boil down to getting the best deal for the Soviet Union, or so he says. And corrupt KGB officer Valentin Trifonov (Igor Grabuzov) wants to secure a personal safety net before the current regime topples. As the cadre of businessmen convene in Russia (unbeknownst to each other), the stakes get higher and the ridiculousness of their situations more apparent, making for an entertaining sequence of events. Desperate attempts to outbid each other land each of them in wild scenarios as the corrosive mix of money and power in the collapsing Soviet Union becomes clearer.
As Tetris hurtles toward its final act, the film raises more questions about intellectual property, capital and who loses when greed is prioritized above all else. There’s also an attempt to punch up the thread about Henk and Alexey’s friendship — the two have a heart-to-heart dinner and go out dancing — though that doesn’t land as gracefully as the licensing storyline, with its more natural-feeling twists and turns.
Tucked into the film’s triumphant ending are traces of traces of a more provocative thesis about the geopolitical landscape into which Tetris was born. Who were the real winners and losers of this fraught licensing battle unfolding against the backdrop of a changing world order? With Pet Shop Boys’ “Opportunities” — a song steeped in irony — playing over the closing credits, I longed for a film that leaned into complexity as much as sheer enjoyability.
Full credits
Venue: SXSW Film Festival (Headliners) Distributor: Apple TV+ Production companies: AI-Film, Apple TV+, Marv Films, Unigram Cast: Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Sofia Lebedeva, Anthony Boyle, Ben Miles, Ken Yamamura, Igor Grabuzov, Oleg Shtefanko, Ayane Nagabuchi, Rick Yune Director: Jon S. Baird Screenwriter: Noah Pink Producers: Matthew Vaughn, Gillian Berrie, Claudia Vaughn, Len Blavatnik, Gregor Cameron Executive producers: Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres, Iain Mackenzie, Noah Pink, Taron Egerton, Danny Cohen, Amanda Ghost, Vince Holden, Henk Rogers, Alexey Pajitnov, Maya Rogers Cinematographer: Alwin Kuchler Production designer: Daniel Taylor Costume designer: Nat Turner Editors: Martin Walsh, Colin Goudie, Ben Mills Music: Lorne Balfe Casting director: Lillie Jeffrey, Reg Poerscout-Edgerton
Rated R,
1 hour 58 minutes
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When we first meet Aman (Jeetendra Kumar) and Kartik (Ayushmann Khurrana), they are running around in superhero suits, fighting people dressed as ‘Bad Keetanus’, and quizzing perplexed bystanders on consequential matters like, “Kya aapke toothpaste mein pyaar hai?
After that intriguing and zany introduction, I was on board and ready for a madcap rollercoaster of a ride. And the film did not disappoint.
Laughter, as a section in Reader’s Digest that old family manual informed us, is the best medicine and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan is a good example. Employing the small town milieu that has gained much prominence and popularity over the last decade, Kewalya takes forward the conversation around same sex relationships to the heartland, where members of the LGBTQIA community face their biggest acceptance challenge.
Kewalya, when I met him at the trailer launch, mentioned that he had addressed the biases to homosexual relationships head-on, starting with those that he himself had once held on to. One knows that he has indeed, and that the film is likely to strike home when Aman’s uncle (Manu Rishi), who is constantly refusing to even utter the ‘G’ word, asks Kartik, “Beta yeh kab decide kiya ki ye banoge?” Anyone familiar with the North Indian diktats on masculinity would know that it’s a humorous, but astute chronicling of a patriarchal society’s deep-rooted homophobia.
If one were to rewind a bit, we have had Dostana, which introduced the idea of two brawny men as a pretend gay couple and the hilarity it would induce. But that was a story set on foreign shores aimed at a far more liberated set that despite their modern ideas struggled to break free of established norms. Then there were far more poignant sensitive films like I Am and Aligarh, which explored the complexities of being gay in India followed by the sensitive Kapoor & Sons about family secrets. And now SMZS takes it to the next level by making LGBTQIA relationships a lot more accessible, and even family-friendly, if you will. Given that most love stories tragic or comic are about overcoming the impossible obstacles in their way, the premise is perfect.
And with the courts having done away with Article 377 that made homosexuality a crime, the timing is perfect too. Parents struggling to accept children who choose relationships outside the widely accepted heterosexual construct is a worldwide phenomenon and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan does well in making it the central point of conflict. Kewalya, who makes his debut as a director, passes with flying colours given the odds of pulling off a film like this one.
The ensemble cast comprising of accomplished actors like Ayushmann Khurrana, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, Sunita Rajwar and Manu Rishi in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, impresses. They bring to their characters the bumbling simplicity that is essential to making the story credible and the humour effective. Besides the seasoned actors, there is a bunch of fresh talent in there that impresses too. Jitendra Kumar, best known for his web-series outings is impressive as are Maanvi Gagroo and Pankhuri Awasthy in smaller roles.
A film’s cast is instrumental in making the film watchable and the abovementioned do a fine job keeping the audience glued to the screen with their antics. Khurrana, as usual, plays to his strengths and works the more flamboyant part, wearing his heart on his sleeves with Kumar as the bashful Aman and together, along with the aforementioned, they tide over the bits that don’t exactly stand out.
That Aman and Kartik get their ‘Ja jee le apni zindagi’ nod from Bauji bodes well for the film and if it notches up a good number at the box-office, it could well be the happily ever after that Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and the LGBTQIA community in India needs.
Hollywood producer Scott M. Rosenfelt has joined Filipino TV crime-action series, “Sellblock,” as U.S.-based Blue Fox Entertainment joins as the show’s sales and distribution representative.
Planned as a three-season series, “Sellblock” chronicles the activities of one of Asia’s biggest drug empires which is operating from inside a Philippines maximum-security prison. Production is scheduled to start in May.
The cast is headlined by Jericho Rosales (“Basurero,” “Siargao,” “Pacquiao: The Movie”) alongside actors Empoy Marquez, Ronnie Lazaro, Mon Confiado, Sylvia Sanchez, and Ria Atayde.
The show is produced by Philippines-based BlackOps Studios Asia, headed by Pedring Lopez (Netflix’s “Maria,” “Darkroom,” “Geisha of Death”). Lopez will direct all eight episodes of the first season.
“Pedring and I are very pleased to expand upon our growing relationship with Blue Fox Entertainment’s executives, Audrey Delaney and Lisa Gutberlet with ‘SellBlock,’ as we are already involved together in two feature projects, ‘CounterPlay’ and ‘Gi’,” said Rosenfelt. “We appreciate their standing in the industry and look to build a long-term relationship as we continue to develop and produce content in Asia.” Rosenfelt has credits including “Mystic Pizza,” “Home Alone” and “Critical Thinking.”
Scott M. Rosenfelt
First announced in 2022, the series is also produced by PsyOps8 together with its partner, Fire and Ice Media, a new production company headed by Liza Diño, former chairperson and CEO of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, which is raising financing for the project.
Jim Baltazar’s CMB Films, one of the largest production equipment providers in Southeast Asia and Nathan Studios (“Cattleya Killer”, “Trigger”) is set as a co-producer.
Philippines media group ABS-CBN is no longer attached. Nor is Hong Kong-operated media fund New Asia Ferrell Asset Management Limited.
