Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Studios has confirmed that it’s looking towards making the new heist shooter “less dependent on online services”, following the constant server issues and matchmaking problems encountered by players from launch.
In an update post shared by Starbreeze yesterday (Monday, September 25), the studio acknowledged that “matchmaking infrastructure has not performed as tested and expected”. It stated that an “unforeseen error” made the game unable to handle the number of players attempting to dive in at launch, and, although a new version of its matchmaking server software was later rolled out, Starbreeze’s matchmaking partner introduced another new update on Sunday (September 24) which, once again, made the infrastructure unstable.
The post continued, confirming that in the long term, the studio will be “evaluating a new partner for matchmaking services and making Payday 3 less dependent on online services”.
As PC Gamer reports, over on Twitter, Starbreeze Studios’ CEO, Tobias Sjögren, also touched on the title’s potential move away from being an always-online game, and wrote: “[It’s] been communicated by Andreas for example that [the] team is looking at [the] possibility to [sic] add some sort of offline mode.”
Recommendation; ”Game pass” is better than ”hard pass”… ?Jokes aside, been communicated by Andreas for example that team is looking at possibility to add some sort of offline mode.September 24, 2023
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In the official statement, Sjögren said: “We are disappointed in the issues our playerbase has faced during our launch weekend, but we are confident in our core product and the quality of Payday 3 – and all available metrics point to it. We have a lot of diligent and consistent work ahead of us to regain community trust, but we will work hard to do it.”
Today (September 26), Payday 3 was temporarily taken offline in order to “improve server and matchmaking stability”. It’s set to go offline again on Friday (September 29) at 2am ET / 11pm PT / 7am BST / 5pm AEDT for approximately three hours.
As it stands, most players affected by Payday 3’s server issues probably wouldn’t consider the title to be one of the best FPS games. If you’re looking for something else to play with your friends, though, be sure to take a look at our list of the best co-op games.
Liberty Media, led by president and CEO Greg Maffei and chairman John Malone, said Tuesday that it has communicated a proposal to a special committee of the board of Sirius XM Holdings, outlining the terms of a proposed combination of the Liberty SiriusXM tracking stock group, which is listed under the stock ticker symbol LSXM, with the satellite radio giant, led by CEO Jennifer Witz, to form a “new, consolidated public company.”
The minority shareholders of SiriusXM would collectively own approximately 16 percent of what is dubbed “New SiriusXM,” with the former holders of LSXM common stock collectively owning approximately 84 percent.
“Liberty’s proposal rationalizes the dual corporate structure between LSXM and SiriusXM and provides value to all shareholders with a more flexible and attractive currency in New SiriusXM,” said Maffei. “SiriusXM minority shareholders will also benefit from enhanced trading dynamics, including increased liquidity and likelihood of future index inclusion.”
He concluded: “We are excited about the prospects for New SiriusXM and look forward to remaining meaningfully invested in the business. This simplified structure will also allow management to better focus on its strategic priorities, drive the company’s continued growth and simplify the investor relations story.”
In the proposed transaction, Liberty would separate LSXM “by means of a redemptive split-off of a newly formed subsidiary of Liberty (“SplitCo”), which would own all of the assets and liabilities attributed to LSXM,” the firm said. “In the split-off, holders of each series of LSXM common stock would receive a number of shares of a single series of common stock of SplitCo calculated based upon each underlying share of SiriusXM common stock held by SplitCo being exchanged for 1.05 shares of common stock of New SiriusXM. SplitCo would then combine with SiriusXM to form New SiriusXM, with the minority shareholders of SiriusXM receiving shares in New SiriusXM on a one-for-one basis.”
In addition, minority shareholders of SiriusXM would receive a pro-rata cash payment calculated based on the amount of the outstanding net debt of LSXM assumed by New SiriusXM in the proposed transaction. “New SiriusXM would have a single outstanding series of common stock, with each share entitling the holder thereof to one vote per share,” Liberty explained. “By way of example, based on recent outstanding share counts, holders of LSXM common stock would receive 10.3 shares of New SiriusXM common stock for each share of LSXM common stock held at closing, and, based on the projected outstanding principal amount of LSXM net debt at year-end, the minority shareholders of SiriusXM would receive one share of New SiriusXM common stock plus $0.55 in cash for each share of SiriusXM common stock held at closing.”
In classic Malone fashion, the proposed transaction is structured to be tax-free, except with respect to any cash received. It would be subject to, among other things, “the negotiation and execution of mutually acceptable definitive transaction documents and applicable board approvals, including the approval of a special committee,” Liberty said. “No further updates on the proposed transaction will be provided unless and until definitive documents are executed or discussions between the parties terminate.”
The proposed deal would not result in any changes to Liberty Media’s Liberty Formula One tracking stock or the Liberty Live tracking stock group.
“I might argue that instead of pretentious I’d maybe say ‘trying to do too much,’ which is similar but a bit kinder, I think. Is Asteroid City a movie about a TV show about a play? Or something? With not only the 4th wall being broken but the walls between those worlds? 5th walls? I don’t know. Again, just trying to do too much.”
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In a 2020 essay, C Pam Zhang wrote about the way McDonald’s keeps her connected to her father, who would indulge with her in “a conspiratorial Happy Meal” on fishing trips away from her fast-food-disapproving mother. He died when she was 22.
Zhang’s debut novel, “How Much of These Hills is Gold,” explored the lives of Chinese settlers who joined the thousands who panned for gold in California. Released in 2020 during the COVID shutdowns, it earned instant acclaim, even as its author struggled with social isolation, depression and the anxiety of being Chinese American as anti-Asian hate crimes soared. Her solace, once again: McDonald’s.
“Land of Milk and Honey,” Zhang’s newest novel, is set farther afield — on a remote Italian mountaintop in a dystopian future — but it returns to the concept of food in times of crisis. Climate catastrophe has brought widespread famine, and a billionaire has gathered scientists to his Noah’s Ark (along with some very rich friends) to research, preserve and warehouse what crops and animals remain.
Entering this world is Zhang’s unnamed narrator, a child of immigrants — her mother from China, father from Korea — hired to be the community’s chef. Zhang evokes the sensuous delight of working with fresh ingredients in a time when certain flavors are essentially extinct.
But cooking is not the protagonist’s only job, we quickly learn: She is meant to role-play as the billionaire’s Korean wife, who has disappeared, in order to placate the investors. His daughter becomes her lover, and both of them must deal with the fallout of his constant quantification of what — and who — is worth saving.
Zhang spoke with The Times last month via Zoom about pleasure, scarcity and how the pandemic inspired her to ask the big questions that fueled her novel. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Was COVID on your mind as you wrote this book?
I started it in early 2021, and so I suppose I had been blocked on a new project for at least a year. Up until that point, I did feel a lot of despair — a lot of fear that I had lost touch with writing, the thing that most gave me joy.
And some of that was certainly wrapped up in the pandemic. Some of that was wrapped up in the fact of having a first novel come out and then feeling like it wasn’t real in the world, because I didn’t get to see a copy of my book in a bookstore for over a year. It felt like putting a book out to a room full of ghosts.
This is strange for me to say, because all my life I’ve considered myself a bit of a misanthrope, but [it] made me realize how important the human embodied community aspect of it is. A review, no matter how wonderful it is, doesn’t feel as deep as meeting a bookseller in person and hearing why they loved your book. That stays with you, and part of it is physicality.
Physicality plays such a role in this novel, where physical pleasure is a luxury commodity, outside the reach of a world sunk into deprivation.
Pleasure is something that we need to take seriously in order to survive, right? Everyone deserves pleasure, and it shouldn’t only be reserved for the wealthy. I’ll say that I spent a lot of the pandemic deeply disconnected from my body and its desire for pleasure.
There were so many issues that felt bigger and more important than myself, and I became impatient with my body. I had my health, I had a roof overhead, I had food. What else could I ask for? And I beat myself up every time these desires — get on a plane, have a lovely meal in a restaurant — cropped up. But the first meal I had at a restaurant, in Seattle with a doctor friend who had seen much worse during the pandemic, it made me realize how important it was seeing his face, seeing food brought to someone who deserved it. I think, especially for women, it’s easier for us to see when somebody else needs something than to see it in ourselves.
For C Pam Zhang, publishing a breakthrough debut novel, “How Much of These Hills is Gold,” during COVID shutdowns “felt like putting a book out to a room full of ghosts.”
(Clayton Cubitt)
Race is also a clever factor in the story: The narrator is mistaken for another Asian woman. This happens all the time in real life, of course — people joke on Twitter about it.
It’s funny because I think that may come across as some sort of surreal or speculative elements. I think it’s the most realistic part. I love that you referred to it as a joke on Twitter, because I think that was kind of where it was coming from. It’s horrible to realize that people are not seeing you at all. They’re just interacting with a cutout, a stereotype, a silhouette in which they fill in whatever they want. But whenever I interact with my Asian women friends, that anger transmutes into laughter at the people who are so stupid they cannot distinguish between us. But what if that interchangeability becomes an asset on the job market at a time when jobs are incredibly hard to come by?
In a previous interview, you were asked a question about how your books are collaged together, and you started talking about how as a child of immigrants your sense of that nationality, that culture, is filtered through your parents. There is a brilliant scene in the book, involving the narrator’s mother serving food, where she realizes she just experiences pleasure differently. Have you had that experience?
I think pleasure, especially bodily pleasure, is one of the most deeply personal things. No one feels exactly the same as anyone else. I think there’s sort of this desire often, in Western therapy culture, to think that you’re supposed to come to a place of complete understanding and catharsis with your parents as an adult. In writing this book I came up against the limits of that idea.
I think there’s a kind of quiet beauty in leaving some things untranslatable, and just sitting beside someone with very different value systems and understanding, “This is what gives you joy.”
I don’t want a world where the über-rich are sitting on top of the heap and everyone is scrambling for scratch at the bottom. But I also don’t want a world in which I deny anybody the right to pleasure and joy. I do want everyone to have bread and roses, and I think that generosity toward other people often does start with this generosity for your family members.
How does this translate to the world of your book?
I think that ungenerosity, especially for the über-wealthy, comes from a fundamental fear of scarcity. It’s really hard to combat that narrative because we live in a world in which many things are getting worse. The environment is quickly heating up. There’s just a crisis on the horizon every day. I do think it breeds a pessimism that turns into cynicism.
lf you read the news, it’s really easy to feel that way, which is why we have sources that allow for imagination. Climate fiction, speculative fiction, whatever you want to call those emerging genres, they increasingly feel necessary. Fundamentally, it’s about this ability to look at our world and say “yes” and “what if?” I’m not saying that we should sit back and ignore it, but there’s just so much we don’t understand. I think that unknowability can be really, really beautiful and hopeful.
Berry writes for a number of publications and tweets @BerryFLW.
The World of Dreams has entered the chat, and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. The Wheel of Time TV adaptation of the book series of the same name by Robert Jordan has already highlighted how important the realm, known as Tel’aran’rhiod, can be. We’ve seen the Forsaken use the World of Dreams repeatedly in season two of the show. Lanfear is a master of moving through Tel’aran’rhiod. Ishamael is skilled too, but his appearance glitches, betraying himself as a dreamwalker to the dreamer he’s visiting. We’ll continue to see how events in Tel’aran’rhiod affect the story, but for now, here’s what you should know about the World of Dreams with context from The Wheel of Time books, but no plot spoilers.
What Is the World of Dreams in The Wheel of Time?
Prime Video
Tel’aran’rhiod is a sort of parallel world. The books basically describe the World of Dreams as an inconstant mirror of the waking world. So when Lanfear tells Rand he can travel and see the world in Tel’aran’rhiod, he can do so. He could visit the White Tower, for example, in the World of Dreams and longstanding buildings will be there. Anything fixed in the waking world is likely to be fixed in the World of Dreams. But objects that do not have permanent locations will flicker in and out. For example, letters on a desk may appear and disappear moment-to-moment in the World of Dreams, while the desk stays put. Dreamwalkers like Lanfear have the ability to change what Tel’aran’rhiod looks like.
Aside from traveling to particular locations, those who know the World of Dreams well can visit a specific person’s dreams—as Lanfear and Ishamael do with Rand (Lanfear is able to kick Ishamael out of Rand’s dreams) and as Lanfear does with both Liandrin and Egwene. It’s how she takes Rand to “see” Egwene in her dreams and why Egwene wakes thinking she’d just heard Rand. Remember the bad dreams the Two Rivers ta’veren had in season one? That was Ishamael. Dreamers remember those who visit their dreams, even if they remain unaware it was because the visitor was dreamwalking.
Can Anyone Enter Tel’aran’rhiod?
Prime Video
Like Perrin’s wolfbrother ability, entering Tel’aran’rhiod does not require use of the One Power. Some can access the World of Dreams at will, some may use a ter’angreal designed for the purpose, and others might stumble into the World of Dreams accidentally. Just falling asleep and dreaming does not a dreamwalker make. One has to enter the realm consciously while being asleep. It was common practice in the Age of Legends, but in contemporary times, Aes Sedai rarely possess the ability.
What Happens to the Dreamwalker’s Body?
While a dreamwalker enters Tel’aran’rhiod, their body remains asleep. If someone is unpracticed in the World of Dreams, they will usually have someone stay awake at their side to pull them out. If a dreamer knows they are at risk of a dreamwalker visiting their dreams, like Rand with Lanfear, they also may have a minder on hand. Moiraine watched over Rand for signs of distress when Lanfear visited his dreams. A body belonging to someone visiting Tel’aran’rhiod does not get as much rest as it would from actual sleep.
Can People Die in Tel’aran’rhiod?
The World of Dreams is dangerous, especially for those new to the realm. Injuries sustained in Tel’aran’rhiod happen to the dream in the waking world. This can include death.
This only scratches the surface of Tel’aran’rhiod’s role in The Wheel of Time. As the series go on, we’ll undoubtedly see how powerful the realm is and we’ll return to dig in further.
New episodes of The Wheel of Time premiere on Fridays on Prime Video.
There’s never been a better time to buy Apple’s 10.9-inch 2022 iPad, as the 64GB Wi-Fi model has dropped down to $379 on B&H Photo Video, near an all time low. That’s a savings of $70 off the regular $449 price on the blue and silver options, or $399 for the pink version. The 256GB versions (also blue and silver) have dropped $50 to $549.
Apple
The 10.9-inch iPad earned an 85 Engadget review score this past October. It looks more modern than the cheaper and smaller 10.2-inch iPad, thanks to the flatter edges, thinner bezels, Touch ID button and USB-C port — similar to what’s found on the more expensive iPad Air or iPad Pro. The A14 Bionic chip isn’t the latest, but is easily powerful enough for media consumption, light work and other everyday tasks, while still delivering an impressive 10 hours of battery life. Its front-facing camera is positioned along the side, which is more convenient for landscape video calls.
There are a few quirks, including a display that’s not quite up to the iPad Air’s level. It also lacks an anti-reflective coating, so it’s a little more prone to glare. It only works with the original Apple Pencil, not the vastly improved second-gen stylus. Nor does it support the same Magic Keyboard as the iPad Air or iPad Pro; instead, it uses its own accessory called the Magic Keyboard Folio that, while good, isn’t as stable on your lap. It also lacks a headphone jack.
As we note in our iPad buying guide, if you can afford to step up to the iPad Air, that’s the best option overall. And if you just want a competent iPad for the lowest price possible, the 10.2-inch model can be a slightly better value. Still, at this price, the 10.9-inch iPad is a better value, so if you have your eye on one, now’s the time to act.
SAN SEBASTIAN – Top International business execs gathered on Tuesday at a rooftop venue, glistening in the Basque sunlight, for the second Creative Investors Conference at this week’s San Sebastian International Film Festival.
The second panel of the day at this two-day confab, The Global Film Industry: State of the Union 2023 round table, was moderated by Roeg Sutherland, co-head, CAA Media Finance. Speakers took in Pete Czernin co-chairman of Blueprint Pictures, David Flynn, head of global drama at WIIP, Fionnuala Jamison, managing director of MK2, and Vincent Maraval, president of Goodfellas.
Today, international is not just about recouping costs on American films but also about the discovery of new talent. Said Maraval: “What you need to succeed is the exception. The exception is coming from everywhere today. I think the market has become more global and less American.”
Added Czernin: “I think our awareness of global voices has increased.”
The streamers have changed the importance of international voices.
Said Flynn: “It’s a different analysis. Streamers are trying to get more viewers in their territories. Viewers will actually take a punt on something they don’t know today.”
“It’s exciting to see a younger audience open up to international films,” added Jamison:
In such a challenging business, part of what keeps industry vets going is this changing nature of the global business.
One example is changes to the pre-sales business to international territories – something that has long been key to the business.
“Today, to pre-sell you need a film to be an event by itself,” said Maraval. “The majority does not pre-sell. Japanese animation. Genre. Projects with strong IPs do. It’s more difficult for first time directors. Comedy. Certain types of films pre-sell.
The cost of the film has increasingly become an important key for pre-sales because if it’s too much for each territory, the film will not happen.”
The same rules must apply internationally as in the U.S. to succeed.
Said Flynn: “I think you have to make a film that’s really good. I saw a guy watching ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ on his phone on the underground. That’s the mindset of the younger generation. Make it really good and get someone to see it. I don’t think you can really be fussy in 2023 about how they see it.”
Another question posed by Sutherland was how do you get people to leave the house?
“It’s incumbent on all of us to make films that make you leave your house,” said Czernin.
Added Flynn: “We made a film a few years ago about three friends and a donkey. On paper it was really silly. But it worked. Challenge people. Make good movies.”
Said Maraval: The theatrical market is recovering quite well after COVID. The audience is there. It’s about giving them something exceptional and a reason to get out of the house.”
