“At the end of the day, I think it’s good having competition to Steam, because it puts them on their toes to deliver their best experience,” he said.
“Obviously, we would like to pay less fees to platforms. In reality we are paying more fees to platforms than we spend on game development every year, and if you just think about that number, it’s crazy.
“So, there are margins with the platforms that I would preferably have within building more games and some more margins, but I think it’s great that Epic is there trying to build a competitive platform.”
This post was written by Kylee Pena and originally appeared on Adobe blog on Jun. 20, 2023.
Marc rose to fame through YouTube and Twitch where he cultivated a passionate community—amassing millions of followers. This documentary retraces the artist’s steps from his humble Texas upbringing to performing at some of the nation’s biggest festivals.
While director, James Gallagher, joined Marc on the road to film and review footage using Frame.io, editor, Chris Amos, worked remotely in Chicago editing on Premiere Pro. We spoke with Chris to hear more about his workflow and editing inspiration.
It all began in the beginning of high school with some sort of fusion of different editing platforms, including Premiere Pro, and then an IEEE 1394 port that I bought from Best Buy and installed on my dad’s computer without telling him. I’ve since moved to an iMac.
How do you begin a project/set up your workspace?
In a general sense I organize all of my footage in sequences rather than folders with a bunch of clips and sub clips. I like treating everything as it was shot, conceptually, instead of when the camera operator hits stop and start. If it’s a documentary, watching a day’s worth of footage from start to finish is great. Or, if there’s more intention behind the shooting, having sequences arranged thematically by those concepts is ideal. Ultimately, for a documentary like this, watching the footage as it naturally exists is the goal. I want to create my own opinions about how to use it.
Tell us about a favorite scene or moment from this project and why it stands out to you.
One of my favorite parts of the film is the first time we break away from the verité or timeline of events and go back to the YouTube footage of Marc realizing he’s hit one million followers. It’s an important moment for the language of the film — and for the general storytelling — to establish that we’ll be jumping between mediums and that we’ll be starting at the peak of Marc’s fame, both in real time, and within archival footage.
What were some specific post-production challenges you faced that were unique to your project? How did you go about solving them?
The biggest post-production challenge on this project was small and easily amenable. I am located in Chicago, and James is in NYC, so we decided to work entirely remotely. Ultimately, we went old school and duped a copy of his drive, and he shipped it to me. Then, I would post scenes or edits to Frame.io or send Premiere Pro project files (with single sequences in them) for him to review. Those project files would easily re-link to the footage he had on his end.
What Adobe tools did you use on this project and why did you originally choose them? Why were they the best choice for this project?
We used Premiere Pro and Frame.io, which was quite seamless. We would use Frame.io to send new media that we’d add to the overall project and to post edits and scenes for review. We used it as a file sharing service, which made it very easy to review scenes.
If you could share one tip about Premiere Pro, what would it be?
I think my only tip is to not overcomplicate your workflow. It’s cool that the software allows for so much flexibility within the filetypes you’re working with, but transcoding your footage to lo-res 1080p ProRes proxies, and making all of your additional media consistent (i.e. keeping all graphics as simple .pngs rather than large, layered .psds), will only speed up the editing process by not letting technical difficulties get in the way of the creative and thought-provoking process. There’s a reason the traditional, old-school workflow was established to begin with!
Who is your creative inspiration and why?
My biggest creative inspiration is to go with my gut and try things I’ve never thought of doing before. Premiere Pro and NLE platforms in general make that possible. It’s so easy & quick to place different moments and scenes next to each other to see how they work and play off of each other. Premiere Pro makes those possibilities endless.
That being said, I think my biggest creative inspiration is the Grateful Dead. They tried something new every night they played a show.
What’s the toughest thing you’ve had to face in your career and how did you overcome it? What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or content creators?
The toughest thing I’ve had to face in my career is simply ‘making it’. That required a good 6-7 years of being an assistant editor and working from 9 A.M. until who knows when every day for that period, all the while balancing freelance side projects that would pay next to nothing for me to establish myself as an editor. I just had to keep my head down and grind because there’s no prototypical career path to follow if you want to be an editor. And I’m grateful for that because ultimately, it’s a position of artistry. The only advice I can give is to avoid self-importance, say yes to everything (to figure what niche within editing you want to do), and be a collaborator. You’re not better than anyone, and the more projects you work on, the more perspective it gives you.
Share a photo of where you work. What’s your favorite thing about your workspace and why?
I think the best part of my workspace is that it can be predominantly lit by daylight. Something about that 5600K that hits differently than 3200K…
This post was written by Kylee Pena and originally appeared on Adobe blog on Jun. 20, 2023.
On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.
First, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick — something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.
Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.
The Pitch: If This Is What A.I. Sex Looks Like, Maybe We Have Nothing to Worry About?
Cinematic dystopias come in many forms. Ridley Scott looked to classic film noir and Asian urban architecture to craft his fallen neon hellscape in “Blade Runner.” Bong Joon-ho juxtaposed railroad opulence with an arctic wasteland in “Snowpiercer.” And for “Creative Control,” Benjamin Dickinson dared to imagine what would happen if characters from a Noah Baumbach movie could make their own interactive porn.
Dickinson’s 2015 sci-fi drama obviously isn’t a dystopian film in the conventional sense. It essentially takes place in the present day, depicting a society that’s hooked to the same IV drip of technological bliss that’s slowly turning us all into apathetic, pleasure-addicted zombies on our long march towards cultural decadence. Its characters have just been plugged in for slightly longer than we have, as demonstrated by the fact that their technology is slightly cooler than ours.
“Creative Control” plays out like a Spike Jonze thought experiment set in a black-and-white New York that could easily be “Frances Ha” or “Manhattan.” Dickinson stars as David, a successful-but-miserable ad man who takes on a campaign for a groundbreaking augmented reality technology (picture what Google Glass could have been if anyone had given a shit about it). While typical New York Movie Problems like relationship friction sparked by differences in career success distract him from his work, he uses his Augmenta glasses to have something resembling an affair with digital avatar of his friend’s girlfriend.
His digital mistress is more humanlike but infinitely less human than the Scarlett Johansson-voiced A.I. lover that Joaquin Phoenix falls for in “Her.” But while that film made sexual A.I. experiences seem so believable that you’d be forgiven for wondering if relationships were about to become obsolete, David’s bland digital quickies almost inspire confidence about humanity’s ability to persevere against the robots.
While “Creative Control” raises some interesting questions about 21st century ethics, you could arguably learn more about the importance of consent from “Any Which Way You Can.” But Dickinson’s film really shines in its depiction of our ongoing desire to customize every detail of our lives to maximize our comfort. As it turns out, occasionally straying from Your Best Life in order to participate in human society isn’t the fate worse than death that we’re all tempted to view it as.
At first glance, “Creative Control” might seem like an odd choice for a column that’s interested in things like Arnold Schwarzenegger giving birth through his ass and Ringo Starr’s alleged “acting career.” But one of the core ideas behind IndieWire After Dark has been exploring how the arthouse and midnight movie scenes can operate more symbiotically. With its stylish cinematography and a score that resembles a New Yorker article in audio form, “Creative Control” might seem like it was grown in a test tube stashed in the basement of the Tribeca Film Festival. But its actual subject matter is provocative enough to hang with flashier genre films, and the juxtaposition of mild dystopia against stylish indie filmmaking only adds to the disorienting effect. It’s living proof that we should be mining the arthouse bargain bins of yesteryear for new midnight movies — ill-advised studio productions don’t deserve to have all the fun! —CZ
The Aftermath: These Augmented Reality Glasses Are Making Me Thirsty
If Kramer’s one line for a Woody Allen film managed to snag itself a pro-creative bork with the publicist from “The Idol,” then I imagine you’d get something like the Phalinex ad from “Creative Control.” “PHALINEX put me back in the pilot’s chair.” “PHALINEX put me BACK in the pilot’s chair.” “PHALINEX put me BACK in the PILOT’s chair…emphasis on FUCK, Jerry!”
In keeping with its themes of personal piracy, Dickinson’s sophomore feature frequently feels like a grab-bag of ideas remixed from other movies and series. Logan Kiben’s “Operator” — starring Mae Whitman as a young woman whose voice is replicated and misused by her anxiety-ridden boyfriend — comes to mind as a stronger take on sci-fi assisted partner coercion, though that movie came out a year later than this. And countless older films and shows join a 1981 Rick Springstein song in having done the best friend’s girlfriend trope significantly better. (Jessie’s girl wouldn’t be caught dead in an Augmenta and you know that.)
Still, the Phalinex scene is a standout example of the laugh-out-loud funny, quotable moments you can sometimes find in lesser arthouse works. From “It’s super-interesting…” to “Total boner, ladies!” to “It’s fine, it’s great, we’re all going to Cannes,” this movie’s zippy, strange dialogue would be more thoroughly appreciated by the back-talking, midnight movie crowd who can turn odd phrasing on the page into ritualistic cinematic worship.
Just imagine the H. Jon Benjamin scene taken to its participatory extremes; an entire audience chanting in unison, “I’m not saying fuck people in the sauna.” Would we do the whole “orgasm where your body disappeared” monologue, or just part of it? And what to toss at the screen when the homeless lady commercial/experimental art piece finally plays in the board room? Glasses? Garbage?
Some of “Creative Control” worked for me on its own; Adam Newport-Berra remains one of the few cinematographers I can identify without IMDb and his work here is particularly stunning. But plenty else didn’t; dressed up or down, my patience for scorned yoga teachers, C-tier “Black Mirror” episodes, and celebrities playing themselves has simply run out. (My apologies to the generally charming Mr. Reggie Watts, seen here playing the spectacularly, brutally, painfully annoying Mr. Reggie Watts.)