“I’ve had a strong interest in developing a show like this, to provide global audiences with a glimpse into a shadowy, dangerous world. My work as a filmmaker – director, writer and showrunner – takes me to many great stories, to mine difficult characters and to illuminate their brutality and their humanity. ‘SellBlock’ is all of that and more,” said Lopez.
“Working with BlackOps takes us one step closer to the vision of a globally competitive film and TV industry from the Philippines. In the last six years, we have seen the elevation of Filipino arthouse films in the top film festivals because of international co-production with the Southeast Asian region and Europe,” said Diño. “Now, with the streaming giants looking at the Philippines for content production, we see a shift in our local mainstream industry to produce globally viable genre content that can be distributed to commercial markets and enjoyed by audiences worldwide.”
Blue Fox operates as a distributor in North America and as a sales agent in international territories. Its current sales slate includes: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe,” produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda; “Space Oddity,” directed by Kyra Sedgwick; family comedy “Popular Theory,” starring Cheryl Hines, Sophia Reid-Ganzert, and Marc Evan Jackson; and the YA thriller “Jane” with Madelaine Petsch and Chloe Bailey.
Sebastian Stan’s next film with Marvel Studios, Thunderbolts, now has an official start date, and it’s not far off.
Following his adventures with Sam Wilson in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers’ best man is getting ready for his next step in the MCU.
One could reasonably assume Captain America: New World Order would be the character’s next outing, seeing as he and Wilson shared lots of development with one another. Sadly, however, it seems that Bucky has very little, if anything at all, to do with Anthony Mackie’s big movie.
“It’s going to have to be a back-and-forth with me. [Marvel Studios and ‘Stranger Things’ are] going to have to sort of share me. And so it is kind of like, I don’t know exactly how they’re working it, but it’s a week on, week off, two weeks on, two weeks off, something like that where I would go back and forth.”
Despite all the work it will be, Harbour seems to be looking on the bright side of the situation. At the end of the day, the two structured around each other is simply convenient:
“They both are being shot in Atlanta. That may have also been structured in a certain way, but yes, it is helpful. So I can just literally shoot a scene in ‘Stranger Things’ and get in my car and run over to the Marvel scene to shoot a scene there maybe.”
One would think that after everything both Sam and he faced over on Disney+, Bucky would be one of the first allies the new Cap calls for when he finds trouble.
It doesn’t even seem to be a scheduling issue, seeing as both New World Order (which is scheduled to begin production this month) and Thunderbolts film one after the other with little-to-no overlap.
There’s always the chance that the two projects film one right after the other to better fit Sebastian Stan’s schedule. Perhaps Marvel Studios intends to surprise the audiences, and fans will actually be seeing Bucky Barnes all over 2024’s biggest MCU adventures.
Captain America: New World Order lands in theaters on May 3, 2024, while Thunderbolts is set to hit theaters on July 26 that same year.
With the release of the highly anticipated DC film The Flash only a few months away, it makes sense that we’d start seeing toy releases pop up, and we’ve got one from one of the biggest toy companies out there, Spin Master.
Check out this amazing 12-inch figure of the fastest man alive, The Flash, as well as a great-looking Batwing Battle Set, which includes the Batwing and 4-inch figures of both Michael Keaton’s Batman and The Flash.
Bring The Flash to life and go on epic adventures with this posable 12-inch feature figure. Press The Flash’s chest to unlock his lightning speed, as he lights up and goes into running mode! Shake the figure to activate more lights and sounds, including phrases like, “C’mon, Barry! You got this!” With 11 points of articulation and movie-like styling, super-villains don’t stand a chance against the fastest man alive.
Recreate your favorite high-speed battle scenes at home with the Batwing Battle Set. Featuring detailed sculpt and movie styling, this playset includes two 4-inch figures of The Flash & Michael Keaton as Batman! Pull up the landing gear, load The Flash and Batman into the Batwing, and defend the world against chaos. Compatible with all 4-inch action figures.
Worlds collide when Barry uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. But when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, Barry becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod has returned, threatening annihilation, and there are no Superheroes to turn to. That is, unless Barry can coax a very different Batman out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian… albeit not the one he’s looking for. Ultimately, to save the world that he is in and return to the future that he knows, Barry’s only hope is to race for his life. But will making the ultimate sacrifice be enough to reset the universe?
From GamesReviews:”Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is not the Bayonetta you remember. Even if you aren’t a Bayonetta fan, check this out!”
Jonathan Baker’s Annual Oscar Viewing Party, presented in collaboration with French Riviera Film Festival andIndie Entertainment Media (IEM), was held on the eve of March 12 at Baker Manor in Beverly Hills, at the stunning estate that was once home to Warren Beatty. Elvis is Oscar was the theme of the evening and the cover feature of IEM.
Jonathan and Jenny Baker
Joining hosts Jonathan and Jenny Baker, and FRFF co-founders Nicole Goesseringer Muj and Gotham Chandna, were Oscar-winner George Chakiris, E! founder Larry Namer, Dee Dee Sorvino (wife of late Paul Sorvino), Consul General of Croatia in Los Angeles Renee Pea, Caroline Lagerfelt (Sweet Magnolias, Gossip Girl) and Anneliese Judge (Sweet Magnolias), Kat Kramer, Vincent de Paul, Carolyn Hennesy, Frederico Lapenda, fashion designer Sue Wong, founder Pure Flix David A.R. White, Celeste Thorson, Josie Goldberg, Kash Hovey, Dustin Quick and Medi eM, Shalini Vadhera-Potts and Tony Potts, designer Sameyha Rawjee, and many others.
Anneliese Judge, Caroline Lagerfelt
Cali Norton, Vincent De Paul, Anna Zielinski
Also on the eve, fellow Brooklynite Larry Namer presented the 2023 FRFF Icon Award to Dee Dee Sorvino, in honor of her late husband, legendary actor Paul Sorvino. The presentation was made prior to Sunday’s live telecast that sadly overlooked the famous actor in its “in memoriam” segment.
Get your first look at Michael Cudlitz as Lex Luthor, who will make his first appearance in Superman & Lois season 3.
Many have played iconic DC super-villain Lex Luthor over the decades, and the latest actor to join the pantheon of Luthor’s is none other than Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead). It was announced earlier this year that Cudlitz had joined the cast of Superman & Lois for its third season, and now Entertainment Weekly has the first look at the actor in all his bald glory.
According to the official character description, the Superman & Lois version of Lex Luthor is “known to the world as the visionary billionaire behind LexCorp. But the criminal underworld knows who Lex truly is: a brutal psychopath who terrorizes anyone he crosses paths with. It’s been years since he dropped out of the public eye and he’s re-emerging hellbent on correcting a personal injustice by enacting revenge on the two people he feels have wronged him — Superman and Lois Lane.“
Lex Luthor will be showing up later in the third season of Superman & Lois, and it sounds as though Michael Cudlitz has been having a ball as the character. “This whole experience so far has been amazing,” Cudlitz said. “From the collaboration with our showrunners Todd [Helbing] and Brent [Fletcher] to the incredibly warm welcome I received from Tyler [Hoechlin] and Elizabeth [Tulloch] and the entire cast and crew. I cannot wait to share with the fans how much fun we’ve been having. Personally, I’ve always felt Lex was just misunderstood.“
Jon Cryer had previously played Lex Luthor in the Arrowverse, but it’s been made clear that Superman & Lois doesn’t take place in that universe, leaving the door open for a new Luthor. “We love Jon Cryer, we think his work on Supergirl was amazing,” showrunner ToddHelbing said. “But we wanted to do our own stamp [on that character]. I’m excited for everybody to finally meet Lex.” Fellow Superman & Lois showrunner Brent Fletcher teased how this version of Lex Luthor will be introduced. “It’s a slow burn before Lex shows up, so it’s earned, but his whole point of view in the world is different,” Fletcher said. “His demeanor, his tone is different, and he is going to be the greatest oppositional force to Superman and Lois that they’re ever going to face.“
The third season of Superman & Lois will premiere on March 14th on the CW.