The exchange and balance between international and domestic is key. And both markets depend on each other for different input.
Said Flynn: “I think most people think the most original stories are from outside the U.S. today.
Added Maraval: “For a lot of stories coming from the U.S. market, we feel very far internationally. I feel I see the same film 20 times at Sundance. I think the world is changing in a way that makes everything more local.”
Added Czernin: “We need to take the best parts of the U.S. and international systems and put them together. I think the development system in the U.S. is rigorous and some of that needs taking over into the international space.”
Saw X director Kevin Greutert says that Shawnee Smith’s Amanda will be a “major character” in the upcoming sequel.
Amanda Young (Shawnee Smith) was introduced in the very first Saw movie as a young heroin addict who was the only known survivor of one of Jigsaw’s games. After being revealed as Jigsaw’s apprentice in the second movie, Amanda went on to be featured in several more sequels and is set to return for Saw X.
While speaking with GamesRadar, Saw X director Kevin Greutert said that Amanda will be a “major character” in the upcoming sequel.
“I would say that she’s a major character in this story and I really wanted to explore that area between what we see in Saw 1 where she’s a very vulnerable recovering drug addict and the kind of sassy rebel in Saw 3,” Greuter said, “but Saw 2 in a way doesn’t really count as character development for her except to show that she’s working with Jigsaw but she’s playing the role for the other characters that are trapped in Saw 2, so this is an opportunity to sort of develop her character more.“
The last few films in the Saw franchise were seriously light on John Kramer/Jigsaw, but Kevin Greutert has said that the new sequel will feature more of Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw than in any other film in the franchise. “Kramer is the centre of the story,” Greutert said. “They tried to make the last Saw without Tobin, and to me, that was a pretty gutsy move.”
“John Kramer (Tobin Bell) is back. The most chilling installment of the SAW franchise yet explores the untold chapter of Jigsaw’s most personal game,” reads the official Saw X synopsis. “Set between the events of SAW I and II, a sick and desperate John travels to Mexico for a risky and experimental medical procedure in hopes of a miracle cure for his cancer – only to discover the entire operation is a scam to defraud the most vulnerable. Armed with a newfound purpose, John returns to his work, turning the tables on the con artists in his signature visceral way through a series of ingenious and terrifying traps.“
Pictures via Netflix / Getty Images – Illustration by What’s on Netflix
Welcome to our big preview of every new Netflix Original series Netflix has in development to debut in 2024 and beyond.
Additionally, this list only includes brand-new debut shows and not returning shows. We’ve got a separate guide for all the renewed Netflix shows, including Stranger Things, The Crown, Bridgerton,Outer Banks, and more.
The first part is the series we know that have completed filming or are continuing to film throughout the strikes. These shows have the highest chance of coming out next year.
Part 2 will feature new series that were either caught up in the strikes (got midway through filming or got postponed) – we’ll also feature series we believe are far along in development and would be the first wave to go into production when the strike ceases.
Finally, in part 3, we’ll touch on shows that have been announced but haven’t had much information on development. We’ll keep this to a more simple list.
Also, please note that Netflix hasn’t actually confirmed all of its Fall 2023 series lineup. So, some things listed here could still be released this year.
What’s Coming to Netflix in 2024 or Beyond
Note: Listed in order of release and then in alphabetical order if no date is available.
3 Body Problem
Showrunners: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss Cast: Eliza González, Benedict Wong, Liam Cunningham, John Bradley, Tsai Chin
Coming to Netflix: January 2024 (rumored for January 1st)
From the creators of Game of Thrones comes their most ambitious project to date, attempting to adapt the complex and beloved sci-fi novel series that originates out of China.
The Three-Body Problem (shorted to just 3 Body Problem for release on Netflix) depicts humanity’s first contact with an alien civilization.
Boy Swallows Universe
Writer: John Collee Cast: Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker, Phoebe Tonkin, Anthony LaPaglia, Korey Williams
Coming to Netflix on January 4th, 2023
Picture: Netflix
Based on the book by Trent Dalton and previously adapted into a stage play, this new Australian series was filmed from the summer of 2022 through to the end of 2022.
The story follows a working-class Brisbane teenager navigating the world of drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, and violence.
Griselda
Cast: Sofía Vergara, Alberto Guerra, Vanessa Ferlito, Martin Rodriguez
Coming to Netflix on January 25th, 2023
Read more about Netflix’s Griselda in our full preview of the new limited series.
Picture: Netflix
Some of the same team from Netflix’s hit Narcos series is working on this new limited series that takes aim at another notorious drug lord. Sofia Vergara leads the cast, playing the role of Griselda Blanco, a savvy and ambitious Colombian businesswoman and dedicated mother.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Showrunner: Albert Kim Cast: Gordon Cormier, Ian Ousley, Kiawentiio, Dallas Liu – full list
Filmed throughout 2022 on state-of-the-art LED sets, this is a live-action adaptation of the beloved Nickelodeon series. It tells the story of Aang, a young boy who possesses the ability to wield all the elemental powers.
A Man in Full
Director: Regina King Cast: Jeff Daniels, Chanté Adams, Tom Pelphrey, Sarah Jones, Tom Pelphrey
David E. Kelley is behind this new adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel.
Jeff Daniels leads the cast and plays the role of Charlie Croker, a real estate mogul who falls on hard times as he faces bankruptcy but goes to extraordinary lengths to keep his business going.
Filming has been complete since November 2022.
Baby Reindeer
Writer: Richard Gadd Cast: Tom Goodman-Hill, Jessica Gunning, Hugh Coles, Jamie Michie, Danny Kirrane
Picture: West End Best Friend
Based on an award-winning play, this British series filmed in London and Edinburgh between October 2022 and February 2023.
The series follows the writer Richard Gadd’s warped relationship with his female stalker and its impact on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deep, dark, buried trauma.
Black Doves
Picture: Getty Images
Keira Knightley will headline this new British production set to be directed by Alex Gabassi and comes from Sister Pictures. The series follows Helen embarking on a passionate affair that endangers her carefully constructed web of subterfuge.
Production is due to get underway in the United Kingdom in October 2023.
Bodkin / On Record
Showrunner: Jez Scharf Director: Nash Edgerton Cast: Will Forte, David Wilmot, Robyn Cara, Siobhán Cullen
Filming throughout the latter half of 2022 is the new series from producers Barack and Michelle Obama.
Here’s a rundown on what you can expect from the new mystery series:
“A group of podcasters set out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic Irish town. But when they start to pull the strings, they find a story much bigger and stranger than they could have imagined.”
Dead Boy Detectives
Showrunner: Beth Schwartz and Steve Yockey Cast: Kassius Nelson, Jayden Revri, George Rexstrew
Originally set to release at HBO Max, this DC series adaptation moved late to Netflix after already commencing production, which wrapped up in April 2023.
The series moves to Netflix to sit alongside another Neil Gaiman adaptation in the form of The Sandman, which is returning for new episodes.
The story is described as a “fresh take on a ghost story that explores loss, grief, and death through the lens of Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, two dead British teenagers, and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace.”
Desert King
Creators: Ben Davies and Timothy Lee
Picture: Easy Tiger
Announced as one of the new titles in Netflix’s Australia slate in 2023 is Desert Kings which kicked off production in Fall 2023.
A mix of Yellowstone and Sons of Anarchy, this new series tells the story of billionaire miners, land owners, cowboys and desert gangsters clashing over the world’s biggest cattle station in Australia.
Eric
Creator: Abi Morgan Cast: McKinley Belcher, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dan Fogler, Jeff Hephner, Gaby Hoffmann, Phoebe Nicholls, Wade Allain-Marcus, Roberta Colindrez
Produced by Netflix UK, this new 6-episode mini-series revolves around Vincent, a grief-stricken father who loses his son and finds solace through his friendship with Eric, the monster that lives under Edgar’s bed.
The series filmed in multiple locations, including the US, between December 2022 and May 2023. Little Chick and Sister is producing.
Fool Me Once
Cast: Richard Armitage, Michelle Keegan, Joanna Lumley, Adeel Akhtar
The eighth major series adaptation of Harlan Coben’s significant works from Netflix will be set in Britain. Filming took place throughout the summer of 2023 and concluded in July.
Per Netflix:
“Fool Me Once follows Maya Stern who is trying to come to terms with the brutal murder of her husband, Joe. But when Maya installs a nanny-cam to keep an eye on her young daughter, she is shocked to see a man she recognises in her house. Her husband, who she thought was dead…”
Declan O’Dwyer serves as director on this new scripted show based on the teen novel series by Holly Smale. Geek Girl is the story of an awkward, neurodiverse teenager, Harriet Manners. Her life is turned upside down when she is spotted to be a model and embarks on a life-affirming journey of self-discovery as she balances high school and high fashion.
Production on this one continued throughout the strikes, filming in London and Toronto.
My Life With The Walter Boys
Showrunner: Melanie Halsall Cast: Marc Blucas, Jaylan Evans, Corey Fogelmanis, Ashby Gentry, Sarah Rafferty, Zoe Soul
Based on the Ali Novak novel, this new series is a family coming-of-age series set to consist of 10 episodes and wrapped filming in August 2022.
Here’s a quick rundown of what you can expect:
“Following the loss of her family in a tragic accident, 16-year old Manhattanite Jackie Howard has to learn to adapt to a new life in rural Colorado with her guardian – and 12 very rowdy kids.”
Sony Pictures Television and Komixx Entertainment are behind the series.
Kaos
Creator: Charlie Covell Cast: Jeff Goldblum, Janet McTeer, David Thewlis, Stanley Townsend, Billie Piper, Cliff Curtis
Filmed in the United Kingdom over the summer of 2022, this ambitious comedy-drama series will see Jeff Goldblum play the role of Zeus. Not sold yet? Here’s a bit more. Described as a dark comedy, it reimagines Greek mythology, exploring “gender politics, power, and life in the underworld.”
The cast alone is worthy of the price of admission, and given the subject matter, we’re seated.
Originally set to release on Showtime in the United States, Ripley will now release globally on Netflix after it snatched the rights away in 2023.
The period drama series tells the story of Tom Ripley, a grifter who operated in the early 1960s and is hired by a man to travel to Italy to try to convince his vagabond son to return home. The series has fully concluded production.
Senna
Cast: Charlie Hamblett, Joe Hurst, Gabriel Leone, Camila Mardila, Kaya Scodelario, and Alice Wegmann
Picture: Netflix
Slightly cheating as this is a Brazillian production and expected to be primarily in Portuguese (after all, the racer it features is Brazillian) but given the subject matter and much of the cast being from around the world, we will make an exception.
Serving as a biopic of the Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, it’ll follow his career on and off the track.
SUPACELL
Showrunner: Rapman Cast: Tosin Cole, Nadine Mills, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Calvin Demba
Originating out of the United Kingdom is this new superhero series, which comes from Rapman (best known for Blue Story and Top Boy). It was in production from mid-2022 through to the end of the year.
The series is about a group of five ordinary people who unexpectedly develop superpowers. The only thing these people have in common is that they’re Black South Londoners.
From the same team behind Netflix’s canceled Teenage Bounty Hunters and executive producer Jenji Kohan comes The Decameron. Production wrapped up in June 2023, shot entirely on location in Italy.
The series is described as a 14th Century Soapy Drama and has been given an 8-episode order. Set during the Black Death pandemic, we’ll follow a handful of nobles invited to retreat with their servants to a grand villa in the Italian countryside and wait out the pestilence with a lavish holiday.
The Gentlemen
Creator: Guy Ritchie Cast: Giancarlo Esposito, Daniel Ings, Theo James, Vinnie Jones, Joely Richardson
Following the success of Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen movie, we’ll return to the world with a new series adaptation that began filming at the end of 2022.
Miramax Television is behind the production, and the cast for the series includes Theo James, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kaya Scodelario.
The Leopard
Creator: Richard Warlow Cast: Bendetta Porcaroli, Deva Cassel, Kim Rossi Stuart, Simona Distefano, Saul Nanni
Picture: Netflix
This big-budget multilingual period drama series hails from Italy. Based on the 1958 novel, the series comes from Moonage Pictures and Indiana Production and follows Angelica Sedara, a young, stunning middle-class woman who catalyzes social disruption.
From Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps. Centers on Celeste Otis, who is about to marry the perfect man — who happens to be from the wealthiest family on Nantucket. But when a body is found floating in the harbor on the morning of what was supposed to be the year’s wedding, everyone at the party becomes a suspect.
Filming took place across Massachusetts throughout the Spring and Summer of 2023.
Toxic Town
Writer: Jack Thorne Cast: Claudia Jessie, Joe Dempsie, Aimee Lou Wood, Rory Kinnear, Jodie Whittaker, Brendan Coyle
PIX by Mark Campbell/Paul Cousans MCPIX Ltd.
From the production company behind Black Mirror, Toxic Town is based on true events. It’s about three mothers looking for justice for the rates of upper limb defects in babies born in Corby after a toxic waste incident.
Filmed on location in the United Kingdom, the series was filmed because it’s not SAG-AFTRA covered. It’s due to wrap up by the end of 2023.
Netflix Series Highlights in Development at Netflix for Release in 2024 & Beyond
All of the titles below have yet to begin production, got midway through production, and therefore, are yet to be completed.
Adapting the video game franchise from PlayStation, this new series follows the games’ storyline in the 31st century, where humans live in scattered tribes and are threatened by rogue robots.
Playstation Productions and Sony Pictures Television are producing for Netflix.
Millarworld Series
Netflix’s first foray into the Millarworld didn’t pan out too well, with Jupiter’s Legacy being canned after a single season.
Hoping to right the ship, there are several confirmed TV series in development at Netflix, including:
Night Club – Action-adventure series about a boy who inhabits vampire abilities after being bitten.
Supercrooks – A live-action series to accompany the anime series Netflix released in 2021.
The Magic Order – Harry Potter in scale, this series follows elite families with magical abilities. The project was initially postponed but was put back in active development. Production was due to begin in late 2023 but has been postponed because of the strikes.
Creator: Rightor Doyle
Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
This show marks the first time Netflix has ever filmed a comedy pilot (they usually just go straight-to-series) but sadly, their plan didn’t quite work out with the pilot’s production being halted twice due to the strikes. Whether this will get a full-order is unclear – we’ll have to wait and see.
Samara Weaving headlines the cast, playing the role of Penelope Paul Porter. It’s about her character trying to break into the news industry and gets a tip-off of a potentially big story.
Should this be on this list, given it’s technically season 2 for Monster? We’re not sure so we’ll include it anyway! Ryan Murphy’s big Netflix deal may be over, but he’s still working on a few different projects for Netflix, and this serves as a follow-up to the limited series Dahmer.
Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez have been cast as the brothers who infamously murdered their wealthy parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home in 1989.
Production on this new iteration of Monster was due to get underway in early Fall 2023, although hasn’t been able to thus far.
No Good Deed
Creator: Liz Feldman
Liz Feldman – Picture: Getty Images
From Liz Feldman (the creator of Dead to Me) comes a new dark comedy about three families bidding to buy a 1920s Spanish-style villa.
Production was due to get underway in Fall 2023, but due to the strikes, plans are currently on hold.
Based on the Jodi Thomas novels, this romantic drama series hopes to hit the same audiences as Virgin River and Sweet Magnolias. Series will be a contemporary western saga that charts the intersecting lives and loves of three ranching families
Production was due to get underway in September 2023 and we had heard that casting was underway on the project.
Laura Nava is writing the project with Dan Angel and Brian Gott producing.
Based on the comics by James Tynion IV, Boom! Studios will adapt the series for Netflix. Follows a teen survivor in a town ravaged by child-eating monsters.
Mike Flanagan was originally due to spearhead the series for Netflix but dropped out of the project, with Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese (known for Dark and 1899) taking over showrunning duties instead.
The Abandons
Creator: Kurt Sutter Cast: Gillian Anderson and Lena Headey
Kurt Sutter – Picture: Getty Images
First in development in 2021 and ordered into a series in 2022, this new Western series will come from the creator of Sons of Anarchy and Mayans M.C. It was due to get into production in mid-2023, but the strikes have now allowed that to move forward.
Here’s the official rundown on what you can expect:
“As a group of diverse, outlier families pursue their Manifest Destiny in 1850s Oregon, a corrupt force of wealth and power, coveting their land, tries to force them out. These abandoned souls, the kind of lost souls living on the fringe of society, unite their tribes to form a family and fight back. In this bloody process, ‘justice’ is stretched beyond the boundaries of the law. The Abandons will explore that fine line between survival and law, the consequences of violence, and the corrosive power of secrets, as this family fights to keep their land.”
The Corps
Showrunner: Andy Parker| Cast: Ana Ayora, Blake Burt, Cederick Cooper, Vera Famiga, Dominic Goodman
Also known as The Pink Marine, this new series is based on the memoir by Greg Cope White. The story revolves around Cameron, a bullied, gay high school student who joins the Marine Corps with his straight best friend, Ray.
Production did get underway on this comedy series in New Orleans in early 2023 but was stopped midway through due to the ongoing strikes.
The Madness
Showrunners: Stephen Belber and V.J. Boyd Cast: Marsha Stephanie Blake, Colman Domingo, Gabrielle Graham, John Ortiz, and Tamsin Topolski
Chernin Entertainment is behind this new limited series thriller about a media pundit who stumbles upon a murder and must fight to survive.
Filming throughout most of 2023 was initially scheduled to wrap in August 2023. However, it’s one of the many shows that got caught up during the strike and naturally has yet to finish.
Coming out of Netflix’s bountiful Shondaland deal will be a new series adaptation of the Kate Anderson Brower book.
“132 rooms. 157 suspects. One dead body. One wildly eccentric detective. One disastrous State Dinner. The Residence is a screwball whodunnit set in the upstairs, downstairs, and backstairs of the White House, among the eclectic staff of the world’s most famous mansion.”