Dickinson and fellow screenwriter Micah Bloomberg’s story doesn’t rise to the satirical heights needed to support concepts like armless child miners and its ending is a remarkable bore. (Get David ideating an ad deal for Coca-Cola in some khakis before the credits roll, and then maybe I’ll hate him less?) But with lines like “If youdon’t have enough to do, you can always remember you are a conscious individual…” and “Give me a pound, let’s blow up this rock!” “Creative Control” is worth a couple midnight viewings. —AF
Those brave enough to join in on the fun can stream “Creative Control” on Amazon Prime. IndieWire After Dark publishes midnight movie recommendations at 11:59 p.m. ET every Friday. Read more of our deranged suggestions…
Robert Rodriguez isn’t against bringing original Spy Kids stars Alexa PenaVega and Daryl Sabara back for another film. But the director says the time between the latest installment, Armageddon, and 2011’s Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World, meant that it was “important to just start the franchise fresh.”
The filmmaker spoke about his decision to launch the latest Spy Kids chapter with a completely new family — and new set of leading child stars — in a new interview with Yahoo Entertainment.
“I wanted to re-establish a new family,” he said of the choice to cast Connor Esterson and Everly Carganilla in the new Netflix film, out Friday. “Because it’d been so long [since 2011’s All the Time in the World], it was important to just start the franchise fresh and then go from there.”
Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World starred PenaVega and Sabara alongside Jessica Alba, Joel McHale, Rowan Blanchard, Mason Cook, Ricky Gervais and Jeremy Piven. Alba portrayed an Organization of Super Spies agent who was married to McHale’s spy-hunting reporter. Vega and Sabara were the niece and nephew of Alba’s secret agent, whose stepchildren (Blanchard and Cook) face off against a villain who threatens to unleash a time weapon known as Project: Armageddon.
While the director, also known for The Book of Boba Fett, Grindhouse and From Dusk Till Dawn, is interested in expanding the Spy Kids universe with a new family, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t considered bringing back his former leads.
“I would love to bring back [characters], I would love to connect the worlds. That would be so fun,” he said. “It could still be in the same world, so if we get to make more films, there easily could be legacy characters that come back.”
During the interview, Rodriguez also shared the significance of being able to release another Spy Kids sequel in Hollywood’s current storytelling climate. “It’s hard to make movies in Hollywood that aren’t [based on] a preexisting material that a studio owns,” he said. “So when you can come up with your own story and make sequels to it, man, you’re going to make as many of those as you can because it’s a rarity.”
Released in 2001, the original Spy Kids starred Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino as two spies who, after being kidnapped, must be saved by their two children, played by PenaVega and Sabara. Since then, four more films have been released, including Armageddon and an animated series, Spy Kids: Mission Critical.
As longtime television viewers know, soap operas once filled the networks’ daytime schedules. Today, only three of them remain — The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS), General Hospital (ABC), and The Young and the Restless (CBS). (NBC‘s Days of Our Lives moved to Peacock in September 2022, so we can’t track their ratings any longer.) Their ratings are a fraction of what they used to be, even just a few years ago, so it can feel like they’re on borrowed time. How long will these three survive? That will likely have a lot to do with the ratings. Stay tuned.
Note: Each network measures the success of its own programming. Still, it’s fun to see how the three remaining soap operas rank against each other.
Note: If you’re not seeing the updated chart, please try reloading the page or view it here.
Season-to-date averages are compared to previous season averages. Raw data courtesy Soap Opera Network.
What do you think? Are you surprised by any of the ratings? Which shows should be doing better? Which one do you think will be cancelled next?
On day 144 of the writers strike — a week and a half shy of becoming the longest in Writers Guild of America history — there was a renewed sense of optimism on the jam-packed picket lines Friday as guild members heeded their union’s call to hit the pavement as negotiations with studio CEOs and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers entered their third consecutive day.
At Disney, more than a thousand members of the WGA and performers union SAG-AFTRA walked the woodsy Burbank grounds where many scribes expressed cautious optimism that a deal to end the work stoppage could be imminent following two days of progress at the bargaining table.
“I always feel good when they’re talking … the fact that they’ve been talking for three days straight is terrific,” said veteran showrunner Marc Guggenheim (Legends of Tomorrow).
Following a nearly month-long stalemate, the WGA and AMPTP returned to the bargaining table Wednesday alongside Disney CEO Bob Iger, Universal content chief Donna Langley, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav all in attendance. Both sides issued a rare joint statement Wednesday that illustrated some progress had been made. As of Thursday evening, multiple studio-side sources said progress had been made in areas including AI protections, minimum room size and streaming data transparency but there was still more ground to cover.
Thursday’s bargaining session, which ran from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., ended with the WGA presenting new demands, according to studio-side sources, which alienated the executives. Still, the four execs returned Friday at 11 a.m. as optimism around Hollywood and on the picket lines remained that both sides were the closest they’ve been to a new three-year deal since the strike began in May.
“They always say this is a town that kills you with hope and what’s happening over the last three days is a perfect example of that,” Guggenheim said. “In Hollywood, hope is the mind killer. I’m trying hard not to count my chickens before they’re hatched. I went to bed feeling really optimistic last night. I woke up feeling really optimistic and I’m walking the picket line today feeling, I can’t believe I’m saying it, optimistic.”
Disney, along with other Los Angeles picketing sites including Netflix, Amazon, Sony and Warner Bros., were remaining open an extra two hours Friday after guild leaders encouraged members to pound the pavement in a missive sent out late Thursday.
“Seeing pics of the lines today is EVERYTHING,” the WGA’s chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman posted Friday afternoon.
A few miles away at Warner Bros. Discovery, actress Treisa Gary (Physical) sat near a gate whirling instruments on a series of sound bowls laid out in front of her. She was generating healing and calmness, or trying to, at least. There, writer Steven Murphy told The Hollywood Reporter that he placed a bottle of champagne in his refrigerator Thursday night as he was overcome with feelings of hope that an end to the near-historic WGA strike would happen soon.
“If you told me when we started it would be five months, I would have been terrified and not necessarily excited to sign up for that. But now that we’ve gone this far, and it seems like there’s some hope and optimism, I’m proud. I was coming here this morning, and I almost got emotional that we made it to this point,” he said. “I have a friend who is a writer for Drew Barrymore and that whole scenario was very inspirational to me. To watch them stand up … and really win … that’s been invigorating.” (The Drew Barrymore Show backed off returning to production after sustained criticism and demonstrations.)
The scene at Radford in Studio City was bristling with more than 300 scribes and a DJ as headphones were distributed for a “silent disco”-themed picket.
The general mood, according to several writers at Fox on the west side of L.A., was equally optimistic that a deal could be hammered out. Many members, who declined to provide their names, said they felt “hopeful” that Friday would be the last day of the writers strike.
Emily Whitesell (Siren) said she felt supported by the guild and “empowered” to be walking the picket line again with such a great turnout. “Morale is really good. We’re feeling confident in our negotiating board and we’re behind them — that’s why we came out today, to show them our support,” Whitesell said.
Back at Disney, there was a last day of school vibe as WGA volunteers said some members opted to take picket signs home. Others, meanwhile, snapped photos with helpful lot coordinators and strike captains. Still to be determined, however, is if the WGA will continue to picket in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA when and if a deal is reached with the AMPTP.
“There’s a question of whether or not we can get, as part of our deal, the legal ability to honor SAG’s picket lines,” Guggenheim, a former attorney, told THR. “There’s nothing being shot right now so it’s not like writers need to cross the picket lines in order to do their jobs. Even with productions still going on, there’s Zoom … I can see a ton of writers using their free time to be out here with SAG the way they were out here for us.”
Borys Kit and Tiffany Taylor contributed reporting.
A judge issued a protective order in a lawsuit to bar the former president from Colorado’s 2024 presidential ballot
In the first major lawsuit to block Donald Trump from Colorado’s 2024 presidential ballot, a state judge issued a protective order prohibiting threats and intimidation in the case, according to AP.
“I 100 percent understand everybody’s concerns for the parties, the lawyers, and frankly myself and my staff based on what we’ve seen in other cases,” Denver District Judge Sarah B. Wallace said, noting that the safety of witnesses and others involved in the suit was necessary throughout the litigation.
The suit was filed by watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters seeking to disqualify Trump from the primary ballot under a provision of the 14th Amendment that bars certain candidates who have engaged in insurrection.
The plaintiffs argued that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, also known as the Disqualification Clause, prohibits any person from holding federal or state office who took an “oath…to support the Constitution of the United States” and then has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Scott Gessler, a former Colorado secretary of state representing Trump, opposed the order and claimed it was unnecessary because threats and intimidation are already prohibited by law, per AP.
Trending
Trump, the first former president to be charged with state or federal crimes, was indicted in August over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and an anti-democratic campaign that culminated in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. He is facing a total of four separate indictments.
Lawsuits aimed at disqualifying Trump from the 2024 ballot based on the 14th Amendment clause have been filed across the country. The Colorado case is the first filed by an organization backed with significant legal resources and is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the 14th Amendment’s insurrection provision.
Director Kd Amond reteams with star Sarah Zanotti for the script to The Unraveling. Zanotti stars as Mary, who is happily married to Grayson (Sam Brooks). Suddenly, the couple is in a terrible car accident, leaving her with a traumatic brain injury. Now, Mary can talk to Grayson on the phone and know it is him, but when in the same room, she literally does not recognize him as the love of her life. Nor does Mary perceive her mother’s face, leaving the parent confused. Mary and Grayson’s life becomes even more complicated once she learns she is pregnant.