Welp, we’ve certainly got our Bachelorette answer coming tonight. When I tweeted out this weekend that I didn’t know whether they were gonna show Jesse’s conversation telling Charity she was gonna be the “Bachelorette” that happened on Feb. 24th after the WTA taping took place and the audience had been dismissed, our answer was given last night. As we saw in the preview for tonight’s episode, they teased the clip of Jesse walking into someone’s dressing room and saying “Someone’s life is about to change,” is clearly in reference to the spoiler I gave you last week. Ariel and Gabi weren’t at the “Women Tell All” taping, and I can assure you, no random women who’s never been on the show, or anyone former contestant from the show’s past is in that dressing room Jesse walks into. It’s Charity, her season begins filming this weekend, we’ll probably see her potential guys being posted to the “Bachelorette” Facebook page either tomorrow or Thursday, and off we go. That’s just how they roll and they’ve been doing it for god knows how many seasons in a row now.
Don’t forget to get your “Reader Emails” in today for tomorrow’s column. Email me at steve@realitysteve.com so it can get in and be answered tomorrow. It’s possible some will be in the column and I might read some in a Daily Roundup podcast later this week while recording from Vegas. When I’m out there, I don’t have too much time to dedicate to all things happening in Bachelor Nation since I’m wrapped up much more in March Madness. So maybe I will read some emails in Thursday’s and Friday’s podcast which will be recorded in my hotel room. But for tomorrow’s column, definitely get your emails in since some will still be there as well.
You can listen to today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
Now, I know you all came here for my Super Duper Special Stone Cold Lead Pipe First Round Lock. I had a great run going until last year. I was 5-0 until last year when I gave out 2 picks that went 0-2, even though the other four picks I said I was betting in that column last year went 3-1. Here were the picks heading into last season:
2017: UNC-Wilmington (+8 ½) vs Virginia – Winner (lost 76-71) 2018: Loyola-Chicago (+4 1/2 ) vs Miami – Winner (won outright 64-62) 2019: UC Irvine (+4) over Kansas St. – Winner (won outright 70-64) 2020: No tournament – COVID 2021: Ohio (+7) vs Virginia – Winner (won outright 72-68) 2021: BONUS PICK: UCSB (+7) vs Creighton – Winner (lost 63-62)
This is what I wrote before last years picks:
I’ve been watching college basketball a lot over the last 2 months and feel I’ve got a pretty good grasp on teams and situations. Not to mention knowing the history of the tournament, I rarely bet favorites. Most of the first round plays I like are underdogs. Some ones I considered were Vermont (+5.5), Murray St. (+1), UT-Chattanooga (+7.5), and USC (-1.5). But it came down to two plays for me to put in this column. Since I really like both, and I plan on betting both, you’re getting two plays this year, just like last year.
South Dakota St (+2) over Providence BONUS PICK: Virginia Tech (+1) over Texas
So yeah, those went 0-2. South Dakota St lost 66-57 to Providence, and Virginia Tech lost 81-73 to Texas. Of course, I went 3-1 in the other games I mentioned I was looking at:
Murray St (+1) – Winner (Won 92-87) UT Chattanooga (+7.5) – Winner (lost 54-53) Vermont (+5.5) – Winner (lost 75-71) USC (-1.5) – Lost (lost 68-66)
So yeah, unfortunately I just focused on the wrong ones. However, if you really wanna get technical, every one of those teams I used in a 3 team, 8 point teaser, and all 6 were winners. So while I will always bet these underdogs plus the points (and some on the money line), I like doing 3 team, 8 pt teases. Any gambler will tell you teases in basketball are a losers bet. And they’re probably right. But screw it, I love doing them ha ha. Are you going to complain with 6-0 using those 6 plays last year on teasers? I think not. So for this year, I gave out the two plays I liked on yesterday’s Daily Roundup, but here they are for those who didn’t listen:
Furman (+5.5) over Virginia BONUS PICK: Kent St (+4) over Indiana
Hey, I’m 2-0 betting against Virginia in the tournament. Can I make it 3-0? Furman is the second game on Thursday. Kent St. is the second to last game on Friday night. So a looooong ways in between them. I absolutely will be using both of them in a 3 team, 8 pt teaser bumping Furman up to +13.5 and Kent St. up to +12. So those are going to be the two plays for this year for Round 1. The other games I’m sure I’ll be betting are: Colgate (+13.5) vs Texas, Louisiana (+10.5) vs Tennessee, Iona (+9) vs UConn, and Drake (+2.5) vs Miami. All those should be involved in 8pt teasers as well since I expect those games to be close. Good luck everyone!
Or like 5x what a 30-second commercial during the 95th Academy Awards cost.
Oscars stalwarts may not have appreciated that “Little Mermaid” trailer-reveal moment from the Academy Awards stage, but ABC’s ad-sales team sure did.
The network pitched all of the movie studios on a sponsored-integration opportunity in which actors associated with their brands could could come out onto the Oscars stage and speak about a project before throwing it to commercial. Only Disney Studios and Warner Bros. took them up on the offer. This was actually the third year of sponsored integrations at the Oscars, which are broadcast annually on ABC.
Disney went the largest, bringing out stars of the upcoming, live-action “Little Mermaid,” Halle Bailey (who plays Ariel) and Melissa McCarthy (Ursula), to intro the film’s official trailer. After their brief time on stage, the Oscars cut to an announced commercial break in the Dolby Theatre (all commercial breaks are announced to allow the audience to stretch their legs, use the bathroom, etc.) and rolled the two-minute, 20-second trailer for viewers at home.
Related
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The trailer was not played in the room, which led to a moment of confusion for in-person attendees, multiple Oscar guests told IndieWire for this story. Watch the “Little Mermaid” trailer here.
Later in the program, Morgan Freeman and Margot Robbie took the Dolby stage to introduce the Warner Bros. paid integration, a 90-second celebration of the studio’s 100th anniversary. Readers can watch that one toward the bottom on this story.
On Tuesday, Matt Belloni of Puck reported the commercial buy and integration cost Disney and Warner Bros. “between $7 million and $10 million” apiece. That’s about right for Disney, a person with knowledge of the deal told IndieWire; it’s “way off” for the briefer Warner Bros. spot, an insider there told us.
Halle Bailey as Ariel and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric in Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid”
Courtesy of Disney
It’s basic math, basically. Regular 30-second commercials during the 2023 Oscars sold for between $1.6 million and $2.1 million, an individual with knowledge of the sales told IndieWire. Each of the integrations sopped up several of those spots. (We’re told the trailer and the WB celebration didn’t actually extend the Oscars telecast — at least not its commercial time. The stage time was basically tossed in as a free incentive to gobble up multiple consecutive slots, we’re told.)