This show did manage to begin filming before the strike but ultimately ceased because of the actor’s strike in July 2023. It was originally due to wrap filming in September.
Untitled Netflix Ghostbusters Animated Series
Picture: Sony
Coming from Sony Pictures Animation, this is a brand-new animated series is based on the long-running Sony franchise. Ghostcorps is producing the new series alongside Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan.
Untitled Netflix Kristen Bell / Adam Brody Comedy (aka Shiksa)
Creator: Erin Foster
Photo credits: Scott Gries / Ricky Middlesworth
First announced in early 2023, this new comedy series comes from Erin Foster and Modern Family co-creator Steven Levitan. It’s centered around centered on the unlikely relationship between an irreverent, outspoken, agnostic woman and an unconventional rabbi.
3 Arts Entertainment and 20th Television, in association with Steven Levitan Productions, are behind the series for Netflix
Zero Day
Writers: Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim, Michael Schmidt Cast: Jesse Plemons, Robert De Niro, Lizzy Caplan, Connie Britton, Joan Allen, Edi Cathegi, Geoffrey Cantor
Pictures: Getty Images
This new drama-thriller mini-series comes from Grand Electric and Panoramic Media.
Here’s the official logline for the series:
“Zero Day asks the question on everyone’s mind — how do we find truth in a world in crisis, one seemingly being torn apart by forces outside our control? And in an era rife with conspiracy theory and subterfuge, how much of those forces are products of our own doing, perhaps even of our own imagining?”
Filming began on this series in early June but was held up once SAG-AFTRA began striking.
Every Other Upcoming Netflix Original Series Coming in 2023 and Beyond
12 Scars – Jamie Linden is writing this new drama series that follows a single father trying to move beyond his previous life as a violent criminal.
90 Church – In 2022, we heard that Netflix was eying this new Narcotic drama previously in development elsewhere.
A Chorus Line – Mini-series starring Ewan McGregor about Broadway dancers auditioning for spots from Ryan Murphy.
Arbor Hall – Mystery teen thriller from Kalinda Vazquez.
Assassin’s Creed – Adaptation of the Ubisoft game franchise.
Black Rabbit – Mini-series starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman.
Bloom – From Higher Ground Productions, this drama series is set in the world of fashion in post-WWII New York City that depicts barriers faced by women and by people of color in an era marked by hurdles but also tremendous progress.
Coming Undone – Billie Piper is set to star in this memoir from writer Terri White.
Conan the Barbarian – A new live-action reboot series based on the iconic sword-wielding character popularized by Arnold Arnold Schwarzenegger. In development since 2020.
Confessions – Based on the novel by Jason Smith, Paul Wesley is set to star in this coming-of-age series chronicling a teacher’s two-year sting teaching in public school in Northern California. Universal Television producing.
Confessions on the 7:45 – Jessica Alba to star in an adaptation series of the Lisa Unger book.
Daddy Ball – New limited series from Aggregate Films starring Jason Bateman.
Damage – Gaumont Television and Moonage Pictures are behind this drama series.
Death Note – Another Netflix adaptation of the manga series, but The Duffer Brothers are behind it this time and will be in a series format.
Department Q – From Left Bank Pictures, this new detective crime mystery comes from Chandni Lakhani based on the novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen.
Dumped – Comedy series from Kapital Entertainment and Anonymous Content about a hopeless romantic and friends becoming detectives to investigate her ex.
East Of Eden – Florence Pugh will star in this new limited series about two families coming together to reenact Cain and Abel.
Fanger – Tom Lynch to produce this new kids series about a preteen girl realizing she has supernatural powers, she embarks on a search for who her birth parents were.
Firekeeper’s Daughter – Young adult thriller from Higher Ground Productions. Based on the debut novel by Angeline Boulley.
Forever – Mara Brock Akil to serve as showrunner in this new series based on the novel by Jane Blume. An epic love story of two Black teens exploring romance and their identities through the awkward journey of being each other’s firsts.
Free Food for Millionaires – Adaptation based on the best-selling Min Jin Lee book. The story focuses on Casey Han, a daughter of Korean immigrants, who is addicted to a glamorous Manhattan lifestyle she cannot afford.
Picture: Xbox Studios
Gears of War – Adult-animated series to be released alongside a live-action Netflix movie adaptation.
Heaven’s Forest – Adult-animated series from Powerhouse Animation and executive produced by Adi Shankar, Warren Ellis, and Kevin Kolde. Set in an Indo-futuristic world and inspired by the Indian mythology of the Ramayana.
Kings of America – Adam McKay was announced in 2020 to produce this series on the woman behind Walmart. Was set to star Amy Adams.
Magic: The Gathering – Animated adult series based on the card trading game.
Mama K’s Team 4 – Animated series due for release in 2024 about four teen girls living in the neo-futuristic African city of Lusaka, Zambia.
Man On Fire – TV adaptation based on J. Quinnell’s Man on Fire and The Perfect Kill. Set to be an eight-episode series.
Nocterra – Announced in 2021, this series would adapt the Scott Snyder comic book.
One Day in December – Based on the book by Josie Silver, Lucy Boynton was set to star in this dramedy.
Orbital – Steve Blackman (the showrunner of The Umbrella Academy) is behind this new sci-fi thriller series set on the International Space Station.
Outfielder – Ryan Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis were announced to be serving as executive producers on this baseball drama about the very first high five.
Poindexter – Media Res series from producer Michael Ellenberg.
Portrait of a Thief – Sugar23 is developing this series based on the novel by Grace Li. Optioned in 2021.
Programmed – A new comedy series from Objective Fiction and Mae Martin.
Raybearer – Fantasy teen drama.
Recursion – An adaptation of the sci-fi thriller book comes from Matt Reeves and Shonda Rhimes.
Shadecraft – Joe Henderson best known for his time on Lucifer, is adapting this comic-book adaptation alongside Georgia Lee.
Skull and Bones – A live-action pirate adventure series based on the Ubisoft game. Amanda Segel serves as showrunner.
Splinter Cell – Animated series based on the Ubisoft video game IP.
Stronger – Sheldon Turner is behind this new A+E Studios drama for Netflix starring Yvonne Orji. About a single mom who becomes obsessed with bodybuilding.
Tall Pines – Eight-episode mini-series from Mae Martin set in a bucolic but sinister town that explores the insidious underbelly of the troubled teen industry.
The 39 Steps – Limited series starring Benedict Cumberbatch about a man who becomes a pawn in a global conspiracy to reset the world order. Based on the John Buchan novel.
The Atomic Bazaar – Revolves around the global trade in nuclear weapons production and state-sponsored nuclear activities.
The Boroughs – The Duffer Brothers are developing this new supernatural sci-fi series with creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews. Set in a retirement community in the New Mexico desert you’ll follow a group of unlikely heroes must band together to stop an otherworldly threat.
Picture: Disney
The Chronicles of Narnia – A TV series adaptation is eventually expected to be part of Netflix’s huge expansion into Narnia.
The Craving – From Protozoa Pictures comes a new drama about a ski town in Colorado’s sheriff facing an unprecedented new threat.
The Elf on the Shelf – Animated Christmas kids series from Vertigo Entertainment.
The Moon Represents My Heart – Gemma Chan stars in this drama series about a British-Chinese family with the ability to time travel.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne – Horror adaptation based on the Tade Thompson novel.
The Night Jar – Fantasy series from producer Peter Chernin.
The Survivors – Australian crime mystery mini-series.
The Talisman – Adaptation of the Stephen King novel being helmed by The Duffer Brothers and Curtis Gwinn.
The Warmth of Other Suns – Anna Deavere Smith will bring the book of the same name to Netflix with the help of Shondaland. It tells the story of the long migration of African Americans who flee the South for a better life.
They Both Die at the End – Teen drama series from Chris Van Dusen and Bad Bunny.
Twilight of the Gods – Animated series from Jay Oliva and Zack Snyder.
Untitled Jane Lynch Series – Comedy from creators Stephen Engel and Carol Leifer described as a modern-day Golden Girls.
Untitled Lilly Singh Project – Comedy executive produced by Kenya Barris.
Untitled Mike Schur Project – Ted Danson will star in this new comedy series based on The Mole Agent that comes from the creator of The Good Place and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Untitled Los Angeles Lakers Series – A new workplace comedy from Mindy Kaling, Elaine Ko and Jeanie Buss
Untitled Stranger Things Spin-off – The Duffer Brothers are working on a Stranger Things spin-off.
Watergate – Limited series from George Clooney and Matt Charman on the infamous Watergate scandal.
White Stork – Political thriller miniseries starring Tom Hiddleston – production was supposed to begin in 2022 but has yet to happen.
Amblin Partners Production of President Jeb Brody welcomed the tentative writers’ strike deal during an industry panel at the San Sebastian Film Festival on Tuesday but warned that some of the issues that sparked the industrial action in the first place were still swashing around.
“I think a lot of trickiness in the movie business that led to the strike is still with us, and it’s going to be a couple of years I think until they figure it out,” he said, citing tension between streaming and theatrical and as well as malingering questions around how people are remunerated.
He said the strike had impacted everybody, especially on the development front, but added that he felt Hollywood would soon get back up to speed.
“It’s definitely going to be a problem for the next little while but overall, it’s a strong industry and people will bounce back quickly,” he said.
He expressed optimism that SAG-AFTRA would soon also come to an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) in the light of the tentative writers deal
“And I think the actors will come to a solution within the next couple of weeks. That tends to follow in history,” he said.
Brody said he sensed a fresh energy in Hollywood in the light of 146-day strike and Sunday’s announcement.
“It’s been tricky for a couple of years. You have a lot of people in our business who are frustrated, they’re been banging their heads against the wall trying to figure it out. And then suddenly, it’s almost taken away for a couple of months,” he said.
“It feels for the first time in a long time that people are really excited to get back to work and there’s a real feeling of enthusiasm and creativity.”
Brody was talking at a panel exploring ‘Challenges and Opportunities in the Shifting US Landscape’ in San Sebastian’s Creative Investors’ Conference, organized in association with CAA Media Finance.
He was joined on stage by Neon Director of Acquisitions Sarah Colvin, Focus Features President Production & Acquisitions, Kiska Higgs and Tendo Nagenda, producer at 10 by Ten.
Higgs said she was not at liberty to discuss the strikes publicly given her company is a AMPTP member, while Colvin said that Neon as an independent company had been able to benefit from waivers, which were a good way to support SAG and show there were other options beyond streamers and studios.
Brian, 50, tells Blac, 35, whose real name is Angela White, to not give him “dirty looks like that” because they’re “not necessary.” Blac immediately sits up and asks the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum what he’s talking about. “I’m just saying,” Brian quips. Blac responds, “I’m from D.C. Don’t play with me. I’m not the one.”
Blac Chyna during the ‘Special Forces’ season 2 premiere. (FOX)
The mom-of-two orders Brian to “stop playing” with her. “I’m not playing with you,” she says. Blac is unsure if Brian is messing around with her or actually being serious. “Of course, I’m playing. I’m never serious,” Brian admits. He adds, “I don’t want to create any drama. I don’t want to make you feel bad at all.”
Blac walks up to Brian and says he’ll never make her feel a certain “type of way.” She stares him right in the face and continues, “I’m gonna let you know that right now. But carry on, though. ‘Cause you so funny and all that, right?”
JoJo Siwa silently asks Brian if he’s okay after that tense moment. He just shrugs his shoulders. “What the heck happened?” Savannah Chrisley asks when Blac leaves the room. Dream Kardashian and King Cairo’s mom goes to another room and breaks down in tears.
Brian Austin Green is one of the celebrity recruits. (FOX)
All of the celebrity recruits pass the first day of Special Forces season 2. Some of them just barely. Their first task was to make it across two thin metal poles that were suspended 340 feet in the air. Brian, Blac, and the majority of the recruits failed the first task. Later, the recruits had to perform grueling tasks with heavy rocks.
Season 2 has brought the celebrity recruits to South Island, New Zealand, for the ultimate test in military training. Unlike the first season, the stars of season 2 have to face freezing temperatures this time around. Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 2 airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on FOX.
There’s an unwelcome surprise in the iPhone 15. Because of the lineup’s new higher-resolution camera, you’ll likely fill up your storage a whole lot faster. Sixty-five percent faster, to be precise.
That means you could get to the dreaded “storage full” alert much sooner — or end up having to pay for more iCloud+ storage full of newly larger photos.
Sure, higher-resolution photos are nice if you like to see every crinkle in the autumn leaves (and people’s faces). But to me, it also feels a bit like a shakedown. Apple created a problem and also a solution that costs us more money. The price of Apple’s ransom: Doubling your iPhone’s built-in storage costs $100 up front, or subscribing to iCloud+ online storage with monthly fees now ranges from $1 to $65 (yikes).
I’m generally a fan of using my smartphone camera to snap photos I store in the cloud and then throw things away — the high-tech version of tidying up. But I’m also wary of Big Tech companies using their power to extract more money from us.
Just know you do have other options, including a buried setting I’ll share below to stop the iPhone 15 camera from making these new XL files.
How iPhone photo sizes changed
Here’s what’s going on: Since 2015, the iPhone has captured standard photos at a resolution known as 12 megapixels. That’s enough to print out photos at 10 x 14 inches. Apple even turned some of these shots into promotional billboards for the iPhone.
The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro change that with a new camera sensor that’s capable of ultra high-resolution photos. By default, the iPhone 15 saves most of the shots from the regular Wide camera at resolution known as 24 megapixels. (In dark conditions, it combines some of the pixels and saves just 12 megapixels, and the ultrawide and zoom lenses also still take 12 megapixel shots.)
To some iPhone photographers, the extra resolution may be totally worth the larger files. It means there can be more detail, and you can zoom into photos after the fact. I’m a pretty advanced iPhone photographer, but so far have found the leap a bit less useful than I’d been hoping for. The times when the extra detail changes how I use or crop into photos have been few and far between.
Apple didn’t comment on leaving customers in the lurch, but confirmed to me the new iPhone shots take up more space. It pointed me to documentation claiming the iPhone’s 12-megapixel files are approximately 2 MB, while its 24-megapixel files are approximately 3 MB. That suggests a 50 percent increase.
It’s actually more than that, according to my own experiments. I tallied up the file sizes of 50 new iPhone 15 photos and did the same with 50 older iPhone 13 photos. The trend was clear: The 24 megapixel photos averaged about 65 percent larger. One topped the scales at 5.5 MB.
What does that mean in practical terms? My patterns can help us with some back-of-the-envelope math. I take about 30 photos per day. (You may take more or less — I have a 2 year old who likes to ham it up.) My photo habit with an iPhone 15 could now gobble up about 37 gigabytes in a year in high-resolution photos.
The takeaway: In less than three years, you could fill up the roughly 100 gigabytes of free space on an iPhone 15. And that assumes your phone isn’t already full of photos you’ve taken over the past 16 years of iPhones.
If you don’t care about keeping higher-resolution photos, there’s an easy fix. Dig into your iPhone 15’s settings and change the default back to 12 megapixels. Go to Settings → Camera → Formats → Photo Mode → and tap 12 MP.
Apple’s iPhone 15 now takes higher quality photos but also takes up much more space on your phone and online. Here’s how to adjust your settings. (Video: The Washington Post)
But if you do want to hold onto the higher-resolution photos, you’ve got other options.
2) Back up to a computer or hard drive
Without spending an extra dime, you can get in the habit of regularly backing up your photos from your iPhone to a computer and then deleting them from your iPhone. You’ll need plenty of free space, or perhaps an external hard drive. A 4 terabyte Western Digital My Book costs $110 and would take a very, very long time for most people to fill up. Or you can even plug a little USB-C compatible flash drive directly into an iPhone 15 and share or save photos directly, though this kind of backup isn’t as nicely automated.
3) Buy an iPhone with more storage
If you always keep your photos on your iPhone, you could double your storage to 256 gigabytes by spending an extra $100 up front. (If you’ve already bought your phone, you’re still likely in the window to return it.) The iPhone 15 Pro Max starts with a base level of 256 gigabytes of storage.
If you want the convenience and confidence that all your memories are backed up online, of course Apple makes its own iCloud service as the simplest option. In the background, it automatically backs up your photos to your iCloud account and moves the full-resolution version from your phone until you load it up, meaning you never run out of space on your iPhone.
But iCloud+ storage isn’t cheap, and you may be forced to pay for a lot of storage you’re not yet using. For 99 cents per month, you get 50 gigabytes, which you could fill pretty quickly. After that, your option leaps to $2.99 per month for 200 gigabytes. Apple makes each new step up pretty big — the next level is $9.99 per month for two terabytes. And this year, it even added a 12 terabyte option for $59.99. One way you could try saving money is by joining an iCloud+ plan with your family or as part of a shared iCloud Photo library where the bill goes to someone else.
Google’s One storage plans, which closely align with Apple’s iCloud prices, can also back up and clear photos from an iPhone. Why choose it over Apple? Google’s Photos app also offers an option to automatically downsize your shots to 12 megapixels so they don’t eat up all your storage. And I also found Google’s Photos app to be faster than Apple’s at searching for and pulling up old photos. (There’s even a system to automatically move iCloud photos to Google photos, though it has crashed for me when I’ve tried it.)
If you’re getting a ton of photos or editing needs, you might be in pro territory. A service called SmugMug offers unlimited storage plans that start at $13 per month, and is particularly popular with pro photographers. So is Adobe’s Lightroom, which costs $19.99 per month for one terabyte of storage and comes with access to Photoshop and other sophisticated photo-editing tools.
EXCLUSIVE: Filmmaker Ilker Çatak, whose terrific film The Teachers’ Lounge is Germany’s submission for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards, wants to see and make films that provoke.