Admond directs with a feverish energy, matching the confusion and frustration of the protagonist. The intrusion of a shadowy figure who haunts Mary’s waking hours only adds to the unsettling nature of what she’s going through. When Mary tries to eavesdrop on Grayson and their therapist talking, there is a sense of danger to what she might do to get the information. This is not to imply that the thriller is all intensity, all the time. Mary calls the “real” Grayson to have tender heart-to-heart conversations. A fireside chat between Grayson and the mom is actually gentle and understanding of Mary’s condition.
“…Mary can talk to Grayson on the phone and know it is him, but when in the same room, she literally does not recognize him…”
The Unraveling is mostly set in Grayson and Mary’s house. Director of Photography Seth Dunlap makes the single set (though not exclusively) into a place both familiar and yet not. When with Grayson, there’s a certain ease within the frames. But most of the film is seen through Mary’s perspective, and as such, a lot of scenes feel harsh with a live-wire intensity.
Zanotti is fantastic as the vulnerable lead. She plays the confusion and perceived threat to her well-being with absolute conviction. Brooks credibly vacillates between loving and frustrated, especially after learning his on-screen wife is pregnant.
The Unraveling is an entertaining, though intense ride. The directing is strong, and the cinematography is atmospheric. The cast, led by a game Zanotti, excellently jumps through the twists and turns of the story. Just know that the ending will surprise all watching quite a bit.
The Lions have secured a spot in the CFL’s post-season.
Taquan Mizzell ran in a pair of touchdowns as the B.C. Lions clinched a playoff spot with a 37-29 victory over the Edmonton Elks on Friday.
“It’s a big deal. Just ask teams that aren’t in the playoffs if making it in is a big deal,” said Lions head coach Rick Campbell. “To get to 10 wins and to secure a playoff berth, which is your first goal in the regular season, it is going to make our last four games pretty interesting.”
Quarterback Vernon Adams Jr., passed for 265 yards and two touchdowns to help B.C. (10-4) win three games in a row.
“It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done,” Adams said. “I know I have to be better for my team moving forward. We started off hot, but then I was kind of up and down.
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“I just want to be better for the team, but it was a great win. Our team, we got fight in us.”
Canadian QB Tre Ford had two TD passes on 182 yards as Edmonton (4-11) saw its faint playoff hopes almost disappear.
“They did a good job game-planning, they were prepared for me. I couldn’t get out of the pocket and scramble much. They just did a good job containing me,” Ford said. “Even though I still thought we didn’t execute to the level we wanted to, it was definitely a step forward.”
The Elks at least managed to score a point against the Lions after stunningly being shutout out in both of their previous meetings against B.C. this season.
“The last two times we played them, we didn’t score any points and looking back last year, they blew us out a whole bunch,” said Ford. “So, definitely a step in the right direction.”
The Lions came roaring out of the gate with a surgical opening drive, needing just seven consecutive successful plays to set up a five-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Justin McInnis.
Things didn’t go nearly as well on their next possession, however, as Adams floated a ball too high and it was picked off and returned 56 yards by Kai Gray for the pick six TD, ending Edmonton’s season-long scoring drought against the Lions.
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B.C. made up for it immediately, though, as Adams found Jevon Cottoy, who shrugged off a badly-missed tackle attempt by Mark McLaurin and scampered 57 yards into the end zone.
The big plays kept coming on B.C.’s next possession as well, as a 68-yard punt return by Terry Williams set up a 13-yard TD run by Mizzell to give the Lions a 21-7 lead after the first quarter.
“We got outplayed in all three phases,” said Elks head coach Chris Jones. “I thought, offensively, defensively and in the kicking game they beat us in this game. We’re closer than maybe what we were, but you don’t get consolation prizes for losing the football game.”
The Elks finally got their listless offence going late in the second quarter when Ford hit Dillon Mitchell in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown, the first offensive points recorded by Edmonton in 148:34 of game play against B.C. this season.
The Lions came flying right back as a 57-yard passing play to Keon Hatcher set up a 12-yard field goal by Sean Whyte.
Dean Faithfull kicked a 41-yard field goal for the Elks with no time left on the clock to make it 24-17 at the mid-mark.
Faithfull started off the third quarter with a missed 41-yard attempt that resulted in a single, but then nailed a 42-yarder with five minutes to play in the frame.
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The Lions regained a bit of their cushion when Mizzell found a seam and turned on the jets for a 48-yard touchdown run.
Whyte kicked a 17-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
Edmonton kept it interesting as Ford found Mitchell for a four-yard touchdown pass with just under three minutes left in the game to pull within six points.
Whyte booted a 40-yard field goal with 36 seconds left to put the game away for the Lions.
NOTES
Of the nine CFL teams who have started seasons at 0-9 since 1958, only Edmonton this season and Ottawa in 1989 have managed to come back and record four wins… The game featured the two teams with the worst turnover deficits, with the Lions coming into the game at minus-eight and the Elks sitting at minus-12.
UP NEXT
The Lions play host to the Saskatchewan Roughriders next Friday. The Elks are on a bye week.
Imagine if every time you went to the supermarket, your shopping cart came loaded with the same box of cereal.
This cereal happens to be the most popular, so it’s convenient for the store to have it in the cart. If you don’t like it, it’s simple enough to put it back on the shelf and grab a different box.
That’s essentially the crux of Google’s defense against the Justice Department in a consequential antitrust trial — the federal government’s first such case in the modern internet era — that is now unfolding in court.
The government has accused Google of illegally using partnerships with handset makers, computer manufacturers and browser developers to stifle competitors in online search. Under those partnerships, the Justice Department argues, Google made its search engine the default service on an overwhelming majority of consumer electronics, like smartphones. That then deterred people from trying alternative search engines, like Bing, DuckDuckGo and others.
But Google has argued that it’s easy for people to change their search engine — just as simple as putting a box of cereal back on the store shelf.
The trial raises questions about how and why we use Google search. Many of us grew up doing web searches on Google because it seemed to deliver the best results with minimal effort. But if something better came along, would we really have known since Google came loaded on most of our devices? And even if we had known, would we have just stuck with Google since its search engine was set as the default?
I decided to test how easy or hard it really is to switch to a different search engine. In a blog post this month, Google said the change was a straightforward process and offered three examples:
On an iPhone, it takes four taps.
On a Mac’s Safari browser, it takes two clicks.
On Android phones, it takes two taps.
So I followed Google’s instructions and also shared the company’s guidance with a panel of three design veterans. The verdict: It’s hard to switch — and most people would probably give up before completing the change.
“God help me, I’m dead,” Ted Selker, a product design veteran who worked at IBM and Xerox PARC, said after reading the steps to change the search engine on an iPhone.
Harry Brignull, a user-experience consultant in Britain, concluded about Google search: “Most people will just stick with it.”
I had similar takeaways. Here’s what the design experts and I found after trying to break up with Google search.
On an iPhone
Google said iPhone owners could switch to a different search engine in four taps by opening the Settings app, tapping Safari, tapping Search Engine and then selecting a search engine.
In reality, it’s more complicated.
Once the Settings app is open, Safari doesn’t immediately appear on the screen. It’s buried under 36 other menu items, so the user has to swipe upward at least twice to find the Safari menu. In reality, it takes six taps.
But even four steps would probably be too much for many of us, Mr. Selker said. It might have been simple 15 years ago, when most web browsing was done on stationary computers, but in the smartphone era, someone looking for that setting could be interrupted while on the go — to hop on a bus, for instance.
“You cannot expect people to have multi-stepped memory,” he said.
On a Mac
With just two clicks, Google said, Mac users can switch the default search engine on the Safari browser to a different service — by first clicking on the magnifying glass icon and then selecting a different search engine, like Yahoo, Bing or DuckDuckGo.
That’s much simpler than on an iPhone. But not everyone knows that the magnifying glass icon is a button — it allows people to enter a query in the search bar.
More problematic is that switching search engines can be confusing, because the steps are inconsistent between Safari on an iPhone and Safari on a Mac, said Tony Hu, a director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who oversees an engineering leadership program.
“Overall, the average person would probably struggle with this,” he said.
Mr. Selker said a better design would have been to make changing the search engine more “in your face,” like a prompt asking users to choose a search engine when opening the browser.
“It has to make you aware it’s there until you’ve dismissed it,” he said.
On Android
On an Android phone, Google said, it takes one long press on the search bar to prompt the Remove button to appear. Users can then tap on it to remove the Google search bar widget from the home screen.
This example is especially flawed. First, Google’s steps to remove the search bar widget work on some Samsung phones, but they do not work across all Android devices. On Google’s Pixel phones, for example, when a user long presses on the search bar, no Remove option appears.
Most important, removing the search widget deletes a shortcut to the Google search bar on the home screen, but it does not change the search engine in an Android web browser. Changing to a different search engine requires a different set of steps. Similar to the path on iPhones, it’s a four-step process that involves opening the browser and changing its settings.
The default option
The overarching lesson from the government’s antitrust trial against Google is that when companies make arrangements to become a default option, they are aware you will probably stick with the status quo because switching to an alternative requires awareness and effort, said Mr. Brignull, the author of “Deceptive Patterns: Exposing the Tricks Tech Companies Use to Control You.”
Google said in a statement that it was easy for people to change their default search engine on Android devices and Apple’s Safari. The company added that on Windows computers, which require a long process to switch from Bing as the default search engine in Microsoft’s Edge browser, the overwhelming majority of people chose Google as their search engine.
With all of that in mind, and the instructions now in front of you, you can try other search engines. If it turns out that you prefer Google anyway, at least it will be your decision — not Google’s.