For Disney Studios, “The Little Mermaid” utilized five 30-second slots at what we’re told was the higher end of the general ad-inventory’s price range. Add in the premium placement and valuable stage time, and $10 million is totally conceivable. (One might even say “reasonable” when considering how much we remember that moment vs. some random ad for consumer products.)
Still, that’s a lot of money and a big chunk of “Mermaid’s” overall marketing budget. It probably makes it more digestible when you consider the Walt Disney Company owns both the studio behind “The Little Mermaid” and Oscars broadcast network ABC — financial synergy! We’re told by an insider there was no hometown discount given here, however, and the two entities are treated as “church and state.” Actual money actually changed hands, the person said — it wasn’t “funny money” like one outsider suggested — just like with any other advertiser on any program. Either way, the medicine surely goes down a lot easier when sharing a balance sheet.
For its turn, Warner Bros. used three slots, so the simple math would lead us to believe they paid close to that $7 million figure Belloni reported. A second Warner Bros. insider, however, told IndieWire it scored a deal at “meaningfully less than half” of the reported low-end, or that they paid about $3 million. We can’t get the math near there, however, and an outside source called that price tag “inaccurate,” so you decide.
Here’s the Warner Bros. spot:
Either way, advertisers on the show got what they paid for. The 95th Academy Awards scored 18.7 million total viewers, according to Nielsen, up 12 percent from last year to the largest audience for any awards show in three years.
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” won Best Picture and six other awards: Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for writer-director duo Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Best Actress for Michelle Yeoh, Best Supporting Actress for Jamie Lee Curtis, Best Supporting Actor for Ke Huy Quan, and Best Film Editing.
Find the full list of winners here; IndieWire’s review of the 2023 Oscars can be found here.
“The Little Mermaid” premieres May 26 in theaters.
Viewers of Netflix’s documentary series on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will surely remember the sweet story of Meghan pitching in at a community kitchen serving survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster and ultimately helping them release a book of recipes, the proceeds from which went to further support the community. Now her next step into the charity cooking space has us wondering if she’s about to pivot to full-time influencer.
Penguin Random House recently announced that chef José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen would be releasing its first cookbook to raise money for disaster relief efforts, and the volume features contributions from Michelle Obama, Ayesha Curry, Guy Fieri…and the Duchess of Sussex. Specifically, the recipe for her favorite lemon olive oil cake, per People. She previously sent the treat to female restaurateurs in Chicago during the pandemic, noting that the lemons came from her backyard (citrus is eeeeeverywhere in Southern California, and Markle went to Northwestern, just outside Chicago, so it was kinda perfect).
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Andrés and the Sussexes have collaborated on charitable efforts before, and the chef considers the couple his dear friends, as he told People previously. “I love them…. For me, it is a pleasure to call them friends. All my life I have been trying to learn what exactly we are missing because why is there still hunger? What are we missing? We have to make the most of the opportunities of goodness, and I believe that with people like Meghan and Harry, we can make it happen,” Andres said. The book comes out in September, and my birthday is in October, hint hint.
No doubt this is a sincere gesture and a very yummy cake, but we also sense the soft launch of a lifestyle afoot, no? Before she was a royal, Meghan Markle was involved in acting, charity…and like every other star of the era, blogging. She shuttered her site, The Tig, when she got with Harry, but is reportedly going to relaunch the platform sometime soon. She’s reasserted herself as a fashion and podcasting icon already, but to truly dominate the lifestyle space, she’ll also need a few signature recipes.
Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, has unveiled the projects it has selected for the 24th edition of the Hot Docs Forum, the financing event aimed at securing co-productions and funds for feature length documentaries.
The Forum returns in-person to Toronto’s Hart House on May 2 and 3 as part of festival, which runs April 27 to May 7. Nineteen projects representing 16 countries and featuring 23 filmmakers, 12 of whom are women and 11 of whom are black, indigenous and people of color, will pitch to international decision makers and members of the documentary community. An additional Wild Card pitch will be selected live at the Forum.
At The Forum projects are pitched live for co-production financing to a roundtable of leading commissioning editors, film fund representatives, financiers, programming executives and angel investors. Selected projects will also participate in Hot Docs Deal Maker, a curated one-on-one pitch meeting program, which includes an additional 35. The full list of Hot Docs Deal Maker projects will be announced on March 29.
“It is at the Hot Docs Forum where films launch into the marketplace and later propel into our audiences’ sphere. The 2023 Forum selections are outstanding expressions of filmmaking in its many forms and from so many dynamic voices,” Elizabeth Radshaw, Hot Docs Industry programs director, said.
“In 2022, the Hot Docs Forum participants pitched to 70 plus key commissioning editors and funders and over CAD50,000 in cash prizes were awarded,” added Dorota Lech, Industry programmer and Forum producer. “Back from three online editions, we are preparing to welcome back our international community to the 24th Hot Docs Forum. This year’s slate is a dynamic combination of bold and heartfelt.”
Two cash prizes will be awarded to top Forum pitch teams: the First Look prize, financed by members of Hot Docs First Look, a curated access program for philanthropic supporters of and investors in documentary film; and the CMF-Hot Docs Forum Canadian Pitch Prize, presented in partnership with the Canada Media Fund, a CAD10,000 cash prize awarded to the best Canadian pitch and intended to go toward the production and completion of the winning project.
At the Forum, participating teams will take up to seven minutes to pitch their doc project to some of the world’s leading commissioning editors, investors and industry experts. Following the pitch, each team receives eight minutes of live feedback and, in some cases, on-the-spot financial commitments.
Participating decision makers confirmed to date include A24, Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Al Jazeera English, Amazon Studios, ABC News Studios, ARTE G.E.I.E., BBC, BBC Arabic, BBC Arts, Bilibili, Catapult Film Fund, CBC – Documentary, CBC Radio-Canada, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Concordia, CNEX, Field of Vision, HBO Europe, Hulu, International Documentary Association, Impact Partners, Independent Television Service, Indigenous Screen Office, Knowledge Network, Lyfta, National Geographic, Netflix, NHK Enterprises, Nia Tero, Paramount, Participant Media, PBS – ITVS, RTS – Radio Télévision Suisse, POV, Sandbox Films, Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, TG4, The DeNovo Initiative, The Redford Center, The Whickers, TVO, Vice Studios, WGBH, yesDBS, ZDF/ARTE, SBS – Australia, and SVT – Arts.
The following projects will be presented at the 2023 Hot Docs Forum:
CINEMA KAWAKEB Production Companies: Jo Image Productions (Jordan), YN Films Inc. (Canada) Director: Mahmoud Massad Producers: Munire Armstrong, Su Baloglu
When a hidden lens through an old cinema ticket office becomes a confessional.
EXODUS STORIES Production Company: Vida Vida Productions, LLC (U.S.) Director: Ilse Fernandez Producers: Ilse Fernandez, Michele Farinola
Through intimate access, Exodus Stories follows the high-stakes journeys of three Central American immigrants who join the migrant caravans fleeing violence and hoping to find refuge in the U.S. at a time when asylum is under siege. Capturing their resilience every step of the way, they prove the American Dream is a beacon for those living in a nightmare.