But what exactly does that mean?
Well, according to Çatak, most filmmakers, including himself, can feel a bit ‘same,’ despite best intentions. “We’re all kind of left-wing and woke, none of us are racist and we have the same values,” he begins during one of several conversations we’ve held over recent months at Telluride, TIFF and over email. “Sometimes I feel like I watch films, and they’re so safe. You know where the story’s going to, and I actually want to see films that sometimes provoke and are not aligned to my perception of the world.”
“I like it when a filmmaker makes a bold decision and risks something,” adds the director, whose credits include I Was, I Am, I Will Be and Stambul Garden.
For example, he says Yorgos Lanthimos’s Golden Lion-winning Poor Things “was bold for a filmmaker to make.” I wholeheartedly agree. The same goes for Paola Sorrentino and Justine Triet’s films. I agree with that, too.
The Teachers’ Lounge, which was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics back in March for all rights in North America, Latin America and most European territories, is set in a German school. Çatak sees “school as a miniature of society.”
“You’ve got the dean, you’ve got people with power in charge, and then you’ve got the people, the students, and you’ve got a school newspaper, which is representing the press. We thought — seeing as we live in such hysterical times where everybody just wants to be right and does not listen anymore, where it’s just about cancelling the other person or ‘alternative facts’ as they get called — that we thought this might be a nice playground to experiment in.”
Rather, it’s a dangerous playground, with Carla Nowak, as a new maths and physical exercise teacher played ferociously well by German actress Leonie Benesch (The White Ribbon, The Swarm) who finds herself at the center of an incident involving money stolen on school premises.
Teachers ask the pupils to show them their wallets. It’s such an intrusive act, but Çatak explains that in reality every infraction is investigated to the nth degree in German education. “We discovered that many German schools have problems, obviously, but they also have policies of zero tolerance.”
Leonie Benesch in ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’ Photo-Hanna Lenz/Alamode.
Çatak and co-screenwriter Johannes Duncker (Dämmerung) had conducted research, most of it arranged by producing partner Ingo Fliess of Berlin’s IF Productions, then ran it by several teachers. “Education is a very sensitive topic in Germany,” says Çatak. “If you tackle it, you have to be prepared for the shitstorm, and you have to really do your research, so we talked to a lot of teachers, to psychologists who work in schools and we talked to students, and I went to schools and spent time in classes.”
He laughs as he recounts being back in class. “I sat there and I had the same feeling that I had when I was a student. I felt tired. I wanted to sleep, and I was like, ‘Why is school starting at eight in the morning? Why?”
He adds it’s “a proven fact” that students would learn more if schools would start later, but the reality is most parents need their children dropped off earlier so they can begin work at a contracted time. “School is daycare,” says Çatak.
He remembers his parents telling him never to question what a teacher said. “Nowadays, it’s the opposite. Parents and students are questioning the teachers and teachers have a way more difficult time than they used to have. That’s also because communication has gotten quicker. There were no WhatsApp groups or emails back in the day, but now it’s just any single, tiny thing becomes an issue.”
In the film, a pupil of Turkish descent is singled out as a suspect in the theft. That scene, Çatak says, was inspired by an incident he and Duncker, who have been friends since childhood, observed when they were pupils themselves.
Çatak recalls the story of two boys who were stealing, protected by the knowledge that their classmates would not want to snitch. One day, three teachers ordered Çatak, Duncker and the other children to put their wallets on a table. “So we wrote the scene, and we showed it to working teachers,” he adds. They confirmed similar issues happen “all the time” but said that you could not demand children’s possessions unless they voluntarily give them up.
He sighs as he recalls being singled out “as the Turkish kid growing up in Germany.”
“You do get racially profiled.”
As he dug deeper into life at school, Çatak realized that the film would be about children’s rights. “This is also about how you stand up to a hierarchy that puts you under pressure,” he says.
There are no victims in The Teachers’ Lounge, he adds. “Everybody has to fight and no one backs down. That was the goal of the film.”
And, whoosh! It’s like a nuclear warhead exploding.
“For me as a director, that is a very thankful thing. If you have conflict and you have friction in your scenes, that’s drama. You don’t have to do anything as a director because the actors know what to do. They have a clear goal.”
Fitting in
Çatak was born in Berlin to Turkish parents. For the most part, he was the only “brown kid” in his class. He realized much later in life that he would ”start compensating with certain behaviours “to fit in. “You are just trying to make it work and also be invisible, and you put extra effort in looking good, having everything ironed, so that you are not the foreigner; the odd one out.”
We all have these protective mechanisms that we’re often not aware of when we’re young, and I know exactly what Çatak’s talking about.
I was raised in Richmond, just on the outskirts of London. There was one other Black kid in my school. I used to get stopped by police all the time and just like Çatak, I would learn to dress up so smart that there would have to be a damn good reason for the cops to stop me on my street.
When Çatak was 12 his family moved to Istanbul, returning to Germany when he was 18. His father worked for the postal service and his mother worked in a bank. “We’re basically working class people. My grandparents, who were fabric workers, came to Germany in the early 1970s. They were illiterates and they learned to write and read just in Germany,” Çatak tells me.
Art was not a big thing in the family. “I’m an only child and for them the most important thing was to see me studying,” he recalls.
After high school, he studied economics at university in Berlin. He was unhappy. “I hated it, and my escape was the movie theater. I went to the movies all the time. At some point I went to the job center where you can have a free consultation in what you want to do with your life. And the guy said, “What do you like doing?”
“I said, ‘I like going to the movies.’ And he said, I should should make some. It was as easy as that,” says Çatak, his eyes brightening at the memory.
By this time his friend Duncker was shooting short films, with Çatak performing in them. “We were young and we didn’t know what we were doing,” says Çatak.
Leonard Stettnisch plays a student in ‘The Teachers’ Lounge’
Alamode
But he knew that he would have to tell his parents. “’Guys, I’m quitting my studies to become a PA,’ he told them. And my parents said, ‘What is a PA? What are you doing there?’
“Well, I was basically I’m just blocking streets and making coffee for my bosses and whatnot. They went crazy.”
Part of their anger had to do with the fact that they had paid for his education during the six years they’d spent in Istanbul. “That was a good school and you don’t send your kid to such a school if the kid doesn’t want to study later.”
His parents accused him of “throwing it all away.”
It was the first “really big fight” he’d had with his parents. “I was living in their house, but not for long. I moved out and lived on the couches of friends. My father said, ‘Okay then, just piss off and never come back.”
Çatak applied to films schools and made more short films. He was broke and didn’t know what he was doing with his life. He started selling ice-cream at a parlour in Kreuzberg, using his earnings to finance his short films.
At some point, he made one film that he feels was was a turning point,” both in his career and between father and son.
It started when Çatak returned to the family home for his mother’s birthday. The family started playing a word game and Çatak and his father quarrelled over whether Namibia was a country or a city. Çatak was correct — it’s a country — but he was heartbroken that his father hid the fact he didn’t know.
Çatak and Duncker ended up making a twenty minute film called When Namibia was a City.
His father is the film’s lead.
The director sent me links to several of his shorts and earlier features over the course of our discussions. I watched When Namibiawas a City over and over. It’s not the remotest bit mean about Çatak’s father. The camera seems to love him. Knowing the background, I found watching the short tremendously moving.
Ilker Çatak talks about his father
Baz Bamigboye
The sense that art can help reconcile is so important in our fractured society.
“That film got a lot of invitations to festivals, and I would start travelling with my father to them,” Çatak says with pride.
“My father, who fiercely fought me for becoming a filmmaker, and me would be at those Q&As, and then a film critic made a list of the 10 most remarkable acting performances of that year, and there was my father, along with Robert de Niro.”
He takes a deep breath to keep the emotion at bay. “That was a turning point where he started also believing in me,” says Çatak. “He was the man who worked his life as a postman. I’d had to explain to him in the beginning what it means to be a director, but that was where everything changed and where I also thought, ‘Hey, maybe I’m not too bad at this.’ Things after that evolved, and I kept writing and making short films.”
I wondered about his parents now. Are they still with us?
“Yeah. And they are so proud,” he says with a beaming smile.
He notes how jubilant his parents were when The Teachers’ Lounge won prizes including the Lola in Gold for Best Feature Film at the German Film Awards, along with the awards for best director, actress, screenplay and editing, beating front-runner — and multi-Oscar winner — All Quiet on the Western Front for the top honor.
Germany has submitted The Teachers’ Lounge as its entry in the Academy’s Best International Feature Film category. Çatak’s father has been calling relatives in Anatolia to tell them about the film’s success. “What’s moving to me is the fact that they are moved and happy,” says Çatak.
He thinks back to something Brazil director Terry Gilliam once said about there being two kinds of films: the ones that have a message and the ones that pose a question. ”I prefer posing a question instead of a message,” says Çatak. “I like it when a film upsets me or when a film does not satisfy me, and this is what cinema is to me. It’s a space where I can put together the pieces myself; where I can interpret something.”
The Teachers’ Lounge doesn’t answer its fundamental question, which I won’t spoil here, but it considers the role of guilt. This prompts Çatak to discuss The Anatomy of a Fall, another film that explores similar thematic questions.
He’s a tremendous admirer of Justine Triet’s film because, ultimately, “it’s about how every society needs a scapegoat and how we as a society need these sacrifices in order to keep the machine running.”
But the bigger question to come out of The Teachers’ Lounge has to do with truth, a point to which Çatak nods his head in agreement. He ponders on “how everybody has their own truth, how truth becomes a matter of subjective perception and how everybody tries to make up their own truth. If truth is something that you can bend, then it becomes a matter of belief.”
And we know how dangerous so-called alternative truth has become. That’s why I feel The Teachers’ Lounge will find a receptive audience in the U.S. Çatak jokes that the student newspaper journalists in his film would have put Donald Trump under a spotlight he would not have liked.
‘Best of a generation’
Actors mine a script and extract the most telling material. That’s what Leonie Benesch does as Carla. Çatak hails her as the best of her generation. “She’s a young Isabelle Huppert,” he says. “She’s got something, like a magician. And I actually don’t want to know how the magician does this magic.”
Leonie Benesch
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for ABA
However, he has ascertained that she combines “a mixture of between concentration and ‘laidback-ness’ in a way that I’ve never seen before. She could come into the room and be completely laid back and relaxed, and then boom, she’s concentrated and on point.”
He’d watched her performance in Michael Haneke’s 2009 Cannes prize winner The White Ribbon and wanted to work with her ever since. In the intervening years, Benesch studied at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, sharpening and honing her talent before landing her role in Çatak’s buzzy film.
But just as integral to The Teachers’ Lounge are the kids that populate its classrooms. They were selected after exhaustive casting sessions, many of which Çatak led.
Those who made the final mix would have interviews with him. “I would talk to them and say, ‘Okay, here are three things. First, we are a family and these are your brothers and sisters, and if any one of us doesn’t feel well, we all take care of that person. Second, I want you to have a work ethic. I want you to go to sleep early. I want you to know your lines. I want you to behave. And third, there are no extras. You aren’t an extra. We are one entity.”
He added one other point to them: “I am not your boss and you are not the kid that I talk to. We are colleagues.”
Çatak’s right to favor provocation in art. It’s fun when a movie makes you mad.
Aamir Khan’s son Junaid’s debut film is a one-of-a-kind David vs Goliath Story Maharaj backed by YRF and Netflix.
Aamir Khan’s elder son Junaid will soon be making his Bollywood debut with Yash Raj Films’ Maharaj. Ahead of the release of his debut film, the starkid has also signed his second movie wherein he’ll be seen opposite Sai Pallavi.
While it was earlier reported that the film will be shot in Japan, a source close to the team recently informed Pinkvilla that the movie will also feature the popular Snow Festival Of Sapporo. “The team saw the famous Snow Festival during their recce, which will also feature in the film as it will see the city of Sapporo set in the winters, and the team absolutely loved it. They were so thrilled by the picturesque landscapes and the unique cultural experience.”
The source also revealed that, apart from Sapporo Junaid also visited the City Hall and also met with Mayor Akimoto. “This interaction not only highlighted the warmth and hospitality of the city but also signifies the growing global reach of Bollywood. Never before has a Hindi film been shot in Sapporo, which makes it an exciting proposition to watch on the big screen.”
Following his passion for acting, Junaid Khan made his debut with theatre in August 2017 with director Quasar Thakore Padamsee’s adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s ‘Mother Courage and Her Children’, a biting satire on the absurdity of war. Since then the actor has been has been following his passion and honing his craft with years of dedicated and impressive work in theatre and is now finally set for his screen debut with YRF’s Maharaj, followed by this untitled love story with Sai Pallavi as per reports.
Junaid Khan’s debut film is a one-of-a-kind David vs Goliath Story Maharaj. The production house YRF recently confirmed the same, while announcing their collaboration with Netflix for the same. Apart from Junaid Khan’s debut with Maharaj, the film will also star Jaideep Ahlawat, Sharvari & Shalini Pandey. The film has been directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra, whose last film Hichki was a global hit.
Inspired by true events, Maharaj, is an incredible David vs Goliath story set in the 1800s, about how a regular man, journalist by profession, takes on a powerful role-model of society, hailed by many as a messiah for the masses. The fearless reporter uncovers a series of incidents that shake the very foundation of society.
Aditi Giri, Senior Sub-Editor at News18. She is a Bollywood and Biryani enthusiast. She loves talking to your favourite BTown celebrities, and brings …Read More
Director Matt Reeves plans to expand The Batman’s universe with new series like The Penguin show and the sequel, The Batman 2, which is set to release on October 3, 2025.
The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark, a new podcast series by DC and Spotify, offers a unique detective story featuring Batman and Riddler teaming up to uncover a mysterious vigilante, helping fill the void until The Batman 2 arrives.
The audio series seems set to continue the detective noir feel of The Batman with a focus on Gotham’s villains.
The gap between The Batman and The Batman – Part II can be perfectly bridged by a newly announced series in the wide DC Universe. Robert Pattinson proved to those who doubted his casting as Bruce Wayne that he was a fantastic choice to continue the Dark Knight’s live-action legacy by leading one of the best Batman movies, The Batman. Director Matt Reeves is set to continue to expand The Batman‘s universe in the coming years, and that will include series such as the upcoming The Penguin show on Max starring Colin Farrell, as well as the next step in The Batman‘s trilogy, The Batman 2.
There is not much currently known about The Batman 2’s story, although The Batman‘s ending, with Paul Dano’s Riddler meeting Barry Keoghan’s Joker at Arkham Asylum and the two becoming friends, hints at a possible direction for the sequel. The Batman 2 is currently scheduled for an October 3, 2025, release. The movie will be released as part of DC’s new Elseworlds label — reserved for projects outside the new DC Universe’s continuity — and will arrive three years after The Batman debuted. Until The Batman 2 finally releases, an overlooked new DC series can help fill the Batman movie’s void.
The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark Is Perfect To Tide Over The Batman Fans
While there are many upcoming DC movies thanks to James Gunn’s new DC Universe and some Elseworlds franchises, DC will continue focusing on different formats, and the comic book giant’s expansion over the podcast medium can help fill The Batman 2‘s void. DC and Spotify have recently announced a new podcast series — The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark. The show will follow Hasan Minhaj’s Riddler and Colman Domingo’s Batman having to work together to discover who the mysterious vigilante is that has been killing Gotham City’s villains — with The Riddler being himself a target — and stop him. The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark releases on October 10.
The series can tide DC fans over until The Batman 2 arrives in a couple of years. The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark continues the detective element that made The Batman so unique among the Dark Knight’s live-action offerings. At the same time, the project being an audio series, with an interesting team-up between Batman and Riddler rather than the two going against each other like in The Batman, should provide enough novelty to avoid it being too much like the film. The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark can keep the villain in DC fans’ minds before his likely return in The Batman 2, maintaining the first movie’s horror-esque context.
The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark Sets Up DC’s Three-Year Batman Trend
The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark sets up a three-year Batman trend. Starting with The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark‘s release this October, there will be a Batman-related project debuting in October for three consecutive years. 2024 will see Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker sing along with Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn in Joker: Folie à Deux, which releases on October 4. Then comes The Batman 2 on October 3, 2025. The three-year Batman trend ends with Pattinson’s Batman coming back, and Dano’s Riddler should be accompanying him in The Batman 2, perhaps with a somewhat similar dynamic to the one their characters will have in The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark.
The president of Capcom has said he believes video games should cost more to buy.
According to a report by Nikkei, Haruhiro Tsujimoto was speaking during the Tokyo Game Show about several topics, including the increasing cost of game development.
Tsujimoto reportedly said that he felt game prices should reflect these increasing costs, and that they’re currently too cheap.
“Personally, I feel that game prices are too low,” Tsujimoto reportedly said. “Development costs are around 100 times higher than they were in the days of the Famicom (NES), but the price of software hasn’t risen so much.
“There is also a need to raise wages in order to attract talented people. Given that wages are rising across the industry as a whole, I think the option of raising unit prices is a healthy form of business.”
While some publishers have started charging $70 for their games, Capcom has yet to make this move. The standard editions of Street Fighter 6 and the Resident Evil 4 remake each cost $60 at launch.
Elsewhere in Nikkei’s article, Tsujimoto also reportedly said that he didn’t feel the current economic climate was affecting video game sales, saying: “Business confidence and high prices have little to do with the games industry.
“Just as the recession doesn’t stop people from going to the cinema or going to their favourite artist’s concert, high-quality games will continue to sell well,” he said. “Even during the Lehman Brothers collapse, games sold well.”
Capcom’s stock price hit a new all-time high of ¥5,270 in May and has broken this record numerous times since then, reaching as high as ¥6,520 in July.