If you still believe that white jeans are exclusive to summer, we’ve got news for you: Nothing elevates a look like a touch of snowy denim. That’s right, even in the fall.
Just look at Gigi Hadid, who rocked white denim at Milan Fashion Week on Thursday, weeks after Labor Day. While denim is always a safe bet, a pair of white jeans can add that fashionable touch that elevates your everyday look. Hadid paired hers with a crisp, basic shirt.
MEGA
You may think the combo screams summer nights on the coast, but it’s easy to move it into the city as temperatures drop. The trick to adapt it to the asphalt? Adidas sneakers like Hadid’s and a pair of avant-garde sunglasses.
The look is an ideal combo for those days when you don’t feel like spending too much time putting together an outfit, which let’s be real, we need in every season.
And the best part? Most white jeans are even on sale post-summer. The perfect style hack.
Didn’t score the perfect pair of white jeans this summer? Here are some that will look chic even as the leaves fall.
Madewell The Harlow Wide-Leg Jeans in Tile White
J.Crew 10″ Vintage Slim-Straight Jeans in White Wash
Banana Republic The Slim Jeans in White
Free People We the Free Lucky You Midrise Barrel Jeans in Milk
The couple are all set to tie the knot in Udiapur.
As per the latest reports, Parineeti Chopra has handpicked the food options on the menu for her wedding with Raghav Chadha.
Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha are all set to tie the knot in Udaipur this Sunday, September 24. The wedding ceremony will be held in traditional Punjabi style with many big names from Bollywood and politics in attendance. The wedding festivities began on Saturday, September 23 with much fervour and the bride is leaving no stone unturned to ensure they have a good time. As per the latest reports, Parineeti personally selected the menu for the wedding with Indian, international and health food options.
According to Bollywood Life, Parineeti handpicked the menu along with her brothers Shivang and Sahaj. Their source mentioned that the actress has decided on the menu, keeping in mind the needs of all her guests. As such, the menu will have several options from Punjabi, Rajasthani and international cuisines.
The source mentioned that Parineeti has been personally involved in the preparation of the wedding, looking after all the smallest details. For the older guests, a healthier menu has been curated keeping in mind all their dietary needs.
Meanwhile, the guests have begun arriving at the venue on Saturday. They have been taken by special ferries and boats to The Leela Palace Hotel for a “Blooms and bites” themed brunch before the party starts.
Fans are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of Parineeti’s cousin and global superstar Priyanka Chopra. Earlier it was reported that the actress is all set to arrive in Udaipur from the US on the wedding day. However, a recent report by Filmfare claimed that the actress may skip the wedding.
Priyanka’s latest Instagram posts hinted that she may still be in the US. She recently shared a video of herself with her daughter Malti enjoying at her Franklin Jonas’ farmhouse. However, it is unlikely that she will miss Parineeti’s big day, considering their close-knit bond. Priyanka had also attended the engagement in Delhi in May amid Citadel promotions.
Considering the lack of interest in theaters, it became clear that Blue Beetle would head to home media outlets quickly, in a fashion similar to other Warner Bros. (WB) films.
Via the official Blue BeetleX (formerly Twitter) account, the film will hit digital platforms on Tuesday, September 26.
This was previously reported after it was listed under that same date on YouTube Movies. WB is waiting just 39 days after premiering in theaters to release the film online.
Thus far, Blue Beetle has earned $120.6 million at the worldwide box office, the worst in DCEU history.
Shazam 2 set the record for the worst DCEU box office haul earlier this year, earning $132.2 million globally. It became available to purchase online a mere 21 days after opening.
When Will Blue Beetle Stream on Max?
All Warner Bros. and DC films eventually land on its streaming service Max after being released in theaters.
This has been successful in recent years, with a theatrical failure like The Flash ranked #1 among the top movies on all streaming platforms over the August 25-27 weekend.
The expectation for when Blue Beetle will begin streaming on Max should be something close to 70 days after August 18.
For comparison, The Flash began streaming on Max 70 days after its premiere, which broke the DC-to-Max record for the longest time between its theatrical and streaming release date.
Black Adam came to streaming just 56 days after its November 2022 release, but Shazam! 2waited until 67 days (Max’s launch day) after its opening.
Considering The Flash became available a week earlier than Blue Beetle on digital platforms, the latest DC film could wait until closer to 80 days to stream on Max.
77 days after its opening, Blue Beetle could begin streaming on Max on Friday, November 3.
Blue Beetle is now playing in theaters and will be available to purchase online on Tuesday, September 26.
The final MagicCon of 2023 for Magic: The Gathering players has kicked off in Las Vegas, with today’s preview panel marking one of the highlights of the weekend, as Wizards Of The Coast revealed multiple cards for the next three releases.
The panel’s reveals included more cards from The Lord Of The Rings, as well as the next two complete sets: The Lost Caverns Of Ixalan–which also houses some Jurassic World-themed cards–and Ravnica Remastered.
We have every card shown during the panel in the galleries below, as well as when these and the rest of the sets they’re featured in will be released.
Gallery
The Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle-earth Holiday Edition
The upcoming holiday release of The Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle-earth will expand on June’s initial release, as it offers new original cards as well as reprints of older MTG cards represented by special artwork from famous LOTR artists Greg and Tim Hildebrandt. Those reprints will be available in new special edition Collectors Booster packs, and a few examples are as follows:
Abyssal Persecutor
Ishkanah, Grafwidow (reprinted as Shelob, Whose Lair Is Death)
Pact of Negation
Seasons Past
Sylvan Tutor
Gallery
A new frame treatment called Showcase Scrolls of Middle-earth will also be available for some cards released in the initial LOTR set, which changes sections of the normal card frame to look like ancient scrolls. Cards receiving the scroll treatment include the following:
Aragorn, the Uniter
Arwen, Mortal Queen
Bill The Pony
Frodo, Adventurous Hobbit
Galadriel, Elven Queen
Gimli, Mournful Avenger
Legolas, Master Archer
Merry, Warden of Isengard
Nazgul (all nine variants included)
The One Ring
Orcish Bowmasters
Pippin, Warden of Isengard
Rivendell
Rosie Cotton of South Lane
Samwise Gamgee
Gallery
Finally, all 24 cards featured in the Holiday Scene Boxes–packages which depict scenes from the LOTR universe through card art–were shown. The Scene Boxes contain the following cards, which are listed by where they appear in the scene:
Aragorn at Helm’s Deep
Anduril, Narsil Reforged
Aragorn, Hornburg Hero
Legolas’s Quick Reflexes
Gimli’s Reckless Might
Isengard Unleashed
Rohirrim Chargers
Flight of the Witch-king
Call Forth The Tempest
Nazgul Battle-Mace
Witch-king, Sky Scourge
Mordor On The March
Fell Beast Of Mordor
Minas Morgul, Dark Fortress
Gandalf in the Pelennor Fields
Olorin’s Searing Light
Sorcerous Squall
Rammas Echor, Ancient Shield
Courageous Resolve
Gandalf of the Secret Fire
Fell Beast’s Shriek
The Might of Galadriel
Arboreal Alliance
Galadriel, Light of Valinor
Rally the Galadhrim
Galadriel’s Dismissal
Mists of Lorien
Galadhrim Brigade
The Lord Of The Rings: Tales Of Middle-earth’s holiday sets, which include new gift bundles and the aforementioned scene boxes, launch November 3.
Gallery
The Lost Caverns Of Ixalan
The next core set for Magic: The Gathering is The Lost Caverns Of Ixalan, which returns to the Mesoamerica-inspired Ixalan plane. The set will feature new creatures and locations within the plane, including new versions of the massive dinosaur Ghalta, the warrior poet Huatli, and the debut of a new god, Ojer Axonil.
Featured within the LCI set are a new run of Special Guest cards, a “set within a set” featuring reprinted cards from across Magic’s vast history. Two of these reprints were debuted at MagicCon Las Vegas: Lord Of Atlantis and Mana Crypt, with the latter having multiple neon variants with different colors featured on each one.
Gallery
Jurassic World
Also included within Lost Caverns Of Ixalan packs are cards featuring characters and creatures from Jurassic World, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The panel revealed three new cards from the Jurassic World line, along with a new “stamped” variant with the Jurassic World logo embossed over the card. The three revealed cards were:
Ian Malcom, Chaotician
Indominus Rex, Alpha
Welcome To…/Jurassic Park (doubled-sided Saga card)
The Lost Caverns Of Ixalan launches November 17, with the Jurassic World cards contained in booster packs, Collectors Booster packs, and bundles.
Gallery
Ravnica Remastered
The final reveals of the MagicCon Las Vegas preview panel were for Ravnica Remastered, the first set of 2024. This set includes cards from the Ravnica block of expansions–Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact, and Dissension–which launched in 2005.
The set will include all 10 special “shock lands”–lands which inflict two damage on the players when played–which were made famous during the Ravnica block. Each land will receive a standard version, special full-art version, and a retro frame version in both foil and non-foil variants.
Gallery
The panel also revealed a few creatures coming to Ravnica Remastered, including Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice and Niv-Mizzet, Parun, both which were shown in a retro frame variant. The set will also continue the trends by the recent Wilds Of Eldraine set and include cards with anime art variants, with examples including Massacre Girl, Fblthp, The Lost, and Krenko, Mob Boss.
Ravnica Remastered launches just after the new year on January 12, 2024.
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
I recently read about the idea of Shadow Careers–a concept I hadn’t heard before, but is quite common, especially within creative fields. It got me thinking about my own journey within this industry and how it’s so common for creative folks to wear so many hats.