I OF THE WATER Production Company: Making Waves Films LLC (U.S.) Director: Kimberlee Bassford Producers: Kimberlee Bassford, Marilyn McFadyen, Vilsoni Hereniko, Leanne K. Ferrer, Cheryl Hirasa, Linda Goldstein Knowlton
After a painful experience pushes her into self-exile, acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel untangles her complicated past, revealing a hidden past of sexual abuse and initiating a journey toward healing.
INTERCEPTED Production Companies: Les Films Cosmos Inc. (Canada), Hutong Production (France), MoonMan (Ukraine) Director: Oksana Karpovych Producers: Giacomo Nudi, Rocío Barba Fuentes, Pauline Tran Van Lieu, Lucie Rego, Darya Bassel
A journey through Ukraine that reveals the banality of evil behind the Russian invasion.
KARACHI SKY Production Company: Capital K Pictures LLC (U.S.) Director: Sofian Khan Producer: Faisal Azam
Filmmaker Sofian Khan recounts his friendship and seven-year marriage to Quratulain Ali Khan—known to the world as “Annie”—a brilliant Pakistani journalist who tragically took her life in 2018, leaving behind a captivating body of work and many unanswered questions.
LIFE ON THE EDGE Production Companies: Anima Films Ltd. (U.K.), Thulsa Doom Limited (U.K.), Levon Gharibian (U.K.), Film.Gl (Greenland) Directors: Johnny Langenheim, Sebastian Feehan Producers: Andrea Land, Paninnguaq Heilmann, Cyrus Mirzashafa, Levon Gharibian, Hector N. Helsing, James Reed
Haunted by his best friend’s death and his own violent past, Nuka Aqissiaq travels across Greenland giving counsel to the desperate as an epidemic of suicide ravages this Inuit nation.
MARRIAGE COPS Production Company: Marriage Cops LLC (U.S.) Directors: Cheryl Hess, Shashwati Talukdar Producer: Diana Chiawen Lee
In a small city in northern India, unhappy couples seek relationship advice in the most unlikely of places—the local police station.
REDLIGHT TO LIMELIGHT Production Companies: Bindubot Communication (India), Touch Narrative (India), Marx Film OÜ (Estonia), Les Steppes Productions SARL (France), JW Documentaries Oy (Finland), VFS Films (Latvia) Director: Bipuljit Basu Producers: Nilotpal Majumdar, Max Tuula, Maria Gavrilova, Louis Beaudemont, Nicolaï Iarochenko, John Webster, Uldis Cekulis, Sanaket Mandal
The dream of telling their own stories brings sex workers and their children together to form a tiny self-taught film unit in a Kolkata brothel. The amateur but resilient film crew eventually scales the battle up through their films to make the brothel a better place to live.
SANATORIUM Production Company: Venom Limited (Ireland) Director: Gar O’Rourke Producers: Samantha Corr, Andrew Freedman, Ken Wardrop
Despite a war raging close-by, mud treatments, lasers, and electro-shock therapies continue at the Ukrainian Kuyalnik Sanatorium, where a small group searches for love, healing and happiness.
SHIFTING BASELINES Production Company: GreenGround Productions Inc. (Canada) Director: Julien Elie Producers: Andreas Mendritzki, Aonan Yang, Julien Elie
Where the Rio Grande meets the sea, the rockets of SpaceX prepare to launch; astronomers come to gaze skyward, philosophers come to gaze inwards, hawkers come to make a buck and environmentalists come to survey the damage. Welcome to Boca Chica, USA.
SHOW ME THE PAST IS REAL Production Companies: Younger Daughter Films (Canada), Parkside Films (U.S.), Fit Via Vi Films (U.S.) Director: Charlie Tyrell Producers: Julie Baldassi, Mona Panchal, Shannon Riggs, Clay Tweel, Bill Way, Elliott Whitton
The objects we treasure hold magical meaning for us. But can we really save the past?
TERRA INCOGNITA Production Companies: CAUCASO Società Cooperativa (Italy), LES ALCHIMISTES SAS (France) Director: Enrico Masi Producers: Stefano Migliore, Loïs Rocque
A group of colossal magnets are traveling on a cargo ship through the Mediterranean Sea, and in parallel, a family lives voluntarily without electricity in the Western Alps. Beyond the mountains, in the South of France, an experiment is ongoing at ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), an advanced lab aimed at bringing the sun to earth. The film is a psychogeographic detour into the core of the political ecology debate.
THE 5 BILLION DOLLAR SCAM Production Companies: Medalia Productions Ltd. (Israel), Intuitive Pictures Inc. (Canada) Director: Hilla Medalia Producer: Ina Fichman
Binary Option trading promised quick money and easy profits but ultimately led thousands to lose their life savings. This film follows a precedent-setting legal case of an international scam gone awry, and the investigators and informants that would ultimately topple this house of cards.
THE SANDBOX Production Company: Compy Films Inc. (Canada) Director: Kenya-Jade Pinto Producers: Shasha Nakhai, Kenya-Jade Pinto, Jennifer Baichwal, Rich Williamson
Your future is being written in the sand.
UNTITLED AFRICAN CLIMATE CHANGE FILM Production Companies: One Story Up LLC (USA), We Are Not the Machine Ltd (Kenya) Directors: Pete Murimi, Daphne Matziaraki Producers: Toni Kamau, Maya Craig, Roger Ross Williams, Geoff Martz
Climate change and unresolved historical injustices raise the stakes in a generations-old conflict between indigenous pastoralists and white landowners in a wildlife conservation haven.
UNTITLED DWARFISM PROJECT Production Companies: In Proportion LLC (U.S.), LITTLE BY LITTLE FILMS Limited (UK), In Proportion LLC (U.S.), Multitude Films (U.S.) Director: Julie Wyman Producers: Jess Devaney, Jonna McKone, Lindsey Dryden
A new drug promises to make Little People taller, threatening the community it claims to serve. Meanwhile, director Julie Wyman confronts her own dwarfism diagnosis. As Little People grapple with the choice to give up difference, the film poses an urgent question: can we see and be seen differently?
UNTITLED THWAITES PROJECT Production Companies: Old Chilly Pictures, LLC (U.S.) Director: Emelie Mahdavian Producers: John D. Sutter, Emelie Mahdavian
How do you watch the climate crisis unfold without losing hope? Untitled Thwaites Film tells the story of a female-led science team’s visit to an Antarctic ice shelf that holds back several feet of sea level rise. They will be the last seven humans to set foot on this crumbling ice.
WHOSE DREAM ARE YOU LIVING Production Company: Ayvision Ltd (Iran) Director: Mohammad Tabarsa Producers: Mahnaz Tafaghi, Mohammad Tabarsa
The announcement of the first ever music competition on Iranian television sparks an inner fire for Hanif in a forbidden atmosphere.
ZERO HOUR Production Companies: NoCut Film Collective (India), CinemaPaar Productions (India) Directors: Deeksha Ketkar, Nachiket Guttikar Producers: Arya Rothe, Isabella Rinaldi, Cristina Hanes, Nachiket Guttikar, Deeksha Ketkar
An intimate portrait of a politician from a deceptively quiet Indian village, who must choose between his career ambitions and his family’s demands, after his teenage son takes a radical step behind his back.
After a dark winter at many airports, the Canadian regulator has taken notice and issued fines to multiple Canadian airlines after mass flight delays and cancellations.
However, an advocate for air passenger rights says the punishment from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is too little, too late.