In its financial results covering the year ending March 31, 2023, the Resident Evil publisher said it had sold 41.7 million games during that 12-month period, breaking its record for the most games sold in a business year.
A writer can define this as the struggles going on within their characters.
A few classic examples could be depression, alcoholism, fear of commitment, or even the evolving personality like the James McAvoy character in Split.
What is an inner conflict if not having conflicting people inside yourself?
Internal Conflict Examples
‘The Lord of the Rings’
New Line Cinema
It’s hard to build a movie around only internal conflict ideas, but people try to do it all the time, and with the right ideas… it works perfectly!
Sometimes it’s an internal struggle like Indiana Jones coming to terms with his relationship with his father. Or other times the conflict is more central, like Frodo fighting against the ring’s power in Lord of the Rings.
External Conflict Definition
‘Return of the Jedi’
Disney
This one is going to be a bit easier to define.
Think of it as the physical struggle between your character and outside forces, even including other characters.
These are the outside pressures slowing crushing in on your character. Things like maybe being stuck in a trash compactor, or the impending attack of a star destroyer, or being hunted by the Sith.Also, non-Star Wars related things too.
But the fundamental difference between the internal and external conflict is that one happens inside the character, and one happens outside. Sounds obvious, sure. But to give your story layers, you want to have both, and you want to find ways for them to feed off one another.
External Conflict Examples
‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
Disney
Sometimes the struggle on the outside is what causes the battle on the inside.
Because basically when you’re writing a movie or TV show, you need things to go wrong. No one wants to read a script or watch a tv show about the village of happy people.
When things go wrong, usually they become conflicts on every level of the characters life. This kicks a story into gear.
Nazis are chasing you to the ark. E.T. needs a way to go home. Aliens have invaded Earth.
And other non-Spielberg examples.
The great thing about the external variety is that they can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be the computers in The Matrix controlling the world, or they can be a nurse trying to catch Jinx, the cat in Meet the Parents.
The size of the conflict isn’t as important as the stakes, or the character facing the battle.
So what’s the key to writing this?
It’s putting a character with the right internal conflict in the right external conflict… Okay, that sounds a little messy, so let’s get another example.
If that ship in Titanic is sinking, Rose should examine whether or not she loves and believes Jack and wants to save him.
If Morpheus has been taken by Agents, Neo needs to look inside and see if he’s actually “The One.”
Another way to think about it is who is the worst person internally suited to face this external problem? Or vice versa.
Got it? Okay now, let’s dig even deeper.
If you’re planning to write a screenplay, for TV or movies, you need to know about the other types of conflict.
Internal and External Conflict
‘Toy Story’
Pixar
When I think about internal and external conflict, I think about the angel and devil on each shoulder. These conflicts should eat away at your characters’ insides and thus drive the story forward.
Think about every rom-com you love. From It Happened One Night to Set It Up, romantic comedies are stories of internal struggle.
The “will they or won’t they” can carry Jim and Pam, or Sam and Diane. You can define the conflict as wanting someone but also having reasons, like a workplace, that hold you back from it. Every scene between these characters is then charged with that struggle.
That’s how you use inner conflict in a story to make a scene where two people are talking as dynamic (or maybe even more dynamic) than a scene of two people fighting.
Or what about another tremendous and unexpected example?
Think of Buzz Lightyear in the original Toy Story. He is conflicted because he thinks he’s Buzz Lightyear and not just a toy.This clash between his internal state and his reality charges every single scene. It is the engine that drives the plot, created the timeless classic, and launched a franchise.
Writing conflict fundamental to your screenplay’s success and thinking about these examples should help get you on your way. Consider your character, and then consider the inner struggle that defines them.
Sometimes you need to compound the conflict though.
Time to define external conflict, and talk about internal vs. external conflict, which creates a conflict symphony within your story.
What are the Types of Conflict?
So in classical literature, and now film and television, there are six different types of conflict. While more seem to be classified as internal conflict or external conflict, we’ll take a look at each category and supply examples.
Man v. Self
‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’
Amazon
Okay, right from the get-go we’ll delve into something that seems like it could strictly be classified as being internal. In Man vs. Self, we traditionally follow what happens in the mind of a character. Whether it’s Don Draper trying to get over self-destruction, or the Marvelous Ms. Maisel conquering becoming an independent woman.
But some of the best writing takes a spin on this and creates external issues from the internal struggle.
Think about the movie Multiplicity. That’s legitimately inner struggle come to life. Or what about all the personalities in Orphan Black?
Sometimes our best writing comes from taking a traditional conflict and flipping it on its head.
2. Man v. Man
‘Good Will Hunting’Credit: Miramax
This is probably the most common external struggle. We see it in comic book movies, Star Wars, and even in sitcoms like The Good Place. This type of conflict is determined by protagonists and antagonists.
But how can Man vs. Man be internalized?
Truly, if you internalize it, you get Man vs. Self, but think about movies about the possessed when Voldermort takes over Harry’s body in Order of the Phoenix, or even the possessions in Get Out.
Those become inner conflicts as one person tries to take over another.
3. Man v. Society
‘Manchester by the Sea’
Amazon
Usually the topic of political thrillers, or tragic movies like The Elephant Man, this typically covers these types of outer conflicts
One of my guilty pleasure movies is Conspiracy Theory with Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts. That’s about a guy who everyone thinks is nuts, who happens to be right about one thing.
In television, you’ve got shows like Succession that show the inner workings of a family and the people trying to tear them down in hilarious ways.
But how can you make Man vs. Society internal?
What about a movie like Boys Don’t Cry? That story is about how society refuses to accept who Brandon Teena is on the inside.
Or what about Manchester By The Sea? A lot of the conflict in the movie comes from how Casey Affleck’s character is viewed in this town after the fire. And how he deals with it.
As you can see, it’s harder to peg some of these within the realm of television, because tv allows characters to evolve and grow over multiple seasons.
Think about Oscar on The Office. He was never conflicted about being gay, but it took multiple seasons for the other characters and Michael Scott to truly accept him.
4. Man v. Nature
‘Jaws’
Universal
I’m not sure there’s a better example here than The Revenant when it comes to Man vs. Nature. This type of conflict carries us on journeys like Homeward Bound and is about defeating external forces.
In television, Man vs. Nature usually comes up episode to episode. It feels like every sitcom has a camping episode. One of my favorites comes from New Girl, where they stare down the coyote.
But what’s the inner issue that arises with nature?
I’ll admit this is a stretch, but I like to think about characters like the Wolfman, or even Fiona in Shrek when I’m breaking this down.
These are people stricken with a change in nature, who have to balance their lives around said change. What’s more internally conflicting than that?
5. Man v. Machine
‘The Matrix’CREDIT: Warner Bros.
As we enter the robot era of real-life, Man vs. Machine seems less far-fetched and more plausible. This story has its roots in John Henry hammering spikes against a machine and has worked its way all the way up to iRobot.
I think the cooler parts of Man vs. Machine come from characters dealing with things internally. Like what about Terminator 2, where that machine has to learn to be better? It has to make an internal change to try to be more human.
Or even stuff like Artificial Intelligence, where the robot boy desperately wants to change to become real. But his programming will never allow that.
Again – these are reaches – but that tends to be where our most incredible stories lie. In the grey areas between accepted tropes.
6. Man v. Fate or the Supernatural
‘The Leftovers’ Credit: HBO
Lastly, we’ll cover a tricky one. Man vs. Fate/Supernatural is kind of a sticky subject. See, the problem is, these items aren’t always tangible.
I like to work my way into this section by going a little biblical. Think about the story of Job. There are great references to Job’s story across film and television.
It pops up in The Leftovers, Mission Impossible, and is the basis for the Coen masterpiece, A Serious Man.
Job’s predicament is that God and Satan keep messing with him. So he has to overcome all sorts of external nightmares. But the bet God and Satan make is whether or not they can control him internally.
That’s a double whammy.
How to Use The Types of Conflict in a Screenplay
‘Jurassic Park’
Paramount
When you sit down to write your screenplay, sometimes it helps to track how the various conflicts play off each other as the story moves forward.
I like to think about each level of conflict being the side of a car.
If you just have one sides’ wheels moving, your story goes in circles. But if both sides are rolling, your story will always push forward.
So how can you use the types of conflict to push your story forward?
As I mentioned prior, you want to get everything working in tandem.
So, in every scene, ask yourself, how does this work with the conflict I’m writing?
Let’s take a look at a few scenes and examine the fact.
In the final scene of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, we have a gunfight going on. But as the camera spins, so do the characters’ insides.
This whole movie is about trust and greed. Can you trust someone who is greedy? Is there honor among thieves? What does it mean to be a good person?
So here, you have the obvious external threat from the guns and internal issues from the hearts of the men who wield them.
What about a comedy?
For my money, the funniest scene in movie history is the “Frank and Beans” scene in There’s Something About Mary.
It’s pretty obvious to see that the external conflict has to do with what’s stuck in Ben Stiller’s zipper. And everyone coming inside the bathroom.
But the deeper inner issue at work is about love.
Ben Stiller has courted this girl, fallen for this girl, and now he’s dealing with the emotional weight of wrecking their perfect prom.
It’s kind of a sweet, emotional conflict if you think about it.
I know we chatted about those genres, but what about action movies?
Let’s talk Die Hard.
The standoff in the final scene is one of legend. We remember the badassery of John McLane, but this is a movie built on his internal conflict.
John loves his wife, but he hasn’t been great at supporting her. And there have been consequences to that…
We learn early on she’s gone back to her maiden name.
As Hans Gruber plummets to his death, we send him off with Holly’s watch with her maiden name on it.
It’s the perfect external symbol for their internal triumph.
John and his wife are going to get back together.
Merry Christmas!
Summing up the Keys to Writing Conflict in a Story
I think we can all agree that the best-written film and television takes characters on multiple journeys. We need to see what they’re going to physically surmount on the outside to know how it will reflect on the inside.
And vice-versa.
The best uses of conflict work in tandem to create gripping drama. Or gripping comedy.
Just make it gripping!
If you think about how these types of conflict work in everything you watch, and then start to apply those principles to your own work, suddenly you’ll unlock the ability to push your stories to more dynamic places.
So keep the forum going!
Do you have some amazing examples? Do you have some ideas about types of conflict we didn’t mention?
On Sunday night, the Writers Guild of America and the AMPTP jointly announced they had reached a tentative deal on a new minimum basic agreement. You can read all the details here, or if you prefer the TL;DR: The strike is over! Almost.
A few things have to happen first before writers get back to work. The WGA negotiating committee is still waiting “until the last ‘i’ is dotted” on a formal contract before sharing it with members (and the press). That will happen tentatively by Tuesday, at which point the WGA boards (both the East and West) will meet and vote on approving the new contract.
After that, the guild will call for a vote asking to lift the “restraining order” to formally end the strike. But that vote won’t be official until WGA members vote to ratify the contract they’ll work under for the next three years. To pass each step, the guild needs a simple majority.
During the last writers strike in 2007-08, a tentative deal was reached on February 8, 2008. Two days later on February 10, the WGA and AMPTP boards each approved the deal, and on February 12, 92.5 percent of writers voted to end the strike, 100 days after it was first called on November 5, 2007. The new contract was then ratified with a 93.6 percent vote on February 26.
You can expect a similar timeline here (the WGA has been on strike since May 2), but as it’s been throughout the strike, the guild wants to be the one to communicate to members when writers are allowed to get back to work.
So far, guild leaders made clear to members that while picketing is suspended, writers are not allowed to go back to work until the strike is officially over.
If all works out, writers will be able to submit spec scripts, have agents negotiate on their behalf, begin development on new studio projects, and even do the minor cutting, editing, and rewrites in post-production that are an essential part of a showrunner’s job. Writers rooms for network and streaming shows will start immediately in an attempt to jump-start the fall season. Overall deals should be restored and writers will be able to pay their staffs again. Writers will be able to promote their work during awards season.
Crucially, late-night and daytime talk shows, whether it’s “The Tonight Show,” “Saturday Night Live,” or yes, even “The Drew Barrymore Show,” all of which were the first to go dark back May 2, will be the first to return and will come back to the air immediately. That’s because for those projects, the hosts and actors work under a separate contract with SAG-AFTRA that isn’t considered struck work.
For everything else, whether it’s scripted TV shows or movies that have suspended production or want to begin production, those must wait until the SAG-AFTRA strike is over (unless they’re an independent project that is eligible to sign the guild’s interim agreement).
Exactly when SAG-AFTRA will return to the negotiating table remains to be seen. Actors haven’t had any contact with the AMPTP since the guild went on strike on July 14, including the time that renewed talks between the WGA and AMPTP appear to have stalled. While actors and writers have similar issues around residuals or data transparency, actors also have specific concerns including the regulation of AI and the work of background actors or stunt performers.
SAG-AFTRA also has its own labor protocols to work through and with roughly 65,000 members compared to the WGA’s 11,500, the actors’ ratification and strike lifting vote could take longer. There’s also no precedent here; the last time there was a dual strike in 1960, actors resolved their strike after six weeks while the writers carried on for another two months.
So what happens if one of those formalities don’t happen and writers fail to ratify the new contract? That would send the negotiating committee back to the table and force them to keep talking with the AMPTP until they get a better deal, “best and final offer” language be damned. At that point, all bets would be off as to when the strike would end.
That scenario has never happened. Not in any of the past WGA strikes, not for the DGA or SAG-AFTRA, and not in the dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike of 1960 (though IATSE recently came very close with a razor-thin margin of approval).
That seems unlikely. Not only has the WGA communicated to members that its tentative deal in principle addressed “all deal points,” but also the summer’s DGA deal — which was met with grumbling from writer-director hyphenates that it didn’t go far enough and only hurt the resolve of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA — was ratified with flying colors.
Jack and Ace won’t be back for a third season. Starz has cancelled the Heels series. The second season of 10 episodes finished airing 10 days ago.
A wrestling drama, the Heels TV show looks at the men and women chasing their dreams in small-town pro wrestling. The series stars Stephen Amell, Alexander Ludwig, Alison Luff, Mary McCormack, Kelli Berglund, Allen Maldonado, Chris Bauer, Trey Tucker, Robby Ramos, Alice Barrett Mitchell, Roxton Garcia, David James Elliott, Joel Murray, CM Punk, AJ Mendez, Josh Segarra, and Emmy Raver-Lampman. Set in a close-knit Georgia community, the series revolves around Jack Spade (Amell) and his younger brother, Ace (Ludwig). The story follows a family-owned wrestling organization, Duffy Wrestling League (DWL), and the rivalry between the two brothers as they war over their late father’s legacy. In the ring, somebody must play the good guy and somebody must play their nemesis, the heel. But in the real world, those characters can be hard to live up to — or hard to leave behind.
Airing on Friday nights, the second season of Heels averaged a 0.01 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 40,000 viewers. Compared to season one, that’s down by 38% in the demo and down by 57% in viewership in the live+same day ratings (includes DVR playback through 3:00 AM).
With such low ratings and two long industry strikes, the cancellation does not come as a surprise.
What do you think? Have you gotten into the Heels TV show on Starz? Are you disappointed this small town wrestling drama wasn’t renewed for a third season?
Check out our status sheets to track new TV series pickups, renewals, and cancellations. You can find lists of cancelled shows here.
Denmark has picked its 2024 Oscar contender, selecting period epic The Promised Land as its official Academy Award entry in the best international feature category.
The drama, which premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival this year, stars Mads Mikkelsen as a driven man determined to cultivate the wild Danish heath, the last area of untamed wilderness in 18th-century Denmark. The film re-teams Mikkelsen with director Nikolaj Arcel, whose last Danish feature, A Royal Affair, picked up a best international feature nomination in 2013 (and introduced the world to Alicia Vikander).
Magnolia Pictures, which also released A Royal Affair stateside, has U.S. rights to The Promised Land and is planning a domestic theatrical release for the film on Feb. 2, 2024.
The film’s debut was greeted by critical raves, including The Hollywood Reporter, which called it “a gripping historical epic. Shows once again that period pieces can be vigorous, powerful and emotionally stirring,” comparing Mikkelsen’s “magnetic stoicism, imposing physicality and soulful introspection” in the Scandinavian Western to “a character who might have been at home in a John Ford saga.”
The Promised Land co-stars Amanda Collin, Simon Bennebjerg and Kristine Kujath Thorp. TrustNordisk is handling international sales.
The deadline for submissions for the 2024 best international feature Oscar is Oct. 2. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the films on the 2024 Oscar shortlist on Dec. 21. The five nominees will be announced Jan. 23. The 95th Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 10.
Two weeks after becoming the first daytime talk show host to attempt to bring her show back amid a 146-day labor action, Drew Barrymore, like much Hollywood, is ready to return to work. Now that the strike is inching towards resolution, with the WGA announcing it reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP, Variety reports that the Drew Barrymore Show is eyeing an October return.
Taylor Swift went on a date with an NFL player and is now both cheer captain and on the bleachers
In mid-September, Barrymore torpedoed her persona as bubbly, socially awkward every woman who happens to be a member of one of Hollywood’s most extensive dynasties by bravely announcing a return to date for her show in the middle of the WGA strike. The announcement faced a swift rebuttal via public backlash. Undeterred, Barrymore took “full accountability” for bringing the show back, apologized to the unions and strikers, reasserted her decision, and inspired other shows to return, too. Two days later, after she finally “listened to everyone” and reversed course. Lo and behold, the shows she encouraged to break the strike did the same.
“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” Barrymore wrote on Instagram. “I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”
But now the strike’s (probably) over, and what world is Barrymore returning to? A month ago, she was one of us, a closer talker and an active listener, the keeper of an open seat for anyone with tired feet. Today, she’s Drew Barrymore, one of the few iconoclasts the National Book Awards has ever fired from hosting its ceremony. How will this new rebellious Drew Barrymore stack up? Hard to say.