Shadow Careers are essentially: working in a career or position that relates to what you want, but not actually pursuing your ultimate goal or dream.
This idea resonated with me. When starting out in the industry it’s a necessity to be able to wear many hats to get your projects off the ground. If you want to do Z, you often need to do X and Y first to get there. When it comes to directing, for instance, there are several paths you can take, moving to the director chair via the route of an editor, AD, showrunner assistant, or DP.
A path you don’t see very often however is casting. But casting is multifaceted in nature; there are elements of producing, directing, and working with actors.
I’ve worked in casting for the last ten years, and it wasn’t until going freelance into principal casting in 2019, and then being in the middle of a pandemic, that my brain rewired and I was able to step out of a corporate haze and ask myself “Wait, what do I want?”
In 2021, I found myself at a high point within casting- freelance and so much happier, working in the industry—with incredible people on amazing projects— everything feels so right. But still, there was an itch inside that I hadn’t been able to scratch. Was there more I should be doing?
It was a common feeling. Throughout my life, I’ve always felt a bit underutilized. I always put it off to my age or my experience. “Once I’m older/once I get that promotion/once I have that person in my corner.” Patiently waiting for the right time, right place, right person.
Like many other people, I felt a flip switch inside me coming out of the pandemic. I am capable of so much more. I want to cast for movies and TV shows, yes. But I want to direct and produce movies. I want to write movies (at this point I had three features and tons of shorts written, just idly waiting for “something”).
Why am I not doing all of these things if it’s what I want?
Catherine Curtin in ‘Rabbit Hole’
Cut to 2022. I had decided to write and direct my first short film. A queer coming-of-age story about a recent high school grad entering cautiously into adulthood, balancing “coming out” of his shell with an erratic home life and an unhinged QAnon mother.
I wanted to channel a Sean Baker neorealism approach to filming Rabbit Hole. I planned to film in Akron, Ohio where I knew I could have access to all free locations. In addition, I planned to fully use local actors, and real people where I could. This is where my background in casting came in handy.
Working in casting has been extremely beneficial to my transition into directing. For years I had been part of countless production meetings, paying close attention to the process and the working styles of high-level directors. My other coworkers used to dread commuting to these meetings. If you were working on a series it usually meant three meetings for each episode—a concept meeting, a production meeting, and casting meeting. Sometimes the meetings could go on for hours, but I loved sitting there listening to the departments talk about minute details like how to rig steam for a shower or which fake baby was a best match to an actor.
Then of course, the main perk of a casting background is the knowledge that comes from directly working with actors; knowing how to communicate, direct simply, and efficiently to get the right take for an audition. It easily translated into directing: What buzzword, small adjustment, or trick will get me the performance I envision?
I needed to be very realistic with the search for our leads. Knowing I would be pulling from Ohio talent and on a low budget, I focused on essences. Who feels most like these characters, has the innate qualities I need to tell the story? I felt confident that if I did find someone with little-to-no film experience who matched the essence of the characters, I would work with them to get the performance I was envisioning.
I reached out to my alma mater Kent State to Zoom with a handful of the musical theater majors. Young MT performers often haven’t mastered the fundamental differences of acting for camera (should be a required course), but was still confident I would find natural talent.
I immediately knew I found my lead Blake when I Zoomed with freshman Nate Frison. He embodied Blake’s wholesome but newly adventurous nature, and despite having never acted on camera before, he had a natural emotiveness and a grounded essence. I knew I could work with him to deliver a solid performance (spoiler alert: he did).
I scoured casting sites for Ohio local talent, still trying to find Dom, the romantic interest. The pool wasn’t huge, but I found Drake Tobias on Backstage and immediately knew from his reel that he was my Dom—charming with the crashing wave of youthful confidence that the role required.
Thankfully he was in Ohio for our dates and down to join us!
Nate Frison and Drake Tobias in ‘Rabbit Hole’
When it came to casting the role of Denise, the QAnon mother, the dialogue and character could go very comedic—almost caricature. It was imperative to me that Denise must feel real. The absurdity of Q needed to come from an honest place.
I remained confident that I could find this locally, but after exceeding our crowd-funding goal I was able to work the budget to accommodate a NY hire for the role.
It was interesting being on the other side of the table. Usually, it’s the casting director’s job to think outside the box of what the director wants. When I envisioned Denise I had in mind this person I see a lot in Ohio: the Crossfit mom who has a bold floral tattoo sleeve, loves Budlight, and is a “mama-bear” type.
But when coming up with ideas, I switched to my casting hat, and the person I kept coming back to was Catherine Curtin (Stranger Things, Orange is the New Black).
I started a conversation with her reps, and after learning she loved the script, I knew she was the right choice. I was elated when she accepted an offer and was game to come to Ohio to shoot. Curtin is known for being a very dynamic performer, and we quickly jumped on a call to discuss the character and story. She not only understood the character but further brought out a maternal quality in Denise that made the unraveling of their relationship extremely heartbreaking.
Working with Catherine was a dream and also terrifying. She is an actor actor. She gives 110 percent. She’s worked with incredible directors. I tried not to let the imposter syndrome creep in.
After our first set-up, an emotional FaceTime scene that was filmed in only a few takes, everyone was eager to move on. Catherine pulled me aside, gently took my shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and said, “Are you sure you have what you need from me?”
Then, it hit me: Catherine Curtin has flown to Ohio to act in your film.
Through several conversations with Catherine about the character, breaking down the script carefully with Nate, a clear vision and shot list with my DP, and an extensive amount of prep, the first shot went seamlessly. It had even moved me to tears. Yes, I had gotten what we needed!
Nate Frison and Catherine Curtin in ‘Rabbit Hole’
On our final day of filming, as the crew was setting up for our last shot inside a quaint local restaurant, everyone ventured outside, eyes fixed on the sky. The first lunar eclipse of the year was happening—the moon appeared a deep shade of red, a Blood Moon
A wave of emotion crashed over me. Part exhaustion, part euphoric delight. The moment felt destined. Everything seemed to make sense at that moment, as the pieces I didn’t even know I was searching for had come together.
Turns out, the Blood Moon signals self-exploration and rebirth.
Something about doing this in my hometown, with my family and friends on set as extras or helping as PAs—it took me back to being a kid with my dad’s giant camcorder on my shoulder directing my friends in “films.” A true full-circle moment.
I wiped my tears, pulled it together, and went back in for the single remaining shot—feeling more than ever that I was on the right path and that good things were to come.
All this to say, as creatives, it’s natural that we will ebb and flow with our interests and our projects, and that’s okay. There’s no shame in wearing multiple hats and excelling in multiple things; they will only help to inform one another. But if there is something you want to do, or you feel you’re in the shadows of a career, then why not take a step out and give it a go? Why not?
Target has long partnered with buzzy labels to bring high fashion to the masses—and its latest collection, Rowing Blazers x Target, is its most ambitious team-up yet. Long story short: More than 100 pieces hit the retailer’s shelves (virtually and physically) today, Saturday, September 23, covering apparel, home, sports, and pets. The collection will likely sell out almost instantly, so don’t hesitate to pick up your favorite pieces.
Founded in 2017 by designer Jack Carlson, Rowing Blazers also has collaboration baked into its DNA. The brand has released collections with Babar and Winnie the Pooh, partnered with Sperry and Gucci, and even reissued one of Princess Diana’s most iconic sweaters. But through Target, the NYC-based brand is reaching its largest audience yet, bringing its modern take on preppy style to the masses.
“This is going to be the first introduction to the brand for so many people, and so I wanted this collection to be quintessential Rowing Blazers,” Carlson tells Glamour. He would know preppy style; he was a three-time member of the US National Rowing Team (once winning a bronze medal at the World Championships) and studied archaeology at Oxford and Georgetown, NBD.
Target x Rowing Blazers Women’s Corduroy Double-Breasted Blazer
Rowing Blazers x Target Corduroy Crossbody Bag
“It’s not watered down or anything different from how I approach our own main collections,” Carlson says. “It’s a quirky, irreverent, colorful take on the classics. It’s taking this timeless, American, collegiate aesthetic, but it’s doing it in a way that’s fun, relevant to today, inclusive, approachable rather than stuffy—that’s what Rowing Blazers is all about.”
Rowing Blazers x Target is, indeed, inclusive: Apparel ranges from XXS to 5X and is largely gender-neutral, and prices start at $5 with most items below $30. Clothing includes fall-friendly rugby shirts and crewnecks—two of the brand’s most popular offerings—plus jackets, pants, sweaters, and blazers. Elsewhere, you’ll find home essentials (like throw blankets and vases), sporty pieces (like footballs and mini Ping-Pong tables), and accessories that make great gifts for dog lovers (like rugby shirts for pups). You could live your entire life in the collection.
Don’t know where to start? Carlson recommends paying special attention to the outerwear, flower vase, game sets, and children’s clothing. (We also suggest making moves on the brand’s “Kindness” sweatshirt, mismatched letter patches, and at least one tote bag.) “I grew up going to Target all the time with my family,” he says. “This has been over a year in the making, and we are really excited to bring everyone into the Rowing Blazers world.”
With so many pieces to choose from—and so much competition to get them, if Target’s previous collaborations with Lilly Pulitzer, Sandy Liang, and Proenza Schouler serve as any indication—you’ll need to act fast to find the ones you want the most. Thankfully, we already went through the entire drop and picked our absolute favorite styles. Peruse them below, then take a peek at the entire Rowing Blazers x Target collection before it disappears for good.