“If an airline gets caught one out of 100 times and the amount at stake would be $500, then the fine should be at least $50,000. Just to break even,” according to Gábor Lukács, with the organization Air Passenger Rights.
“The maximum fine is $25,000 per violation under the Air Canada Transportation Act, but the Canadian Transportation Agency is nowhere near that.”
According to the CTA, Sunwing was slapped with a $126,000 fine and WestJet hit with $112,800.
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While that may seem like a big fine, it only works out to a few hundred dollars per transgression, Lukács calling it especially galling since the CPA could issue a $25,000 fine per violation.
“It’s a dog and pony show.”
He says it’s also frustrating since these fines are a drop in the bucket for airlines and passengers are often forced to bear the costs without repayment.
“The problem is passengers who are due compensation are not being paid compensation in many cases, and there are very few cases when the airline breaks the law and gets caught,” Lukács explained.
Since 2019, when the rules came into effect the CTA has been tasked with upholding air passenger protection regulations (APPR).
In that time, the CTA received tens of thousands of complaints from passengers saying airlines are not playing by the rules.
On Tuesday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced $75.9 million over three years to help the CTA clear the backlog.
“There are certain things that are within the control of the airlines, and we need to have clearer rules that puts the responsibility on the airlines when it’s their responsibility.”
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Alghabra said the funds will be used to hire 200 employees to process air passenger complaints, but Lukács says the move will not fix the problem.
“The reason that we have such a backlog is twofold: Lack of enforcement and a complex framework that makes practical enforcement of passengers rights very, very challenging,” Lukács stated.
He cited one instance where a small claims court adjudicator lamented the fact that for deciding the fate of a $400 decision more than 1000 pages of documents were needed.
Since then, Lukács says the backlog has only grown.
Legendary Vancouver Chinatown restaurant to close
“It’s a serious problem. It is disproportionate to the amount at steak when you scale it up to 40,000 complaints. It becomes unmanageable to society. No matter how many people we sign up to deal with complaints, the system is so labor intensive that adjudication of a single case requires a full working day, meaning they can only manage 150 complaints per year. That’s it.”
He says the complaints will continue to build up unless serious changes are made to the system.
Lukács says the Canada Transportation Act needs to be amended to closer resemble the European Union model and provide a zero-tolerance policy for airline violations.
“I would anticipate after three different airlines were each fined at least a million dollars and were made to pay, the tone would very much change. The message has to get across to upper management and to the shareholders that Canada means business.”
This comes after last week’s announcement that WestJet’s purchase of Sunwing could proceed, leaving some customers worried this will only make it harder for the CTA to hold the airline industry accountable.
Alghabra also hinted at other changes upcoming in a revamped passenger rights charter, including potential reforms to the regulator’s role as an investigative and enforcement body.
“We are looking at strengthening the rules, as I said, and perhaps looking at increasing the authorities that the CTA has. But I leave it up to the CTA to exercise its judgment and when and how to impose these fines.”
Sean Kim, the former head of product for TikTok’s U.S. operations, said the company’s $2 billion creator fund was not launched with the altruistic goal of helping creators monetize on the platform. Instead, according to the executive, TikTok created the fund as a “reactive measure” against competition like YouTube and Snap and as a way to keep creators engaged on the platform.
“Platforms don’t really care if you are successful at monetization. I’ll be completely honest,” Kim, who now leads the creator business platform Kajabi as president and chief product officer, said during a wide-ranging panel at SXSW over the weekend. “The reason why is because their metrics and north-star metrics are 100 percent focused on retention, [daily active users], publish rates, active days. Monetization of creators is not even on there. It’s like way, way, way down here. It’s like a little afterthought.”
“When we launched the TikTok creator fund, we didn’t launch it to help creators monetize. I mean, that’s what we said everywhere publicly. ‘We’re doing this to help creators monetize.’ That was not why we launched it. We launched it as a reactive measure against other platforms launching their creator funds,” Kim, who worked at TikTok from 2019 to 2022, continued. “We thought to ourselves, what happens if these creators then go monetize or create content on these other platforms? It hurts our metrics, our DAU, our retention. That was the reason why the creator fund was launched.”
TikTok first launched its creator fund in 2020, promising to pay out $200 million to its creators before increasing the size of the overall pot to $2 billion globally, which the company said it would pay out over the course of 3 years. But in the U.S., where eligible TikTok users were expected to receive $1 billion of the overall fund, participating creators — which at the time included stars like MrBeast and Hank Green — began criticizing the low payouts from the fund, leading some to leave the program altogether.
Since then, TikTok has launched other monetization tools for creators, including a paywall feature that allows select creators to charge fans for access to a series of longer-form videos; subscriptions for creators who specialize in live content; and a revamped creator fund, currently in beta and invite only, that purports to “generate higher revenue potential.”
During his SXSW panel, Kim talked about the lack of transparency for such creator funds. “If you see a $2 billion creator fund, who’s actually checking if we paid $2 billion? Nobody. Nobody could check,” he said. When asked by the creator and fellow panelist Cassey Ho (a.k.a. Blogilates) if TikTok paid out the $2 billion, Kim responded, “No.”
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for TikTok did not address Kim’s allegations about the $2 billion payouts. “TikTok’s product leaders are encouraged and expected to develop solutions that bring meaningful value to our community,” the rep told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re motivated by helping our creators earn livelihoods, and that commitment is best seen through the success of our creators and the continual evolution of our products.”
Lydia Tár, the renowned conductor who some people are still surprised to learn is just a character from the Oscar-nominated 2022 film, fell down the stairs at Sunday’s Oscars and has succumbed to her injuries, according to a Lydia Tár Twitter account that is not in any way official.
In other words, Tár’s “death” this week was nothing more than a hoax perpetrated by another hoax – but some folks fell for it anyway.
The account @LydiaTarReal has been openly operating as parody since launching in November, picking up nearly 27,000 followers in a few short months. Then during the Oscars, @LydiaTarReal tweeted a clumsy Photoshop of a “light tumble” she said she took down the stairs at the Dolby:
Please, stop sharing this image. Yes, I took a very light tumble down the stairs after being disrespectfully rejected from the venue. I am fine, if a little dizzy. pic.twitter.com/LwwPP1Vqih
By Wednesday, @LydiaTarReal had announced that @LydiaTarReal is no longer with us: “It is with a heavy heart that we share that Lydia Tár, world-renowned conductor and composer, died last night after falling down the steps of the Dolby Theater,” she tweeted. Which could just be the account taking a bow, now that the Oscars are over (“Tár” was nominated six times, including for Best Picture and Best Actress for Cate Blanchett, but was shut out).
It is with a heavy heart that we share that Lydia Tár, world-renowned conductor and composer, died last night after falling down the steps of the Dolby Theater.
But the “Tár” marketing campaign had lead many folks to believe the film was a biopic about a real person named Lydia Tár. As such, the Wednesday death notice had some unintentionally funny responses (and some very rather intentionally funny ones).
“These are such weird (and disrespectful) comments,” one user replied. “I’m not familiar with her. Was she a bad person? If not, why are so many making fun of her death?”
Over and over, people appeared confused about the fall and death announcement, only to learn via reply that Lydia Tár is not a real person.
These are such weird (and disrespectful) comments. I’m not familiar with her. Was she a bad person? If not, why are so many making fun of her death?