And what about now? Do you find it easy to pinpoint which emotion you experience? From a very young age, we often hide feelings and emotions, be it anger or even happiness. Usually, we navigate our day with very mild emotions. At times, we don’t even understand what we are feeling, and often we feel two or more things at once. It’s surprising how our true emotions can remain hidden from us. This complexity can make it hard for us to recognize our own emotions. And this affects the way we express them.
The Challenge for Actors and Directors
Acting or directing requires us not only to understand our own emotions but to understand a character’s as well. If we struggle with the former, the latter becomes an even greater challenge. Some people feel blocked in front of the camera, while others may overact. Often, it’s because they haven’t learned to connect with their true emotions or the direction they’ve been given is not clearly representing the desired emotion.
A Practical Approach
Would you wish to practice emotions in a structured way, much like a musician practices their scales and arpeggios before delivering soul-touching performances? Good
news! There’s a logical explanation for this emotional dimension, and we’ll take for that some exercises from emotional intelligence. Why? Because awareness of our emotions and feelings helps us send clear messages in our everyday lives. In filmmaking, be it acting, directing, or scriptwriting, it helps us understand and create believable characters.
How Self-Aware Are We?
Although 95% of people believe they’re self-aware, research by Dr. Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist and author on self-awareness topics, shows that only about 10-15% truly are. Emotional intelligence teaches us to recognize, understand, manage, and respond to emotions. It begins with self-awareness, progresses to self-management, and then expands to the awareness of others’ emotions.
Struggles
Emotions, especially intense ones, can be challenging even for experienced actors and directors. Standard representations of emotions, like “stamps”, can seem inauthentic since emotions manifest uniquely in each person. Every actor, director, scriptwriter, and character has their own unique story. We all feel differently, rarely displaying strong feelings openly, as we have “filters” and “masks” we are used to wearing. Whether positive or negative – strong feelings are often seen as inappropriate or socially unacceptable. Most of us often censor our own thoughts and feelings. Natalie Portman in her Masterclass says – that even for very experienced actors some emotions come easily, and some don’t. “Know this about yourself so that you can best prepare for a highly emotional scene, whether it’s extremely funny or
extremely sad.” So, how can we know ourselves and our characters’ emotional world?
A Guide to Human Emotions
A psychologist, Robert Plutchik, structured emotions in a way similar to a color wheel. The main circle consists of 8 primary emotions: joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, anger, and anticipation.
„Wait a minute! – interrupted one actor – In my world, red is for love, and not for anger! I disagree with the research!“
What can I say – we can agree or disagree with some of the elements. For some anger is not red, and purple is their favourite color. But we’re not passing judgment here on whether these emotions or colors are good or bad. We use this structure to observe how emotions interact and transition into one another, and how we can use it as a map – to get where we want to be. Basic emotions can get more saturated and increase in intensity, moving closer to the center of the “flower”. And they can decrease in intensity. So, when it feels like you feel nothing, it might be an emotion from the tips of the petals, where colours are not intense and where light purple is similar to light blue. That’s why Plutchik’s flower also has a 3-D representation. In this model, light colours (representing surface feelings of emotion) are all close to each other, while the intense feelings are very saturated and distinct from one another.
Emotional Mixology
Just as colours blend, creating new ones, emotions can mix too. Thanks to these mixtures, the number of
emotions reaches thousands and thousands. Detailed emotion wheels can help us to get a clearer picture of our feelings. But what to do with these Emotion Wheels?
Games to Increase Emotional Awareness
1. Emotion Wheel Scavenger Hunt
Head out to a public place, watch a movie, watch a cartoon, and “check in” within yourself about how you’re feeling. Use the Emotion Wheel to spot and note emotions, whether they’re shown by real people or characters or inside of you. By doing so, we can enhance our ability to comprehend and recognize emotions.
2. Naming What You Feel
Ask yourself at random times: What am I feeling now?
Is it anger or joy? If it’s nothing – is it closer to boredom or resentment or serenity? When you learn how to name what you feel, you can better share and express your emotions and understand the emotions of others.
3. Emotion Wheel Weekly Challenge
Weekly Focus: Each week, select an emotion from the wheel that you struggle with in your real life or as an actor.
Daily Tasks: Set small daily tasks to help you understand that emotion. Observe yourself and others going through this emotion. Notice situations that cause this emotion. Practice escalating and de-escalating this emotion in a controlled environment. If “trust” is your focus, you might start by trusting yourself with small decisions, then gradually trusting others, noticing how you feel. Reflect & Progress: At the end of the week, reflect on your
progress and any insights gained. Consider using a journal or discussing your journey with someone.
Feel and Film
Starting with self-awareness, we learn to express emotions better, which is essential for an actor, director, or scriptwriter. Besides, self-awareness has countless proven benefits like stronger relationships and higher performance, beneficial for any filmmaker. After gaining self-awareness, we transition into recognizing the emotions of others. By tuning into these emotions, we’re better equipped to understand the emotional subtext of characters. This subtle layer, concealed beneath the dialogue, reveals what characters genuinely feel and think. Whether we’re directing, acting, or scriptwriting, recognizing this subtext allows us to depict characters more authentically, making the audience believe, feel, and hence become more involved.
Using emotion wheels like musicians practice their scales and arpeggios on their instruments, we start understanding the sophisticated instrument that is the human being more deeply so that we can feel and film.
Inessa Kraft is an actress interested in philosophy and human nature. She focuses on inspirational stories and loves portraying adventurous and philosophical characters. Besides acting, she produces and directs both in a video production studio and her own projects. Some of her favourite projects can be found here.
TORONTO — Arguments in the Toronto sexual-assault case against former Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard are expected to begin today.
The 82-year-old appeared in court in a wheelchair last week to plead not guilty to five counts of sexual assault and one count of forcible confinement.
Nygard, the founder of a now-defunct international women’s clothing company, has been accused of using his position in the fashion industry to lure women and girls.
He founded Nygard International in Winnipeg in 1967, and for years Nygard stores throughout the city were draped in photos of him.
The O.C. alum, 42, revealed during the Monday, September 25, episode of her “Broad Ideas With Rachel Bilson” podcast that she and Timberlake, 42, once sparked a flirtation at a party before cohost Olivia Allen ruined their moment.
“In our day [Justin Timberlake] was very big, right? Like, the biggest. Sorry, no disrespect — he’s still very big. We were all at a party, or something, and he was there and I was so obsessed with him,” she began, before stopping short to say, “I can’t tell this story.”
Allen, however, continued for her, recalling how she blew her friend’s big moment.
Rachel Bilson is still looking for her happily ever after — but her dating history would impress even Summer Roberts. Bilson was linked to Adam Brody, her onscreen love interest on The O.C., during the Fox show’s four-season run. “We always have a lot to talk about, and we tell each other everything,” she gushed […]
“We were kicking it with him. We were making friends with him. [Rachel] went up to him, obviously, or he came to [Rachel],” she said. “I got drunk and embarrassed myself a little because he was trying to flirt with Rachel. This is the truth. You want the truth. I was drunk and I [sat] in between them. … I was just drunk and wanted to keep talking to him.”
While Bilson was hesitant to expand on the story herself, she emphasized how awkward Allen’s move was. “There was no room. Olivia planted herself [between us], squeezed herself [between us],” she quipped.
Allen admitted she soured the night with her tipsy actions — Bilson said her pal “battled” Timberlake all night long — but noted that the ‘NSync singer was “great” and took it all in jest. “He called me the enemy. The next time I saw him he was like, ‘What’s up, enemy?’”
“He wasn’t mad at me. You might have been,” she joked to Bilson.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
The twosome were seemingly never meant to be. Timberlake married Jessica Biel in 2012 and the pair welcomed sons Silas and Phineas in 2015 and 2020, respectively. Bilson, meanwhile, shares daughter Briar Rose, 8, with ex-fiancé Hayden Christensen. The twosome were together for nearly a decade before calling it quits in 2017.
In recent years, Bilson has become known for speaking candidly on topics like sex and relationships. Her hesitancy to take a walk down Timberlake lane, however, may stem from losing a job earlier this year over comments she made about wanting to be “manhandled” by her sex partner.
“This is the first time it’s ever happened to me in my professional life that I lost a job this week because of things that were said,” Bilson revealed during a May episode of her “Broad Ideas” podcast. “A job got taken away from me because I was speaking candidly and openly about sex in a humorous way on our friend’s podcast.”
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Bilson explained that she wasn’t just in talks for the gig but had already been hired. The gig was then pulled from her “because I was speaking openly about sex.” She noted that she was “baffled” by the decision to fire her over “being candid and honest and the subject was sex” in “this day and age” — and the incident now has her reconsidering what she says.
Not holding back! Rachel Bilson hasn’t shied away from sharing some of her most candid sex confessions over the years. The O.C. actress made headlines when she was linked to Bill Hader in fall 2019, shortly before the pair made their red carpet debut at the Golden Globes in January 2020. Bilson and the Barry […]
“I didn’t even have a chance to defend myself,” Bilson continued. “I’m a single mom — like, I need these jobs. Everything counts. I provide a lot for my family and my daughter. Regardless of anything else, it all matters. I’m frustrated, and it makes me want to shut up,” Bilson declared. “I feel shamed by this company.”
Steve Coogan is going full Peter Sellers. The Alan Partridge and Philomena star has signed on for a British stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal nuclear war satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, with Coogan set to play multiple roles, as Sellers did in the 1964 feature film.
Veep and Death of Stalin director Armando Iannucci is adapting Kubrick’s film for the stage together with Sean Foley. Foley, who has had West End success with such adaptations as The Painkiller starring Kenneth Branagh and Ben Elton’s The Upstart Crow, will also direct the play, which is set to premiere at London’s Noel Coward Theatre on Oct. 8, 2024.
The official Stanley Kubrick account on X, formerly known as Twitter, made the Coogan casting announcement on Tuesday.
BREAKING NEWS – Steve Coogan named as lead in the stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy Dr. Strangelove. Taking on multiple roles Coogan, one of the UK’s most acclaimed actors, will appear at the Noel Coward Theatre in 2024. tickets on sale https://t.co/fvEzMhBFWepic.twitter.com/SVsCQKahT9
Iannucci confirmed the news on his own account, saying he “can’t wait to get started” on the adaptation. “We’re all hoping to send people home with a smile and a scream.”
Sellers played three radically different roles in Dr. Strangelove: the unflappable group Captain Lionel Mandrake, the befuddled U.S. President Merkin Muffley, and the wheelchair-bound German rocket scientist Dr. Strangelove. He was set to take on a fourth role, that of cowboy bomber pilot Major ‘King’ Kong, before the more culturally-appropriate Slim Pickens was eventually cast. Sellers picked up an Oscar nomination for his triple-threat performance.
The stage version of Dr. Strangelove, the first-ever adaptation of a Kubrick film, is being produced by Patrick Myles and David Luff, in association with Tulchin Bartner Productions and Playful Productions. Jonathan Cameron is the executive producer for the Stanley Kubrick Estate. The film, about a rogue U.S. general who triggers nuclear armageddon, is considered a masterpiece of comedy and dark satire.
“The idea of putting Dr Strangelove on stage is daunting, a huge responsibility,” Coogan said in a statement. “It’s also an exciting challenge, an opportunity to bring this timeless classic to a new audience. Knowing that I will be part of a creative team led by Sean Foley and Armando Iannucci means I will be working with the best people. Sean is a master of stage comedy and Armando and I started working with each other over 30 years ago. We made some memorable comedy together so it’s great to be collaborating with him once again.”
In the film, where Peter Sellers plays several roles, an insane American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop. It was released in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
“Steve Coogan named as lead in the stage adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy ‘Dr. Strangelove.’ Taking on multiple roles Coogan, one of the U.K.’s most acclaimed actors, will appear at the Noel Coward Theatre in 2024,” the official Stanley Kubrick account posted on X on Tuesday.
Iannucci is one of the U.K.’s foremost political satirists who scored an Oscar nomination for “In the Loop,” a BAFTA nomination for “The Death of Stalin” and a BAFTA win for “The Thick of It,” all considered amongst the best British political satires of all time. He will adapt “Dr. Strangelove” alongside Sean Foley, known for several West End productions including the Olivier nominated “The Ladykillers,” a stage adaptation of the 1955 comedy film, and “I Can’t Sing! The X Factor Musical.”
Iannucci has been allowed access to the Kubrick archive where he has found some discarded scenes and drafts that will make their way into the play, which will also be set in the 1960s.
“Can’t wait to get started. We’re all hoping to send people home with a smile and a scream,” Iannucci posted on X. Iannucci was one of the writers on “Alan Partridge.”
Coogan said: “The idea of putting ‘Dr. Strangelove’ on stage is daunting. A huge responsibility. It’s also an exciting challenge, an opportunity to bring this timeless classic to a new audience.” Knowing that I will be part of a creative team led by Sean Foley and Armando Iannucci means I will be working with the best people. Sean is a master of stage comedy and Armando and I started working with each other over 30 years ago. We made some memorable comedy together so it’s great to be collaborating with him once again.”
“Dr. Strangelove” will open at the Noel Coward Theatre on Oct. 8, 2024. The play is produced by Patrick Myles and David Luff, in association with Tulchin Bartner Productions and Playful Productions.
Shilpa Shetty is currently seen in the film Sukhee.
Shilpa Shetty said that Raj Kundra told Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodyguards that she is an Indian actor.
Shilpa Shetty is leaving no stone unturned to promote her comeback film Sukhee. She recently made an appearance on Shehnaaz Gill’s talk show and mentioned that although earlier she wanted fans to maintain some distance from her, an encounter with ace Hollywood actor Arnold Schwarzenegger made her change her perspective. Shilpa revealed that she was once pushed by the actor’s bodyguard and this made her husband Raj Kundra angry.
Shilpa told Shehnaaz, “I had gone somewhere and there was Arnold Schwarzenegger in the hotel, who had come for some event there. I was wearing heels, and the moment I saw him, I removed them and told Raj, ‘I want a picture with him.’ I ran to him, but there were his well-built bodyguards. They didn’t let me see him and pushed me away.”
Shilpa said, “Raj, who was behind me, got very upset about how can they push a lady like that. He got a little possessive. He told them, ‘Do you know she is an Indian actor?’. But they still didn’t let me see him. I was very disheartened.”
“The next day, we were at the same event, and they seated us in the front row. When Schwarzenegger was told that I am an Indian actor, he clicked a photo with me… I was an Indian actor, so he gave me a photo, but….As a fan, I felt bad when he didn’t. But I also realised how people must feel when I say ‘No’. They get only one chance.”
Meanwhile, Shilpa’s film Sukhee was released in cinemas on Friday, September 22. Directed by Sonal Joshi, the film is about a 38-year-old Punjabi homemaker Sukhpreet Kalra aka Sukhee, who after being fed up with her routine and monotonous life decides to take a break from her homely duties and enjoy life on her own terms. The film also features Kusha Kapila, Dilnaz Irani, Amith Sadh and Chaitanya Choudhry in important roles.
David McCallum, a prolific TV actor known for starring in landmark series such as “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “NCIS,” has died. He was 90.
McCallum died Monday of natural causes at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, CBS said in a statement. Throughout his illustrious career, the Scottish-born performer amassed more than 100 credits spanning theater, film and television.
“David was a gifted actor and author … beloved by many around the world,” the network said.
“He led an incredible life, and his legacy will forever live on through his family and the countless hours on film and television that will never go away. We will miss his warmth and endearing sense of humor that lit up any room or soundstage he stepped onto, as well as the brilliant stories he often shared from a life well-lived.”
A spokesperson for CBS added that the network’s upcoming “NCIS” marathon, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the popular procedural drama, will be dedicated to McCallum.
McCallum’s son Peter also praised the Emmy nominee in a statement as “the kindest, coolest, most patient and loving father” and grandfather.
“He was a true Renaissance man — he was fascinated by science and culture and would turn those passions into knowledge,” Peter McCallum said.
“For example, he was capable of conducting a symphony orchestra and (if needed) could actually perform an autopsy, based on his decades-long studies for his role on ‘NCIS.’”
McCallum got his big break in 1961 when he was cast as Illya Kuryakin, a young Soviet spy, in the hit 1960s series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” The role solidified McCallum’s status as a teen heartthrob and landed him a pair of Emmy nominations.
Forty years later, McCallum entertained a new generation of audiences as quirky medical examiner Donald “Ducky” Mallard in “NCIS” — which he appeared in as recently as May, according to IMDb.
In a statement provided to The Times, “NCIS” executive producers Steven D. Binder and David North fondly remembered McCallum as “a scholar and a gentleman” who was “always gracious” and “never one to pass up a joke.”
“[A]s much as his fans may have loved him, those who worked side by side with David loved him that much more,” they said.
“From day one, it was an honor to work with him and he never let us down. He was, quite simply, a legend. He was also family and will be deeply missed.”
In addition to “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” and “NCIS,” McCallum worked on a number of other series, as varied as “Law & Order” and “Sex and the City.” He also lent his talents to films including “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “The Great Escape,” “Mosquito Squadron,” “Billy Budd,” “Freud” and “A Night to Remember.”
Onstage, McCallum starred in productions of “Amadeus,” “The Lion in Winter,” “Julius Caesar” and other plays. He also was a writer whose debut novel, “Once a Crooked Man,” came out in 2016.
McCallum is survived by his wife of 56 years, Katherine McCallum, sons Paul McCallum, Valentine McCallum and Peter McCallum, daughter Sophie McCallum and eight grandchildren.