Rowing Blazers x Target Clothing
Target x Rowing Blazers Adult “Kindness” Graphic Crewneck Sweatshirt
Rowing Blazers x Target Rugby Stripe Sweater
Rowing Blazers x Target Corduroy Collared Canvas Jacket
Target x Rowing Men’s Rose-Print Fleece Zip-Up Jacket
Rowing Blazers x Target Accessories
Target x Rowing Rugby Stripe Weekender Bag
Target x Rowing Corduroy Logo Baseball Hat
Rowing Blazers x Target Kids
Rowing Blazers x Target Toddler Duffle Coat
Target x Rowing Toddler Alphabet Print Crewneck Sweatshirt
Calling this “an extraordinary and distressing week,” Brand goes on in a video posted on social media to thank fans for their “support and for questioning the information that you have been presented with.” Watch the video below.
That information includes Brand being accused by four women of allegations ranging from rape to sexual assault via a bombshell joint investigation that has been nearly five years in the making from The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4. BBC, Channel 4 and Big Brother producer Banijay all reacted by launching investigations into historical allegations related to Brand’s work for them, while Brand was dropped by his agent and book publisher and postponed his live tour, along with seeing ads suspended on his 6.6M-subscriber YouTube channel.
Another complaint emerged late Thursday after a woman told the BBC that Brand had exposed himself to her and then laughed about it minutes later on his BBC radio show in 2008. Brand denies all criminal wrongdoing and says all relationships were consensual. All our coverage of this latest scandal can be found here.
Brand’s response Friday paints recent reports and the reactions thereto as an attempt by the British government, “big tech and legacy media organizations to target, patrol, choke and shut down independent media organizations, like this one.” He accuses “these organizations” of collaborating “in constructing narratives.”
He goes on to promote his online video show, asks viewers to “support” it and promises to delve into “the deep state … the military industrial complex … big pharma … media corruption and censorship.” Interestingly, the Get Him to the Greek star makes no specific reference to the many recent allegations or any promise to address them in detail on his show.
UPDATED with latest: The North American box office has been a challenge to track the past couple of years, first with movie theaters shuttering along with almost everything else due to the Covid pandemic, and then in 2023, just when thing were returning to normal, a pair of Hollywood strikes has further complicated studios’ release-date strategies.
Still, as of last weekend of August, the 2023 domestic box office is already past $6.6 billion in grosses, up 25% over the same frame a year ago, and there are still busy festival and holiday seasons to help boost awareness — and attendance.
Check out 2023’s latest U.S theatrical release date schedule for the major and specialty studios below and keep checking back for the latest updates.
In that work, listeners were offered short, droning chords, as well as polyphonic ensemble passages of whipsawing extended technique. But players within the quintet also diverged to present deliriously contrasting material: At one such juncture, while two parts held down a static pattern with a parched, brittle approach to sound production, the violinist Christopher Otto launched into sumptuously singing parlando.
At the end of the concert, the violist Yura Lee joined the JACK players and Nicolas to create a sextet for — deep breath — “Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics That Will Be Able to Present Itself as a Science.” At over 20 packed minutes, this struck me as one of the loveliest and most widely ranging chamber music pieces in Zorn’s considerable catalog.
In addition to moments of chromatic density, the work welcomed gently strummed early music melody into its soundscape. At another point, both cellists bowed doleful yet gorgeous patterns near the top of the necks of their instruments, close to the tuning pegs, collaborating on a slightly sour intonation that seemed in line with medieval tunings. Given this range, “Prolegomena” shares something with recent Zorn string quartets, like “The Alchemist,” which JACK has recorded with his other quartets (for a planned release on Tzadik in 2024).
In between the quintet and sextet came Zorn’s adaptation of “The Gas Heart.” This was Zorn in absurdist-opera mode. Here, the JACK cellist Jay Campbell and Nichols joined two percussionists — Sae Hashimoto and Ches Smith — to form the cast. Smith provided expertly swinging rhythms at a traditional kit, but also slurped water and appeared to be operating a device that played back giddy laughter; when not playing vibraphone or other pitched percussion, Hashimoto could be seen torturing a pillow with a long whip or sawing a wooden board.
The cello music — often smartly, subtly amplified — was sometimes grim and gravely, and produced by bowing below the bridge. But there were also delicate moments for the strings, often positioned in contrast to some of the wildness of the percussionists. This was all funny, as intended. Every bar, though, seemed as carefully deliberate as in the more obviously “profound” string music of “Prolegomena.”
And here may be a secret of Zorn’s longevity: A piece may tend comic or grave, but every moment is intensely felt.
UPDATED, 4:49 PM: In the wake of notching a shiny 82% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score with critics coming out of its Telluride Film Festival premiere, Saltburnfrom Oscar winning filmmaker Emerald Fennell is going a week earlier on Nov. 17, limited. MGM will then expand the film on Nov. 22 to take advantage of holiday moviegoers.
The wild ride film is a deconstruction of British upper-class society in which Barry Keoghan plays a young nerdy Oxford university student who befriends a much popular, and wealthier colleague, played by Jacob Elordi. Keoghan’s character is obsessed by him, and eventually spends a summer with the friend’s eccentric family at their countryside estate.
Read Baz’s conversation with Fennell at Telluride, where she called the film “personal” and that it’s “about needing and wanting and desire and sex.”
PREVIOUSLY, July 25: Amid all the noise about studios taking apart the fall and fourth-quarter release schedule over the SAG-AFTRA strike, here’s some good news: Amazon is taking its Emerald Fennell-directed movie Saltburn out on Black Friday, November 24, in New York and Los Angeles. Pic will expand December 1.
In the wake of releasing Ben Affleck’s Air in theaters over Easter (it opened to $20.2 million over five days stateside and made close to $90M worldwide), the streamer is going theatrical again, and that’s a big thing to applaud.
Amazon is excited about Fennell’s next big feature, which has a plot that’s under wraps (logline is it’s about an aristocratic family). The cast includes Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe and Carey Mulligan.
There’s speculation out there that Saltburn is heading to the Telluride Film Festival.
Fennell’s previous Mulligan-starring movie, Promising Young Woman, won the filmmaker the Original Screenplay Oscar in 2021 among five noms overall including Best Picture.
The tech world moves fast at this time of year, with big launch events piling up across September and early October. This week alone we had two major product reveals from Amazon and Microsoft, plus the arrival of assorted cameras and soundbars, and the little matter of Apple’s iPhone 15 range going on sale.
Keeping up with everything that happened would be a Herculean task unless you either work at TechRadar or visit the site regularly – in which case, well done. But for those of you who don’t check in quite so often, we have the solution right here.
Simply read on and we’ll inform you about Every. Single. Important. Thing that went down this week. And it was a lot.
9. Bose and Amazon’s new soundbars charmed us in different ways
Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar looks like a bargain buy (Image credit: Amazon)
There were two soundbar announcements at opposite ends of the spectrum this week. First, Amazon announced its Fire TV Soundbar, which is a simple stereo affair made for TVs between 32 and 55 inches, but for just $119 (UK and Australian pricing tbc) it could become the new default option for anyone who just needs to give their TV more pep. Plus, we have to assume it will get a major discount in the Black Friday deals; one to watch.
At the other end of things, Bose’s new Smart Ultra Soundbar features “AI” (a first in soundbars, we think) to analyze speech and make it clearer, while delivering huge Dolby Atmos from an all-in-one bar that could take down the Sonos Arc as the leader in that area.
8. The Nikon Zf took us back to the future
The Nikon Zf is a full-frame mirrorless camera (Image credit: Future)
If you love the film photography aesthetic, then the full-frame mirrorless Nikon Zf is the retro mirrorless camera you’ve been waiting for. A faithful reimagining of the iconic Nikon FM2 SLR, the Zf has lovely flourishes including brass dials that will weather with use, a threaded shutter button that accepts a cable release, and a new dedicated B&W mode.
There’s proper power inside that beautiful exterior, too, with Nikon’s latest processor, the same sensor as the one in the Z6 II for 24.5MP stills up to 30fps and intelligent autofocus. You also get Nikon’s best in-body image stabilization yet, including a world-first AI-assisted function – our hands-on Nikon Zf review unpacks all that. You might not need the Zf, but you’ll want it. Finally, there’s a proper Fujifilm alternative.
7. Amazon’s all-new Fire TV 4K Sticks get a big AI boost
The all-new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max (Image credit: Amazon )
Amazon’s September 2023 device event was awash with new devices – we counted 13 – but the arrival of two new better, faster, stronger and smarter streaming sticks caught our eyes.
The upgraded Fire TV Stick 4K ($49.99 / £59.99 / AU$79.99) and second-gen Fire TV Stick 4K Max ($59.99 / £69.99 / AU$119.99) are already available to buy, and both have had some AI-focused upgrades.
Thanks to a new LLM (Large Language Model) for Alexa, you’ll be able to access new intuitive features such as an Alexa-assisted search feature called Fire TV AI-powered Search, which will be able to recommend new movies and shows based on your watch history and with the help of IMDb. The idea is that you’ll be able to have a more casual conversation with Alexa that will be informed by your personal preferences.
Amazon has also added a new ‘Continue Watching’ row to the Fire TV interface and a new image generator called ‘AI Art’, where you can use prompts to make a custom piece of art. There are also plenty of new hardware features, including speedier connections, larger storage capacity and a whole suite of high-quality formats, including Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos. Now we just need to decide which one to get.
6. Netflix landed the rights to your next favorite crime thriller
Glen Powell in the movie Hit Man (Image credit: AGC Studios)
Netflix might be the world’s best streaming service, but its movie-based offerings can be extremely hit and miss. For every Extraction 2 or Nimona, there’s Your Place or Mine or Murder Mystery 2.