Blanchett couldn’t convert her Oscar nomination, though she won Best Actress trophies for “Tár” at the BAFTAS, Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. And the final flourish of Lydia Tár’s fake death won, at very least, some highly colorful responses:
Netflix and A24 answer that age-old Clara Peller question on April 6, bringing the dark comedy Beef to the streaming service.
The 10-episode series follows the aftermath of a road rage incident between two strangers. Danny Cho (Steven Yeun), a failing contractor with a chip on his shoulder, goes head-to-head with Amy Lau (Ali Wong), a self-made entrepreneur with a picturesque life. The increasing stakes of their feud unravel their lives and relationships in the course of the series.
Created by Lee Sung Jin, who also is an EP with Yeun, Wong, and Jake Schreier, the series also stars Joseph Lee, Young Mazino, David Choe and Patti Yasutake. Matthew Medlin is the producer.
Recurring castincludes Maria Bello, Ashley Park, Justin H. Min, Mia Serafino, Remy Holt, Andrew Santino, and Rek Lee.
The video is from The Entertainers Tour in which Disha Patani stunned all with her dance performances.
Disha Patani who was a part of The Entertainers Tour took over multiple arenas in the United States with her stunning dance performances. Now, just days after the completion of the live tour, she gave fans a closer look at her red raunchy costume that she chose to wear during one of her dance sequences onstage. In a sizzling video that was shared late Wednesday, Disha Patani flaunted her toned curves in a red bralette which was paired with a mesh skirt featuring a thigh-high slit.
With her midriff on full display, the Bollywood diva strikes a series of poses against the backdrop of Rihanna’s hit track Wild Thoughts. When it came to her makeup and accessories, Disha went all in for sparkles. Meanwhile, curly locks left loose only accentuated her style statement. Check out her latest social media update here:
Within less than a day, the video has amassed over five lakh likes on Instagram, leaving fans enticed by her dazzling style. Fellow actress Mouni Roy, who grew closer to her during the live tour, was among the many to flood Disha’s comment section with compliments. “Ufffff look at my baby love,” she wrote while appreciating her look.
This post also comes a week after Disha gave her followers a glimpse of her onstage performance wearing the red costume. From the Mundiyan to Do You Love Me, the actress carefully chose her hit dance numbers to set the dance stage ablaze.
However, what stole the limelight was the anime twist she gave to her performance. For those unaware, Disha Patani is a massive Dragon Ball Z fan, and bits of her choreography were completed with Goku’s graphics running wild in the background. “This is for all the DBZ fans out there!! This moment was truly magical grateful,” she wrote while sharing Take a look at it here:
The live tour that began in Atlanta had three more locations in the lineup including Dallas, Oakland, and Orlando. It was completed on March 11, and besides Disha Patani, other prominent personalities including Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy, and Nora Fatehi were a part of The Entertainers Tour.
Meanwhile, Disha Patani last shared the screen space with John Abraham, Arjun Kapoor, and Tara Sutaria in Ek Villain 2. She has multiple projects in the pipeline including Yodha and Project K.
Chirag Sehgal, Sub Editor at News18, covers Bollywood, television and K-pop group BTS. Apart from digging deep into the world of television and Bollyw…Read More
In the wake of recent acts of extreme brutality and injustice and mass protests, we’re examining our role in perpetuating systems of inequality. We are responsible for our impact as a tech company, as a news reader, and, acutely, as a developer of machine learning algorithms for Feedly AI.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are powerful tools that allow Feedly AI to read thousands of articles published every day and prioritize a top selection based on the topics, organizations, and trends that matter to you. However, if not designed intentionally, these tools run the risk of reinforcing harmful cultural biases.
Bias sneaks into machine learning algorithms by way of incomplete or imbalanced training data. Without realizing it, we miss or overrepresent certain variables and the algorithm learns the wrong information, often with dangerous outcomes.
In the case of Feedly AI, we risk introducing bias when teaching it broad topics such as “leadership.” Feedly AI learns these topics by finding common themes in sets of articles curated by the Feedly team. For the topic “leadership,” Feedly AI might pick out themes like strong management skills and building a supportive team culture. However, if more articles about male leaders than female are published or added to the training set, Feedly AI might also learn that being male is a quality of leadership. Tracking which themes Feedly AI learns is an essential part of topic modeling that helps prevent us from reinforcing our biases or those of the article author or publisher.
It’s on us as developers to be deliberate and transparent about the way we account for bias in our training process. With that in mind, we’re excited to share what we’re working on to reduce bias at the most crucial stage: the training data
Break down silos
Collaboration among folks from diverse backgrounds helps us account for our blind spots. However, to make that collaboration possible, we need an accessible tool. The new topic modeler is that tool — designed so that anyone in the Feedly community can help curate a dataset to train Feedly AI about topics they’re passionate about.
A peek inside the topic modeler tool
The topic modeler takes advantage of the Feedly UI we know and love to allow multiple users to search for articles for the training set and review Feedly AI’s learning progress. Our goal is to connect with experts in a variety of fields to build robust topics that represent our entire community — not just the engineering team.
Put to the test: the diversity topic
Recently, two Feedly team members with no machine learning experience and who are interested in diversity issues road tested the new tool to redesign our diversity topic. The result is a topic that is rich and nuanced: rather than focusing only on the buzzword “diversity,” Feedly AI will be looking for thousands of related keywords, including representation, inclusion, bias, discrimination, equal rights, and intersectionality. Now you can train Feedly AI to track diversity and inclusion progress in your industry and find essential information for how to build and maintain inclusive work cultures and hiring practices.
Feedly AI prioritizes diversity in your Science feed
Feedly AI continuously learns
Topic modeling is not the only way to collaborate. Any Feedly user can help Feedly AI learn. When Feedly AI is wrong, you can use the ‘Less Like This’ down arrow button to let it know that an article it’s prioritized isn’t about a particular subject.
Feedly AI will also seek your feedback occasionally via a prompt at the top of an article. If you see “Is this article about [topic]?,” let it know! Your feedback gets incorporated into Feedly AI’s training set to fill in any gaps we missed and strengthen his understanding.
Your feedback helps fine-tune Feedly AI’s understanding
Join the movement
Beyond in-app feedback, feel free to reach out via email or join the Feedly Community Slack channel, especially if you have a topic for Feedly AI to learn about. This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to addressing and dismantling systemic bias. We take our role as content mediators seriously and know that we are indebted to those who have fought for so long to bring these issues to our attention. Feedly AI is listening and learning.
It’s official, Guardians of the Galaxy director and now DC Studios co-chief, James Gunn, will helm the upcoming Superman reboot, Superman: Legacy. Taking to social media to share the news, Gunn also provides some insight into what it is that will shape his take on the Man of Steel, as well as honoring his father, who passed away a few years ago. Check out what James Gunn had to say about directing Superman: Legacy below.
“Yes, I’m directing Superman: Legacy to be released on July 11, 2025. My brother Matt told me when he saw the release date he started to cry. I asked him why. He said, “Dude, it’s Dad’s birthday.” I hadn’t realized,” the filmmaker, who is best known for helming the likes of Super, Marvel outings Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and the DC movie The Suicide Squad, said of his decision to bring Superman back to the big screen.