In a 2015 interview with the Los Angeles Times, McCallum revealed that he still watched the occasional episode of “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” on the classic TV channel MeTV.
“I have it recording,” McCallum said, noting that his castmates “all look so young” in the show.
Fan art on Instagram depicts the DCEU’s Trinity (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) as evil versions of themselves in the Crime Syndicate of America.
The artwork showcases Ben Affleck as Owlman, Henry Cavill as Ultraman, and Gal Gadot as Superwoman, with intriguing backstories for each character.
While it’s unlikely to happen in reality, the fan art imagines a thrilling multiverse storyline where the Crime Syndicate of America faces off against the heroes of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU.
Fan art does the impossible sometimes, and this is one of those rare occasions. Sure, DC fans may never see an epic Elseworlds and/or multiverse storyline like this unfold on the big screen, which would pit characters from James Gunn and Peter Safran’s upcoming DCU against the mainstays of the now defunct DCEU’s SnyderVerse. But that’s exactly what @dcmarvel.rdm has accomplished on Instagram, transforming Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Gal Gadot into supervillains. Check out the extraordinary but utterly heartbreaking — because this will likely never happen — artwork and relish it below:
For those who are not familiar with the comic books, or the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths animated film for that matter, the fan art in question showcases three members of the Crime Syndicate of America. The CSA is basically the evil version of the Justice League. The fan art portrays the DCEU’s version of the Trinity (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) as the evil counterparts of Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot’s beloved characters.
In the artwork, Affleck dons the guise of Earth 3’s Owlman. This evil version of Batman is known as Thomas Wayne Jr. In his world, Thomas’ butler, Alfred, murders the boy’s parents, not Joe Chill. Meanwhile, Thomas kills his younger brother, Bruce, because he won’t go along with killing their mother and father. Gunn and Safran’s DCU isn’t anywhere close to casting its The Brave and Bold Batman Movie, but fans do know Damian Wayne’s Robin will be prominently featured. Whoever takes up the Bat’s mantle in the DCU… it would be an off-the-charts brand of epic-ness to see the Batman and Owlman throw down in a magnificent multiverse tale.
Most imposing and by far the most dangerous DCEU hero turned Crime Syndicate member in the new fan art is none other than Henry Cavill. On Earth 3, the evil Superman is known as Ultraman. Kal-Il (later known as Kal-El) crashes in Smallville, Kansas, too, but he uses his superpowers to make the Kents take on the responsibility of being his Earthly parents. Just as the Last Son of Krypton led the Justice League, Ultraman rules over the Crime Syndicate of America. And now, @dcmarvel.rdm’s fan art has given Cavill a way to return to the DCU without stepping on the toes of Superman: Legacy’s anointed Man of Tomorrow, David Corenswet.
What might be even more interesting is the behind-the-scenes drama that could possibly occur if Cavill and Corenswet were actually given the chance to share a set where they portray the two Kryptonians for the big screen. Cavill made no secret that he wanted to return to the role of Superman, which was briefly teased in the credits’ scene of Black Adam.
Last but certainly not least, the new fan art depicts the SnyderVerse’s actress Gal Gadot as the evil Wonder Woman doppelgänger, Superwoman. Unlike Gadot’s character Wonder Woman, Superwoman is not Diana Prince on Earth 3. Rather, the evil version of the DCEU’s Amazonian Princess is none other than Lois Lane. Yes, she is married to Ultraman, too, but she’s also shared a bed with Owlman and one of the CSA’s greatest adversaries, Alexander Luthor!
What’s fun about the new fan art is that it would open up a highly dysfunctional, on-screen romance between Cavill and Gadot. Plus, there’s always her weapon of choice to get excited about, which isn’t quite the same as Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth. Superwoman’s Lasso of Submission can compel Lois’ victims to do her bidding. And its magic even effects Kryptonians like her husband, Clark Kent of Earth 3.
Yes, seeing Cavill, Gadot and Affleck team up again, but this time as the Crime Syndicate of America, to face off against James Gunn and Peter Safran’s Superman (Corenswet), Batman and Wonder Woman would be a thing to behold — a theatrical must-see on the scale of an X-Men: Days of Future Past or an Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame type event. Will it happen? No, it probably won’t, but what a cinematic event it would be — and this amazing fan art will probably have to suffice.
While the Writer’s Guild strike finally appears close to a resolution, film and TV actors are still on strike–and video game voice actors and mo-cap performance artists seem poised to join them. In the latest on potential strike action in the games industry, SAG-AFTRA members who work on video games have voted unanimously to authorize a strike, meaning a strike could be called at any time as negotiations continue.
A press release put out by SAG-AFTRA says that the vote passed 98.32% in favor of authorizing a strike, as negotiations continue on the Interactive Media Agreement. SAG-AFTRA is negotiating on behalf of voice actors and motion capture performers with a number of big companies involved in the games industry, including Activision, Disney, EA, Insomniac Games, Epic Games, Take 2, WB Games, as well as companies that provide production services to other major players in the industry.
The Interactive Media Agreement negotiations have been going for almost a year, with the union saying companies still refuse to offer acceptable terms on important issues including wage growth, workplace safety, and the use of AI. The next bargaining session will take place over September 26 to 28, with the threat of a strike acting as added leverage.
“It’s time for the video game companies to stop playing games and get serious about reaching an agreement on this contract,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher. “The result of this vote shows our membership understands the existential nature of these negotiations, and that the time is now for these companies–which are making billions of dollars and paying their CEOs lavishly–to give our performers an agreement that keeps performing in video games as a viable career.”
Video game voice actors went on strike for the very first time in 2016-2017, with the 11 month strike resulting in improved working conditions and pay for voice actors. Now, the union’s industrial action also includes motion capture performers, who are increasingly important to big AAA productions. It’s still yet to be seen whether the next round of negotiations will lead to an actual strike.
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Baz Luhrmann has been named president of the Features Competition jury at the upcoming Red Sea International Film Festival. This third edition of the event runs from November 30-December 9 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Elvis, Moulin Rouge! and Great Gatsby filmmaker commented, “As a child in the local cinema that we ran near the tiny country town where I grew up, I was mesmerized by the powerful historical and physical landscapes of Lawrence of Arabia. Since that time, I have had an abiding passion for the Arabian world, but after visiting Saudi Arabia, I felt truly inspired by the remarkable young filmmaking talent coming up across the region and to see how they are now capturing the attention of the global film community.”
He called it “an honor” to be presiding over this year’s RSIFF jury, “alongside leading and emerging lights in the industry, and to be part of the evolution of change that is happening through cinema across the Arab region, Asia and Africa.” Further, he noted, “Since the early days of my career, I have experienced the power of storytelling and festivals to open doors and forge bridges between artists and across cultures. I look forward to celebrating both emerging talent and the incredible established auteurs from the region in the vibrant, diverse and distinctive cinematic offering that the festival is becoming renowned for presenting in Jeddah.”
The fest noted the Features Competition of 17 films vying for the Yusr Awards will showcase “the highest achievements from a diverse range of filmmakers from the Arab region, Asia and Africa.”
Mohammed Al Turki, CEO of the RSIFF, said, “As we work towards our third edition, we are delighted to welcome legendary award winning director Baz Luhrmann as the head of the Jury. Baz is a pioneer of pop culture with incredible versatility across the creative fields, and it’s a great honor to have him head our third edition jury presidency. We look forward to announcing the films and celebrating the outstanding filmmaking taking place across the Arab world, Asia and Africa.”
Several of these succinct style practices have been picked up by publications (including this one) as well as other stylists and influencers on social media. As of press time, #WrongShoeTheory has 3.4 million views on TikTok, and Bornstein still regularly receives requests to break down celebrities’ three words, from Tracee Ellis Ross (bold, colorful, exaggerated) to Zoë Kravitz (sexy, effortless, edgy) to Amal Clooney (sophisticated, bold, soft). She’s since demystified the personal style of dozens of style icons.
“It’s just putting language to something that we already understand subconsciously or intuitively,” she says. “Or maybe we see a look on somebody and are like, ‘What is making that look so cool? I can’t tell.’” By learning to think like a stylist, Bornstein posits, we’ll be able to translate trends from the runway (or a celebrity or an influencer) into the style language we—and our closets— already speak.
Below, Bornstein shares her beginner’s guide to putting the wrong-shoe theory into practice. You can also preorder her book here.
Kitten Heel + Something Sexy
“The first instinct of a kitten heel would be like to wear it with a more formal look or a work look,” says Bornstein. “But adding it with a little something sexy is really nice.”
She points to a look from Prada’s fall-winter 2023 runway, below, as an example of unexpected proportions working in harmony with the more delicate shoe for an end result that’s playfully sexy. With mini hemlines, the shoe creates a long line from thigh to ankle that’s unobstructed by unwieldy straps. Needless to say, this isn’t your grandma’s kitten heel.
Get the look:
Daisy Street ’90s Cami Minidress
Zara Leather Slingback Kitten Heels
Urban Outfitters Issa Vibe Chain Mail Minidress
Tall Boots + Maxi Skirt or Dress
If you’ve just brought your tall boots out of storage in anticipation of those cooler fall days ahead, resist the temptation to reach for your trusty skinny jeans or tweed miniskirt. Try instead the maxi.
“I like a tall boot with a maxiskirt because even though you’re not necessarily seeing the whole boot, there’s a really nice proportion that happens,” says Bornstein. “It looks nice when you walk, and [people may think,] Oh, where does that boot end? There’s something kind of sexy about that.”
Get the look:
Loeffler Randall Goldy Tall Boots
Best White Cocktail Dress: Lilly Pulitzer Amrita Eyelet Midi Dress
Jeffrey Campbell Taysha Tall Boots
Boden Curved-Waist Maxidress
Sneakers + Trousers or Formalwear
Lucky for us, there’s hardly any occasion in 2023 for which sneakers are considered inappropriate. Not even the Cannes red carpet is safe. But it can still be difficult to shake loose the mindset that sneakers are for casual outings only, and that’s where the wrong-shoe theory comes into play.
“I love a sneaker with a trouser,” says Bornstein. “I think that’s always a good combination, and it’s nice when the trouser is a little bit long and you just see a peek of a sneaker.” Office dwellers, take note!
Get the look:
Tretorn Rawlins 3 Sneakers
Greylin Herringbone Trousers
Adidas x Gucci Gazelle Sneakers
La Ligne x Target Wide-Leg Trousers
Ballet Flats + Relaxed Bottoms
Ballet flats are making a major comeback in 2023, but for some millennials it’s hard to envision them as anything other than an office-appropriate work shoe. Or the shoes your mom made you wear to middle school dances because you weren’t yet allowed to wear heels. (Hi, mom!)
Hunter will work across projects both in production and development, and will be EP on the next series of Grace, the ITV drama which is an adaptation of Peter James’ award winning novels, starring John Simm as Brighton-based Detective Superintendent Roy Grace.
Most recently, Hunter was co-producer on the Apple TV+ show Criminal Record starring Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo. Prior to that, he was executive producer on five seasons of ITV’s Vera.
Other credits include producing Midsomer Murders for Bentley Productions, as well as working as a producer and script editor on a range of shows such as Hollyoaks, EastEnders, Holby City and Hustle. He also held production posts at Rollem Productions and Mammoth Screen.
Catherine Oldfield, Creative Director of Tall Story, said, “Phil is a fantastic storyteller and a brilliant executive producer, so I couldn’t be more delighted to welcome him to Tall Story Pictures.”
Hunter commented,“I’ve long admired the vision and scale Catherine has for Tall Story Pictures, so I’m thrilled to be joining the team. I can’t wait to get going on the next series of Grace; it’s a real privilege to step on to such a successful and well loved show with so much amazing talent at the heart of it.”
Boygenius have announced a surprise EP, titled the rest, a follow-up to of their full-length debut the record, which released in March.
Produced by boygenius, Tony Berg, Jake Finch, Ethan Gruska, Calvin Lauber, Collin Pastore and Marshall Vore, the rest offers four new songs and will roll out Oct. 13 with Interscope. The first track, “Black Hole,” got its live debut during Monday’s sold-out show in Boston.
Along with a streaming and digital release, the new EP will be offered as a vinyl available in both black and a transparent yellow version, plus a CD.
The group, which is comprised of singer-songwriters Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus, recently rang in the fall season with “Cool About It,” the fifth track on the record, in September. Directed by Lauren Tsai, the clip features portrays the relationship between a dog and a toy.
When speaking to Rolling Stone for boygenius’ January cover story, Bridgers shared some insight into her “Cool About It” verse, such as the line “Once I took your medication to know what it’s like.”
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“I really did,” she said. “I was seeing somebody who was on an antidepressant. It was a low point for me because there’s a part of myself that’s very impulsive, that scares me, where it feels like there’s no thoughts between having the idea to do it and action. It just feels like I have the idea and I do it. And that was one of those moments for me. It was cool to bring light to it in that song because I think it’s actually kind of funny. My verse just becomes immediately so dark, it slows down.”
The band began their tour on Monday and includes one more show at MGM Music Hall in Boston before a special stop at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 2. They will also open their Sept. 28 show in New Haven at Westville Music Bowl with a performance from Palehound. Samia will provide support for the Sept. 30 show in Philadelphia at TD Pavillion at the Mann.
The Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival’s Cinemed industry section has teamed up with Beirut-based cultural nonprofit Aflamuna on a new initiative, under which 10 film and doc projects from a wide range of Arab countries will soon be unveiled to prospective partners.
The new program, called Cinemed and Aflamuna Professional Encounters, features 10 Arab works in development that reflect a slew of themes relevant to the region, including political turbulence, societal changes, female empowerment and climate change concerns.
Emerging Arab directors and producers will take part in the curated Cinemed Meetings event, which runs Oct. 24-26 in Montpellier, France, after pitching their projects on Oct. 24.
The initiative, which is supported by France’s national film body CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée), started last year with a series of meetings and is now moving to the next level.
“After the success of the first edition of Cinemed and Aflamuna Encounters that took place last year, we are more than confident of the relevance of our collaboration,” said Christophe Leparc, artistic director of the Montpellier Fest, in a statement. Leparc, who also serves as managing director of the Cannes’ Directors Fortnight, added that “Aflamuna is well-established in the Arab film community, while Cinemed boasts a vast network of producers, crew members and French and European institutions which are potentially interested in discovering new projects – fiction and documentary — from the Arab world.”
Last year “all our professional guests were extremely positive about this new initiative that makes sense, according to their feedback,” Leparc further noted. “We are taking a step forward with 10 projects selected this year, most of which have not yet been presented on coproduction platforms.”
Below, find the Cinemed and Aflamuna selected projects and synopses.
“Ayin Hara,” by Yasir Kareem – Clare Fog, producer – Clear Fog Films (Iraq/Italy) – Fiction
In a future marked by desertification and drying of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq, Dunia is tasked with finding the last island with water protected by an old Jinn. Failure means a lifelong imprisonment with no chance of escape until her eventual demise.
“Edition 96,” by Ahmad Naboulsi – Zeina Badran, producer – Spotless Mind Films (Lebanon) – Fiction
While reclaiming her narrative and reexamining the choices that fueled her obsession with the sport, Suzanne, the Lebanese tennis champion, walks down memory lane, unfolding the most intense chapters of her life. She recounts her struggle to break free from the control of her husband/tennis trainer and her fight against religious extremism and harassment on tennis courts during the Lebanese Civil War.
“Guard Down” by Sami Tlili – Imed Marzouk, producer – Propaganda Productions (Tunisia/France/Egypt) – Fiction
A boxing world champion must return to his village to attend a ceremony during which he is expected to receive his rewards. The trip turns out more complicated than expected.
“House Number 7” by Rama Abdi – Hazar Yazji, producer (Syria) – Documentary
After leaving their homes, trying to escape their abusive families, gender discrimination, and in pursuit of basic human freedoms, three girls meet and rent rooms in an old Damascene house in Bab Touma neighbourhood, a known refuge for marginalised groups of youth and one of the most liberal places in Syria. But their peace begins to be increasingly disrupted due to events that occur outside their home.
“My Mother and I” by Dilpak Majeed – Marwa Tammam, producer – Patchwork Productions (Iraq/Egypt) – Documentary
In a war-ravaged village, a woman in her seventies defies societal expectations and clings to her isolated life alongside her sheep, with whom she shares an exceptional bond. But when her mother falls ill, she sets out on a journey to rediscover her own courage amidst the challenges of loss, isolation, and the pursuit of a new beginning.
“Rainbows Don’t Last Long” by Mayye Zayed, director and producer – Cléo Media (Egypt) – Fiction
A separated young couple, Ghada, 35, and Khaled, 36, realize that their only daughter Salma, 8, has an incurable disease that will cause her to lose her eyesight very soon. Before her world gets increasingly dark, Khaled decides to make his daughter’s wish come true—to swim with the colorful fish in the Red Sea.
“Shaken” by Alhasan Yousef – Maria Castillo, producer (Belgium/Syria) – Documentary
In the heart of a land scarred by suffering and conflict, Shaken embarks on an emotional and transformative journey, unfolding the harrowing tale of Syria and its people since the pivotal year of 2011. This cinematic work delves into the various forms of agony the Syrian people have endured, from the bonds of dictatorship to the ravages of war, the desperation of forced immigration, the horrors of political imprisonment, and the rise of a reborn revolutionary spirit.
“Souraya Mon Amour” by Nicolas Khoury – Jana Wehbe, producer – The Attic (Lebanon) – Documentary
Excerpts from the film Little Wars, and personal archives intertwine with virtual zoom meetings of the present to show the dynamics of the relationship between Souraya Baghdadi and her late husband, the famous Lebanese filmmaker Maroun Baghdadi through the presence of Maroun in her life but especially his absence.