But there’s a new kid on the block that might worm its way onto our best Netflix movies list. Hitman, which has been helmed by acclaimed director Richard Linklater and which stars Top Gun: Maverick’s Glen Powell, has cemented itself as the streamer’s latest big movie. For one, it’s a crime thriller, which always makes for a good watch. However, it’s also achieved a near-perfect score on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Not bad going for a film that Netflix stumped up $20 million for – yes, you read that right – to acquire the exclusive rights to beam it onto our TVs.
5. Microsoft launched two new Surface laptops (and teased the Go 4)
The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Microsoft was in the news a lot this week, mainly thanks to the huge leak of future Xbox console plans, as well as the high-profile departure of Panos Panay, the charismatic (and yes, maybe a little annoying) face of Windows and Surface devices.
Oh, and it also held an event in New York City, and we were there to see what it had in store. Long story short: there’s a heck of a lot of AI (artificial intelligence) coming to Windows 11 next week, as part of the Windows 11 23H2 update on September 26.
We also got to see some new Surface devices – the Surface Laptop Go 3 and Surface Laptop Studio 2. Those weren’t the products many of us had been hoping for (hey Microsoft, where’s the Surface Pro 10?!), and it feels like Microsoft’s enthusiasm for Surface devices has waned a bit with the loss of Panay. That feeling wasn’t helped by Microsoft quietly launching a few other Surface products, such as the Surface Go 4, via press releases, rather than onstage at the event.
4. iOS 17 was a huge leap forward for your iPhone
iOS 17 is out now (Image credit: Apple)
Along with the new iPhone 15, Apple released iOS 17 to iPhone owners this week, and if you have a model that works with the new system, you really should give it a try.
Apple is the best phone maker for software updates, and iOS 17 proves it. It works with iPhones that are up to five years old, back to the iPhone XS, and it gives iPhones a whole new super power. For instance, your iPhone will now recognize another iPhone nearby and start sharing when you bring them together. You can share music, photos, almost anything. There are also important new safety features, and improvements all around. We highly recommend installing the new OS – after all, we described it as “a huge leap forward that will leave your Android friends behind” in our iOS 17 review – so check for the update on your iPhone now.
3. Amazon gave us a glimpse of an AI-powered Alexa
Amazon devices will soon get a much smarter Alexa (Image credit: Amazon)
Amazon’s Alexa assistant was probably one of the first interactions that many people had with AI – and it’s not always been a positive one. Helpful though it can be, Alexa’s robotic replies and inability to sometimes get what you’re really asking can lead to frustration.
That may be about to change. The headline reveal at Amazon’s September 2023 device event was an upgraded Alexa AI, designed to be far more natural than before. Its voice sounds more human, with greater emotion, and it should do a better job of understanding context.
Beyond that, the addition of new accessibility features, extra smart home skills, and even some rudimentary content creation abilities (eg. music production) should all add up to a much more useful smart assistant.
Alexa will also get some new bodies to inhabit, in the form of an Amazon Echo Pop Kids model, 3rd-gen Echo Show 8, an Echo Show 8 Photos Edition (essentially a smart photo frame), and the all-new Echo Hub. The latter is a wall-mounted device for controlling your smart home products, complete with customizable dashboard and support for the likes of Matter and Zigbee.
We don’t yet know when the upgraded Alexa will roll out to devices old and new – though it’s likely to be in 2024 – but we can’t wait to try it.
2. We gave our final verdicts on Apple’s iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Max
The iPhone 15 Pro Max left us seriously impressed (Image credit: Future / Apple)
“I reviewed these two phones that sit at the opposite ends of the iPhone spectrum and must say, there is across this lineup almost something for everyone.
“On the iPhone 15 side, the base model got one of its best upgrades and now shares the brightest screen, Dynamic Island and USB-C port (albeit a slower one) with all the more powerful models. Better yet, it’s got a great 48MP main camera and the powerful last-gen A16 Bionic.
“On the other end is the big, titanium iPhone 15 Pro Max. I love the look and feel and I’m especially impressed with the A17 Pro, a mobile CPU that can play the terrifying console game Resident Evil: Village. Of course, this 6.7-inch model also features Apple’s best cameras ever. The 5x zoom may not be all I wanted, but it’s quite good. In general, photography is excellent.
“These are worthy upgrades for iPhone fans, especially those that have been holding onto their aging iPhone 11, 12, and 13 models.”
1. Microsoft Copilot will soon become Windows 11’s AI brain
Windows 11 Copilot gives the OS a major AI makeover (Image credit: Future)
As we mentioned earlier, Microsoft’s big event this week focused a lot on AI, primarily in the form of Windows Copilot, which according to our US Editor in Chief, Lance Ulanoff, is like “if Clippy got a brain and body transplant that made it a true genius and then hooked it into the deepest parts of Windows 11.”
Lance was at the event, and got a chance to try out Windows Copilot for himself – and was suitably impressed. It integrates seamlessly with Windows 11, offering help and advice, all powered by AI. It helps you write, offer suggestions to spruce up documents, and can give you shopping advice when you’re looking to splash some cash. It’s certainly an ambitious tool, and it could radically change the way many of us use Windows 11. Thankfully, we don’t have long to wait to try it out, as it’ll come with a free update next week.
It’s now abundantly clear, both in sound and performance, that Tim is really among the best albums ever recorded…ex post facto. It’s the apex of the Mats, how they should have sounded, how they did sound, how they should be remembered sounding. As diverse as it is dynamic, Tim is full of diamond-sharp songs about the mess of young love, old love, loneliness, dead-end jobs, amphetamines, and alcohol. Rarely does a remix raise a crucial epistemological question about a small Midwestern rock band who would stumble through a bunch of pop and country covers if the audience asked them to play their “pussy set,” but here we are: Should this new remix be considered the real and definitive version of Tim?
Like the CIA one day revealing who really and definitively killed Kennedy, I’d argue it’s complicated. Here is the self-fulfilling prophecy of the Replacements: They were drunks and losers because their press releases said they were drunks and losers. So they wore the mask, played the clowns, and became lost in the version of themselves that got banned from SNL, didn’t play ball with the label, showed up wrecked to gigs, put out a mix of Tim that the band themselves didn’t much like, sabotaged their career at every turn, and by the late ’80s softly melted into a Westerberg solo project. Even if Westerberg thought he could be as big as the Beatles or the Rolling Stones—or even contemporaries who caught major label deals like R.E.M.—there was always some Midwestern fatalism dragging him down. He led a band caught in a perpetual cycle of fear, self-loathing, drinking, and destruction that amassed a cult fan base who loved them precisely because of this cycle. If you saw a Mats show, you knew they weren’t ever going to be superstars, but a part of you knew that the Mats were right and everyone else was wrong.
The reason this Let It Bleed Edition tastes bittersweet is not because of what should’ve been, but what could never have been. The box set—which also features a re-mastering of the original mix, demos from an aborted session with Westerberg’s hero, Big Star’s Alex Chilton, a pretty good live set recorded at Chicago’s Metro, and extensive liner notes from Mats biographer, archivist, and compatriot Bob Mehr—is another path not taken by a band defined by and loved for its wrong decisions. The Replacements were so innately talented and alluring that they should have been playing arenas and climbing the charts every year, but then they wouldn’t have been the Replacements. Tim, especially this remix of Tim, offers a painful glimpse at a butterfly effect, one where the Mats were maybe slightly more put-together, had a slightly larger audience, and Westerberg was slightly more recognized as one of the best songwriters of his generation.
A third straight day of marathon negotiations between Hollywood studios and striking screenwriters ended on Friday night without a deal. But the sides made substantial progress, according to three people briefed on the talks.
The sides plan to reconvene on Saturday.
The Friday session started at 11 a.m. Pacific time at the suburban Los Angeles headquarters of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of the major entertainment companies. For the third day in a row, several Hollywood moguls directly participated in the negotiations, which ended a little after 8 p.m.
Robert A. Iger, Disney’s chief executive; Donna Langley, NBCUniversal’s chief content officer of Universal Pictures; Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive of Netflix; and David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery had previously delegated bargaining with the union to others. Their direct involvement — which many screenwriters and some analysts said was long overdue — contributed to meaningful progress over the past few days, according to the people familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the diplomatic nature of the efforts.
During the Thursday negotiations, the sides had narrowed their differences, for instance, on the topic of minimum staffing for television show writers’ rooms, a point that studios had been unwilling to engage on before the guild called a strike in early May.
The Thursday session took a turn, however, after the sides agreed to take a short break at roughly 5 p.m., according to the people familiar with the talks. The executives and studio labor lawyers had expected guild negotiators to return to discuss points they had been working on earlier. Instead, the guild made additional requests — one being that a return to work by screenwriters be tied to a resolution of the actors’ strike.
The actors’ union, known as SAG-AFTRA, joined writers on picket lines on July 14. Its demands exceed those of the Writers Guild. Among other things, the actors want 2 percent of the total revenue generated by streaming shows, something that studios have said is a nonstarter.
Several hours after talks ended on Thursday night, the guild emailed its membership to say that the sides would meet on Friday.
“Your negotiating committee appreciates all the messages of solidarity and support we have received the last few days, and ask as many of you as possible to come out to the picket lines tomorrow,” the email said.
The guild extended picketing hours on Friday to 2 p.m. Pickets have typically ended at noon.
In Los Angeles, several hundred writers turned up to picket outside the arching Paramount Pictures gate, far more than in recent weeks. The Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA have been staging themed pickets to keep members engaged, and the theme on Friday happened to be “puppet day,” meaning that, in addition to picket signs, some marchers held felt hand puppets and marionettes. The mood was optimistic.