Gunn then makes reference to how he “was offered Superman years ago.” The director reveals that he “initially said no” because he could not find a way into the iconic character and the story “that felt unique and fun and emotional that gave Superman the dignity he deserved.” Clearly that has now changed, with Gunn declaring that he “saw a way in, in many ways centering around Superman’s heritage – how both his aristocratic Kryptonian parents and his Kansas farmer parents inform who he is and the choices he makes.”
What exactly this all means for Superman: Legacy remains to be seen, but it’s clear that Gunn has a real passion for the character. On top of his critically acclaimed comic book movie run, this can only be good news for the Man of Steel and his rebooted return.
What we do know about the direction of Superman: Legacy is that it will not be a reboot, and it will kickstart the newly recalibrated DCU. Which now has James Gunn and producer Peter Safran as its leads. “It’s not an origin story,” Safran revealed. “It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. He is the embodiment of truth justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks that kindness as old-fashioned.” Superman: Legacy is scheduled for release on July, 11, 2025.
Superman: Legacywill be followed up with the superhero team-up flick The Authority, a Batman project titled The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, a Swamp Thing reboot, a Wonder Woman prequel series titled Paradise Lost, the animated series Creature Commandos, a series centered on Amanda Waller, a Green Lantern series titled Lanterns, and a series about Booster Gold.
Before realizing his vision for Superman, James Gunn will first complete his Marvel saga with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The sequel sees Peter Quill leading the Guardians on a dangerous mission that could lead to the team dissolving in order to protect beloved member, Rocket. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to be released on May 5, 2023, as part of Phase Five of the MCU.
The Biden Administration is significantly increasing pressure on ByteDance just days before TikTok’s CEO is set to testify in front of Congress. The United States government is now “demanding” that ByteDance sell TikTok, according to a in The Wall Street Journal.
The new demand, which TikTok Reuters, is a major blow to the company, which has spent more than two years with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) over its future in the country. Those negotiations resulted in a sweeping partnership with Oracle and other measures meant to safeguard US users’ data.
Now, CFIUS has reportedly told TikTok that it wants ByteDance to sell its stake in the company after all. If it doesn’t, the app could face a national ban. The and the have both recently introduced bills that would make it easier for government officials to ban TikTok and other services deemed to be a national security threat.
TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The company has previously stated that divesting from ByteDance wouldn’t address the government’s underlying concerns about data security. However, Bloomberg reported earlier in the week that TikTok executives were “discussing the possibility of separating from ByteDance” if the CFIUS talks were to fall through.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the United States government has tried to force ByteDance’s hand. Former President Donald Trump also compel TikTok to sell itself, but was ultimately unsuccessful. The latest threats of a total ban on the app are, however, sure to amp up pressure on TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is set to make his first Congressional appearance .
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Full disclosure: Sue me but not only have I never played the iconic ’80s video game Tetris, I had never heard of it before encountering this new film Tetris, which world premiered tonight at SXSW and comes from Apple Original Films. I realize that probably makes me a bit of an oddity to the gamer generation, but I can only say my lack of knowledge on this product did not hurt one bit in being wildly entertained by a movie that tells its origin story. In fact it seems to be part of an encouraging but unlikely new genre this young year: movies all about the backstory of well-known products. BlackBerry from IFC and Paramount, Flamin’ Hot from Searchlight, and now Tetris from Apple have been on display this week at SXSW (BlackBerry actually premiered at Berlin), and if you think watching the emergence of a smartphone, a Cheetos brand and a single-player video game is, well, less than compelling, think again.
Having reviewed the former two (BlackBerryhere and Flamin’ Hothere) and now this one, I have to think biopics on stuff, rather than people, have a bright future.
Tetris, for those like me who were clueless, turns out to be one of the most popular video games of all time, a puzzle-based one-player game where you have to engineer an endless choice of colored geometric shapes into a single board, fitting them all together. It is the kind of thing that would drive me nuts, but watching the movie about how it all came about is another matter because this one, directed by Jon S. Baird (Stan & Ollie)and written by Noah Pink, is simply riveting, playing more like a Cold War-era international spy thriller rather than a manual for acquiring rights to a Russian video game. Yes, that latter sentence is what makes up the bones of this story, but I guarantee you will be on the edge of your seat, and remarkably it is all true.
It is 1988, Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) is an entrepreneur and owner of Bullet-Proof Software living with his wife Akemi (Ayane Nagabuchi — excellent) and daughter Maya in Japan. He is on the search to find a video game that could blow up the market, and at a consumer show in Las Vegas one day he lands on the obscure Tetris and — bingo! — this is it, he thinks. He manages to get Japanese rights to the game but it turns out they don’t exist. A little more research sends him to Russia, where he must negotiate with Cold War corporate entities because this is where the game is a big hit, a homebred success dreamed up by an average working guy who killed time by developing it and then watching it catch on with his co-workers and then the country, while it remained little known beyond the Iron Curtain.
Henk meets the man himself, Alexey Pajitnov (a superb Nikita Efremov), an unassuming guy completely the opposite of the aggressive pitbull Henk, but eventually he wins him over. However, in a wild confluence of events, rivals converge on Moscow at the exact same time. These include Robert Stein (Toby Jones, great as usual) who thinks he has a couple of deals, but turns out they are shaky including one with Mirrorsoft UK owned by none other than flamboyant newspaper magnate and billionaire Robert Maxwell (Roger Allam), who is also on the scent of Tetris along with his buttoned-up son Kevin (Anthony Boyle). His motivations are sketchy as we will soon find out.
Working with an interpreter, Sasha (Sofia Lebedeva), Henk finds himself caught up in a cat-and-mouse game to land rights, one that also involves Nintendo which is about to launch its Game Boy, a key destination for a game like Tetris. Mixed up in all this are the Russians themselves including a devious KGB agent Valentin Trifonov (Igor Grabuzov) who senses the end of the Soviet Union and sees a key opportunity for himself here before the breakup. There is also Oleg Shtefanko aka Stefan as Belikov, who works for the ELORG Agency and becomes a key player for Rogers in all this. Even Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Matthew Marsh) turns up for part of this crazy quilt of players.
What Baird and Pink are clearly most interested in though is the politics and intrigue, the unknown secrets behind the making of what would eventually turn into a worldwide phenomenon, as well as the relationship and friendship behind the man who created it and the man who would bring it to the world. Egerton again has found a great role and nails it. Henk Rogers is a relentless, never-say-die salesman and believer in himself against all odds — and let me tell you those odds do pile up. Allam, under heavy prosthetics in a fat suit, plays Maxwell to the hilt, but the entire cast is terrific here in a movie that kept me on edge more than any Bourne flick could ever do.
Shout-out to production designer Dan Taylor who had to re-create Russia, Japan, England and more all in Scotland, which effectively doubles for everything. Producers are Matthew Vaughn (who has now worked with Egerton on numerous films from Kingsman to Rocketman), Gillian Berrie, Claudia Vaughn, Len Blavatnik and Gregor Cameron.
This is a must-see. It even is enough to make me want to play the game. Apple TV+ begins streaming it on March 31.
Title: Tetris Director: Jon S. Baird Screenwriter: Noah Pink Cast: Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Roger Allam, Toby Jones, Anthony Boyle, Sofia Lebedeva, Oleg Shtefanko, Igor Grabuzov Distributor: Apple Original Films Running time: 1 hr 58 min