“The Land Beyond” by Nadine Salib – Hala Lotfy, producer – Hassala Films (Egypt) – Fiction
Yam’s simple wish to find the unknown river that her late mama once said would bring back her lost voice, uncovers a big secret that puts her relation to her father to test. And then turns everything around, in the land known to be paradise, into utter madness.
“Ya Balady” by Dessil Mekhtigian – Mia Bendrimia, producer – Nazar Films (Egypt/France) – Documentary
Dessil, a filmmaker on a quest for her Egyptian identity and femininity, is reunited with her former ballet teacher now renowned Balady dancer Amie Sultan and enters her world as she fights for UNESCO recognition of the dance as intangible heritage. Their intertwined fate unfolds amidst obstacles and personal transformations.
“I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the show’s premiere until the strike is over,” the host wrote as a caption next to a picture of the same message, which she shared on Sept. 17.
“I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today,” she continued. “We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.”
In a statement to ET, a spokesperson from CBS Media Ventures, which produces The Drew Barrymore Show, read, “We support Drew’s decision to pause the show’s return and understand how complex and difficult this process has been for her.”
While the deal still has to be drafted and faces several votes by WGA officials and members, it’s expected by many that the deal will be ratified and finalized in the next few weeks. Until then, the strike is not officially over, however the WGA has suspended picketing efforts and protests.
On Monday, ET spoke with Dominic Patten, senior editor at Deadline Hollywood, and he shared some insights on what the end of the strike could mean for the return of TV shows.
“You can pretty much rest assured that late night TV shows are gonna come back very soon after the ratification vote. I would say within days, if not hours,” Patten shared. “You’re also gonna see talk shows that are gonna come back on, daytimers very quickly. You’re also gonna see other daytime shows come on.”
“If you’re looking at your primetime schedule, that’s gonna take a little bit longer,” he added. “Because, of course, you’re gonna need actors for that. And the actors union is still hasn’t even started their negotiations with the studios and streamers.”
Amazon said on Monday that it would invest up to $4 billion in the artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic, as the world’s biggest technology companies race to benefit from A.I. breakthroughs that could reshape parts of their businesses — and the economy as a whole.
Amazon is trying to keep pace with rivals such as Microsoft and Google, which have each poured billions of dollars into A.I. research. Anthropic, seen as one of the most promising of a batch of A.I. start-ups, will use Amazon’s data centers, cloud-computing platform and A.I. chips.
The deal underscores the frenzy to be at the forefront of A.I., a technology that has seized the public’s imagination and has the power to potentially transform the way people work and live. As part of that race, tech giants have been teaming with up-and-coming A.I. start-ups by providing them with computing power and cash to help them develop new models and applications. Google has also invested in Anthropic, while Microsoft has poured $13 billion into OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT.
Amazon’s investment of up to $4 billion would give it a minority stake in Anthropic, it said.
Like OpenAI, Anthropic is a developer of so-called generative A.I., the technology capable of learning from vast amounts of data to create humanlike texts and images. These tools are seen as possessing the potential to automate many tasks, reshaping aspects of the global economy.
Anthropic, which operates a chatbot called Claude, has sought to position itself as one of the industry’s more responsible actors. Its executives have warned that A.I. could cause tremendous damage to society if not developed carefully. The company’s co-founder Jack Clark attended a recent meeting on Capitol Hill to discuss A.I. policy, including the risks and potential of the rapidly evolving technology.
Working with Anthropic also helps Amazon, which is competing against Microsoft and Google in cloud computing and has been trying to establish itself more deeply in artificial intelligence. Amazon is also battling Nvidia as a provider of the chips needed to run complex A.I. systems.
The huge amounts of money and computing power needed to run A.I. models have made it nearly impossible for smaller companies to remain independent from established tech giants with deep pockets.
Anthropic’s partnership with Amazon is also another example of a new kind of circular business arrangement that can be mutually beneficial to both cloud computing companies and A.I. start-ups.
Anthropic will pump much of the money it’s raising from Amazon back into the company as it pays for time on the massive clusters of computer servers operated by the Seattle tech giant. So while Amazon is making a strategic investment in a start-up, it is also feeding its own cloud-computing business, which now accounts for more than 70 percent of its profits.
Microsoft first created this kind of deal with OpenAI in 2019. In recent months, other cloud computing companies, including Google and Oracle, have made similar arrangements with ambitious A.I. start-ups.
While Microsoft and Google have also launched their own online chatbots in the months since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, Amazon has not followed suit. Instead, it has worked to provide various tools for companies and independent developers looking to build their own chatbots and other A.I. technologies.
In addition to boosting its cloud computing revenues, Amazon’s agreement with Anthropic could raise its profile in the field and fuel the development of new A.I. technologies inside the tech giant.
“We can help improve many customer experiences, short- and long-term, through our deeper collaboration,” Andy Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, said in a statement.
A first trailer has been unveiled for Indonesian filmmaker Yosep Anggi Noen’s “24 Hours with Gaspar.”
The film will world premiere at the Busan Film Festival where it is in the prestigious Jiseok competition. Set in 2032 and based on the novel of the same name by Indonesian author Sabda Armandio, the film follows Gaspar, a private detective with 24 hours to live, who finds clues about the mysterious disappearance of Kirana, his childhood friend. The clues lead to a human trafficking syndicate.
“24 Hours with Gaspar” features a stellar Indonesian cast including Reza Rahadian (“Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash”), Shenina Cinnamon (“Dear David”), Laura Basuki (“Before Now And Then”), Kristo Imanuell (“Big Four”), Sal Priadi (“Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash”), Dewi Irawan (“Anwar: The Untold Story”) and Iswadi Pratama.
The film is a collaboration between KawanKawan Media, Visinema and Legacy Pictures and produced by Yulia Evina Bhara for KawanKawan Media and Cristian Imanuell for Visinema Pictures.
Noen and KawanKawan previously teamed on “The Science of Fictions” (2019), which premiered at Locarno where it won a special mention and subsequently played at Busan. Teoh Gay Hian, who shot “The Science of Fictions,” returns for “24 Hours with Gaspar.”
KawanKawan has a glittering track record. Amanda Nell Eu’s “Tiger Stripes” won at Cannes this year; Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography” (2022), which is Indonesia’s Oscar entry this year, has won major awards around the world including at Venice, Marrakech and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards; wins at Locarno also include for Carlo Francisco Manatad’s “Whether the Weather Is Fine” (2021) and Ming Jin Woo’s “Stone Turtle” (2022); and at CPH:DOX for Fanny Chotimah’s documentary “You and I” in 2020. Amanda Nell Eu’s “Last Shadow at First Light” premiered at San Sebastian where it is in the running for the New Directors Award.
The company has Mubarak’s “Watch It Burn” at Busan’s Asian Project Market. Earlier this year, Bhara was named as one of Variety’s Impactful International Women of 2023.
At Busan, Visinema also has Sidharta Tata’s “Ali Topan.”
Noen said: “As an artist, I embark on artistic explorations. For me, these explorations serve two primary purposes: firstly, they offer fresh and distinctive experiences in navigating the world of cinema; secondly, they provoke critical contemplation regarding the global state of affairs. ’24 Hours with Gaspar’ is set in a future that isn’t necessarily bright, yet it retains a glimmer of hope. I depict a mismanaged society and a continuously suppressed society in a film saturated with violence, the gritty texture of a decaying city, characters painted in shades beyond the conventional dichotomy of good and evil (where their roles as protagonists or antagonists are ambiguously intertwined) and street fights.”
Bhara added: “Set in a dystopian world in Indonesia in 2032, ‘24 Hours With Gaspar’ is mixed with action scenes, fighting, car chasing, car accidents and other flashy elements that were never done in KawanKawan Media’s previous films. The collaboration with Visinema is a perfect match, given Visinema’s experience in this genre.”
Imanuell said: “As we know, Korea is one of the pillars of Asian cinema, opening up significant opportunities for Indonesian films to compete on a global scale, We are deeply honored because ’24 Hours with Gaspar’ has turned out to be the first Indonesian film selected to compete for the Jiseok Award at Busan.”
— Meryl Streep, who was chosen to be honored at the gala next month for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, was initially under the impression that the Hollywood actors’ strike would prevent her from attending.
The strike, after all, had already forced the Academy to delay one gala in November, where Angela Bassett and Mel Brooks were to receive honorary Oscars. In the case of the fund-raising event planned for Oct. 14, it was unclear at first if SAG-AFTRA, the union representing TV and movie actors, would allow striking members to attend, and, if it did, whether any would want to go.
Would it be OK to appear at such a celebratory event while the industry is on the ropes? Should actors sit at tables (costing $250,000 to $500,000) that in some cases are paid for by the studios they are striking against? And what about the potential for vitriol and tension, or at least deep social awkwardness?
But after negotiations and quiet diplomacy that determined who could attend and what kinds of work could be honored, the gala — which typically attracts Hollywood’s A-listers and moguls and raises more than $10 million for the popular museum — will proceed. The biggest change: Executives from the studios being struck, some of which are among the museum’s biggest sponsors, will not be there.
Streep will be, though, since she has approval from her union. “I have been assured that SAG-AFTRA has encouraged members to attend the gala — that the museum deeply depends on this event for its educational and community outreach, and that no industry executives from struck companies will be in attendance,” she said in an email. “So I am steaming my dress and heading West.”
Streep’s initial confusion is emblematic of the fraught territory that the industry finds itself in as it tries to navigate the dos and don’ts of the strike — from awards shows and fund-raisers to social events, films and television shows.
It can be confusing: Some talk show hosts have stumbled in trying to do decide whether to return to the air, and the writers’ union picketed “Dancing With the Stars” although its cast had received a green light from SAG-AFTRA to work. The tentative deal reached Sunday by the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers was a hopeful sign, but the actors remain on strike, and securing their union’s blessing was crucial for the Academy gala.
“The basic guidance we’ve given people is, so long as it is not focused on a particular project or a particular struck company, it’s OK for our members to participate in those events and to acknowledge someone’s body of work,” Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the national executive director and chief negotiator of the actors’ union, said in an interview. “There will be members who choose not to participate in these things who don’t feel it’s the right thing to do at this point, since it is a serious time for people who work in the industry. I imagine our members will make judgments for themselves.”
The gala is vital for the nascent museum, in an effort to raise millions of dollars and the institution’s profile. The event’s knack for drawing bold-faced names has led some to think of it as a West Coast Met Gala. The question this year is whether the lack of studio executives, and qualms on the part of striking actors, could make this year’s party less buoyant or its red carpet less buzzy.
But assuming the honorees show up as planned, there will be guaranteed star power present: In addition to Streep, the Academy will honor Oprah Winfrey, Michael B. Jordan, and Sofia Coppola. The chairs of the gala, which is raising money for exhibitions, education and public programs, are the director Ava DuVernay, the actor Halle Berry, the producer Ryan Murphy and the producer Dr. Eric Esrailian, a physician and a trustee.
“This event is about raising vital funds to ensure that this work will go on in service to the public,” said Jacqueline Stewart, who last year became the museum’s director and president. “The work of the museum is a common ground despite the strikes.”
Behind the scenes, union representatives have been in discussions with the museum to set certain ground rules: Individual actors can be honored, but not individual projects, and bodies of work can be highlighted, but not specific films, studios or streaming services. If the gala ventures out of bounds, Crabtree-Ireland said, members will be expected to get up and leave to avoid incurring disciplinary measures.
Stewart said that no guests had declined invitations citing the strike as a reason. While some studios have contributed funds to the gala, she said, “given the particular circumstances this year, there will be no executives from struck companies in attendance.” The majority of table and ticket buyers are not from the studios, the museum said, but are a mix of corporate supporters, philanthropists, and museum trustees.
Some union members hope that the museum gala can be an opportunity to highlight the labor dispute, which was prompted by concerns about pay, artificial intelligence and working conditions and which has halted virtually all production.
“I get that the optics are bad when some of our members are walking the picket line and others are putting on black tie and jewels and walking the red carpet,” said Greg Cope White, who had to pause production on a Netflix adaptation of his memoir — for which he is also a screenwriter — “The Pink Marine,” about a gay 18-year-old who joins the U.S. Marine Corps.
“The gala is an opportunity to get some attention to our cause,” White added. “Meryl Streep and Oprah are great speakers. Hopefully they’ll give passionate sound bites that will bring some light to us.”
Each honoree will receive a different award — Streep, for her “global cultural impact”; Jordan for “helping to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema”; Winfrey for her “exemplary leadership and support” of the museum; and Coppola for innovations that “have advanced the art of cinema.”
After numerous delays, the Academy Museum finally opened in 2021, a seven-story, $484 million concrete-and-glass spherical building designed by the architect Renzo Piano that was widely welcomed as an example of the city’s cultural fertility. An exhibition dedicated to John Waters, the cult filmmaker who directed “Pink Flamingos,” “Polyester” and “Hairspray,” opened there on Sept. 17.
Although the gala is approaching fast, some actors and writers remain hopeful that the strike will be resolved by the time the limousines start to roll down Wilshire Boulevard. “If I could open the envelope at the Oscars,” White said, “It would say, ‘Strike is over.’”
As the end of the Writers Guild of America strike seems to finally be here, movies can resume development, including a highly-anticipated upcoming DC reboot.
Announced back in January with the rest of the first slate of projects in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s new DC universe, The Brave and the Bold reboot is one of the most highly anticipated projects to come with the change in leadership.
With development stalled since the start of the WGA strike, it makes sense that no news has surfaced since, even if plans have changed in light of The Flash‘s terrible reception.
In fact, no progress on the movie could be officially made since May when the strikes started, as no script had been written when writers started picketing.
Development Can Resume on Batman Reboot
Now that the WGA has reached a tentative agreement with production studios, development on movies that don’t have scripts yet — such as The Brave and the Bold — can finally resume, according to Deadline.
News of DC Studios finding a writer for The Brave and the Bold could come soon, now that whoever takes the job can start on the scriptwriting process.
Prior to the start of the actor’s strike — which is still ongoing now, even with the tentative WGA deal — movies could continue development and production, so long as a script had been written.
If the WGA and AMPTP agreement goes through, the opposite will be the case. Movies that don’t have scripts written can continue development, while those that do and were mid-filming will still be stalled.
This means that the confirmed DC movie projects in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted universe (besides Superman: Legacy, which has a script finished) can continue development. Notably, The Brave and the Bold fits that bill.
Though The Authority is implied to be released before the Batman reboot, more about the early development for the latter has been announced, as a potential director does exist for The Brave and the Bold.
Thus, it is possible that The Brave and the Bold is further along in development, which would make sense as the stakes are fairly higher than those for a movie starring characters who have not appeared outside of comics before.
What Could a Batman Reboot Script Look Like?
For a movie without a finished script, there is actually a fair bit known about The Brave and the Bold.
For one, it will feature Damian Wayne’s first-ever live-action appearance, with the comics’ fifth Robin taking on the mantle in the upcoming movie. Further, it will feature other members of the Bat Family, as Safran confirmed.
Gunn has indicated the potential of some such characters being Dick Grayson’s Nightwing and Cassandra Cain’s Batgirl, though those are not official characters yet.
Additionally, the script being developed will take cues from Grant Morrison’s run on Batman in the comics. Interestingly, while the movie’s Batman is confirmed to be Bruce Wayne and Morrison has written plenty of the most famous man behind the cowl, much of the promotional material from DC has featured panels and art from when Dick wore the cowl, with Damian as his Robin.
As such, it is likely that the script will include elements from Morrison’s Batman runs with Bruce and Damian, their Batman and Robin run with Dick and Damian, though with Bruce still under the cowl, and possibly even their Batman Inc. run which starred all three.
Luckily, as development finally resumes, fans will hopefully get more information.
The Brave and the Bold has no official release date but will be part of James Gunn’s DCU slate.
Baz Luhrmann is set to preside over the main jury of the third edition of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea International Film Festival.
The event, which is rapidly becoming the top fest and market in the region and a key driver in Saudi Arabia’s ongoing effort to build a film and TV industry, will run Nov. 30 to Dec. 9 in Jeddah, on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.
Luhrmann, who has connected with global audiences thanks to movies with wall-to-wall soundtracks like “Moulin Rouge!,” “The Great Gatsby” and, most recently, “Elvis,” will head the Red Sea jury that will be bestowing awards to a competition of 17 titles from filmmakers from the Arab region, Asia and Africa.
The fest’s feature film lineup has yet to be announced.
“As we work towards our third edition, we are delighted to welcome legendary award-winning director Baz Luhrmann as the head of the jury,” said the Red Sea fest’s CEO, Mohammed Al Turki, in a statement.
Al Turki went on to praise Luhrmann as a “pioneer of pop culture with incredible versatility across the creative fields.”
Luhrmann commented: “As a child in the local cinema that we ran near the tiny country town where I grew up, I was mesmerized by the powerful historical and physical landscapes of ‘Lawrence of Arabia.’ Since that time, I have had an abiding passion for the Arabian world, but after visiting Saudi Arabia, I felt truly inspired by the remarkable young filmmaking talent coming up across the region and to see how they are now capturing the attention of the global film community.”
“It’s an honour to be presiding over this year’s Red Sea International Film Festival’s Jury, alongside leading and emerging lights in the industry, and to be part of the evolution of change that is happening through cinema across the Arab region, Asia and Africa,” he added.
Luhrmann continued: “Since the early days of my career, I have experienced the power of storytelling and festivals to open doors and forge bridges between artists and across cultures. I look forward to celebrating both emerging talent and the incredible established auteurs from the region in the vibrant, diverse and distinctive cinematic offering that the Festival is becoming renowned for presenting in Jeddah.”
‘Good Will Hunting’Credit: Miramax
‘The Matrix’CREDIT: Warner Bros.
‘The Leftovers’ Credit: HBO