Outside Netflix’s Hollywood offices on Friday afternoon, picketing writers even began offering goodbye speeches, delivered via bullhorn. At the CBS lot in Studio City, the theme was “silent disco,” with several hundred writers dance-picketing while wearing headphones.
The talks were mostly back on track by the time picketing ended on Friday, according to two of the people familiar with the matter. On the sticky issue of minimum staffing for television shows, the sides were discussing a proposal in which at least four writers would be hired regardless of the number of episodes or whether a showrunner felt that the work could be done with fewer. (Earlier in the week, studios were pushing for a sliding number based on the number of episodes.)
They were also discussing a plan in which writers would for the first time receive payments from streaming services — in addition to other fees — based on a percentage of active subscribers. The guild had originally asked the entertainment companies to establish a viewership-based royalty payment (known in Hollywood as a residual) to “reward programs with greater viewership.”
The writers have been on strike for 144 days. The longest writers’ strike was 153 days in 1988.
“Thank you for the wonderful show of support on the picket lines today!” the guild’s negotiating committee said in an email to members late Friday. “It means so much to us as we continue to work toward a deal that writers deserve.”
A day after Lachlan Murdoch stepped up to take over as sole chairman of Fox Corp., the company is nominating two new members of its board of directors, according to a regulatory filing.
Exiting the board is Anne Dias, who expressed concerns over how the company’s right-leaning talk channel Fox News covered former President Trump in the days after the insurrection at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Dias, who runs an investment fund, and Jacques Nasser, a business executive and philanthropist, will finish their terms in November.
Peggy Johnson, chief executive of the technology company Magic Leap, and Tony Abbott, a former prime minister of Australia, are the nominees to replace Dias and Nasser. Shareholders will vote on the nominees at the company’s annual meeting to be held Nov. 17 on the Fox studio lot in Century City.
“I want to thank Anne Dias and Jacques Nasser for their years of service to the company and for their invaluable contributions to the Board and to Fox as a whole,” said Lachlan Murdoch in a statement. “I welcome Peggy Johnson and Tony Abbott’s nominations to the Board. They bring skills, experience and perspectives that will contribute to the Board and benefit Fox.”
Rupert Murdoch on Thursday announced his retirement as chairman of Fox and publishing company News Corp., which owns the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, after a 70-year career. Lachlan Murdoch, Rupert’s oldest son, will become sole chair of News Corp. and continue as executive chair and chief executive of Fox Corp.
Typically, board shuffles draw little public scrutiny, particularly with boards in family-controlled companies like Fox and News Corp. Rupert Murdoch and his family hold nearly 40% of the voting shares of Fox, giving them wide latitude to run the company as they see fit.
Dias, founder and chief executive of Aragon Global Management, urged Lachlan Murdoch to “take a stance” after the riot at the Capitol by Trump supporters who were upset about the results of the 2020 election. The violence led to the deaths of five people.
“Considering how important Fox News has been as a megaphone for Donald Trump, directly or indirectly, I believe the time has come for Fox News or for you, Lachlan, to take a stance,” Dias wrote in an email that was included in evidence for Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation case against Fox News. “It is an existential moment for the nation and for Fox News as a brand.”
“Just tell her we have been talking internally and intensely along these lines, and Fox News, which called the election correctly, is pivoting as fast as possible,” Rupert Murdoch replied. “We have to lead our viewers, which is not as easy as it might seem.”
Fox Corp. agreed to pay a $787.5-million settlement to Dominion in April. The voting software company claimed it was damaged by Fox News repeatedly presenting President Trump’s false charges of fraud in the 2020 election as a way to appease its audience.
The company faces a similar suit from Smartmatic, another voting equipment firm that said it was defamed in Fox News’ coverage. That suit is scheduled to go to trial in 2025.
Dias, who did not reply to a request for comment, was not the only board member to raise issues with the Murdochs regarding Fox News.
Rupert Murdoch and son Lachlan Murdoch pictured in 2017 at Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference.
(Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
Fox Corp. board member Paul Ryan, former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, repeatedly pleaded with the Murdochs to “stop spouting election lies” on Fox News after the 2020 election. Ryan was deposed in the Dominion case.
Ryan is nominated for another term on the board.
New York City’s pension fund is suing Fox Corp. and its board on grounds that the company neglected its duty to shareholders by allowing Fox News to broadcast falsehoods, making it vulnerable to defamation lawsuits.
Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy took to Instagram to share a photo of himself, and stars Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds sharing a meal together:
Shawn Levy
The caption on Levy’s post reads: “Three amigos waiting to shoot again…”
Indeed, production on Deadpool 3 is currently paused and will not resume until SAG-AFTRA reaches a new agreement with the AMPTP. The film was reportedly seven weeks into photography when the work stoppage commenced.
Will Deadpool 3 Get Delayed?
Will Marvel Studios push back Deadpool 3 due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes, as it has done with several other MCU projects? Put simply, the movie still has a fair chance of retaining its current release date if the strikes end soon.
Presently, the Writers Guild of America is once again in discussion with the studios. Talks have continued throughout the week with some apparent signs of progress being reported.
Only after a potential deal is agreed upon with the WGA, will the AMPTP reopen negotiations with the actors’ guild. Some in the industry are optimistic that everything could be back on track as early as October, but this is not currently set in stone.
Grey’s Anatomy is one of the longest-running TV shows of all time and was already renewed for a 20th season. This is a medical drama series, which premiered in 2005 and is aired on ABC. The plot revolves around Meredith Gray, who is a resident at Seattle Grace Hospital. There, she must interact with various interns, attendings, and residents through both personal and professional situations.
The success of this TV show has allowed the creation of several spin-offs. In addition, each season has been unique and has captured the public in its own particular way. So, below, you can see a list of all its seasons in order from worst to best:
19 Season 19
ABC
This is the most recent season that Grey’s Anatomy aired, and it marks another turning point in the story. Meredith Grey movies to Boston mid-season, which became somewhat shocking to the audience. In this season, Meredith takes over running the hospital temporarily and recruits new residents, including Lucas, Benson, and Simone. Link and Jo become closer, while characters like Bailey, Teddy, Owen, and Nick experience compromising arcs on a personal and professional level.
18 Season 18
ABC
This season follows the events of the hospital members after the COVID crisis. Meredith survives the disease and is on a mission to get her life in order. Owen and Teddy decide to move forward in their relationship, which is going very well. Winston and Maggie return from their honeymoon, although they have to face new challenges. Jo is also adjusting to her new challenge as an OB/GYN resident, while Bailey continues to run the hospital.
17 Season 17
ABC
This season of Grey’s Anatomy is unique compared to the others, as the hospital deals with the problems of the COVID-19 pandemic. Grey Sloan becomes a COVID treatment center, and all the doctors get caught up in this disaster. In fact, Meredith contracts the disease while Bailey continues to run the hospital’s management in the midst of the pandemic.
After Alex’s departure, Jo adopts a baby and becomes closer to Jackson. Andrew begins taking medication for his mental health issues, Teddy goes through a very rough arc, and Link and Amelia try to find their footing as new parents.
16 Season 16
ABC
This season follows the story of Alex, Richard, and Meredith, after they were fired from the hospital. The protagonist went to jail and had to undergo a trial to defend her medical license. This was one of the most striking plots for the audience in these last seasons. Tom, Teddy, and Owen are involved in a love triangle, while Teddy must deal with her motherhood issues. Jo must also see her psychiatric treatment.
15 Season 15
ABC
This season starts off revolving around a storm, which hits the hospital and knocks out the power. This is a new crisis for all the doctors to deal with. Meredith is confused about whether to stay with Andrew or Link. In the end, she decides to get involved in a slow relationship with Andrew.
Ben and Bailey experience difficulties in their marriage due to Bailey’s mental illness. Jo and Alex are newlyweds, and the latter becomes the Acting Chief of Surgery. However, everything gets complicated, as they begin to evaluate the possibility of having a baby, but Jo has a special condition, which changes everything.
14 Season 14
ABC
After the hospital fire incident, Bailey is on a mission to renovate the hospital. Meredith succeeds in developing a surgical technique, which could revolutionize the world of medicine. This allows her to be nominated for the Harper Avery Award, which, in turn, could save the hospital’s reputation. Grey Sloan ends up at risk, as Avery’s reputation crosses a conflict after her death.
Jo and Alex end up reconciling to get married at the end of the season, while Amelia and Owen end up separating. As for Ben, he decides to become a firefighter, while Teddy gets pregnant, and April and Matthew consolidate their marriage.
13 Season 13
ABC
In this season, Owen and Amelia get married, although an incident occurs mid-celebration. Meanwhile, Jackson and April must deal with raising their new baby, even though the two are separated. Alex has an intense arc with Andrew, as he believes the latter wants to interfere in his relationship with Jo. Thisends in Alex being charged with a felony.
Bailey faces her own challenges, while Meredith begins to have an attraction to Nathan. However, Maggie also has feelings for the latter, which becomes a complicated situation for all three of them.
12 Season 8
ABC
Derek and Meredith are suffering problems with their marriage, as are Cristina and Owen. The residents pass their boards and have to deal with offers to work in other hospitals, although April does not, and is fired by Owen. Lexie and Mark try to maintain a cordial friendship, while the latter dates a surgeon from another hospital, whom Lexie hates, and Ben proposes to Bailey.
The season finale is one of the most shocking of the entire story, due to the fact that several characters were flying in a plane, which crashed in a forest. Derek and Arizona end up with possible loss of limbs, while Cristina and Meredith are also injured. Mark suffers from a heart condition and Lexie is crushed to death.
11 Season 9
ABC
During this season, Meredith must move on with her life after the death of her sister. She ends up pregnant by Derek and at the end of the season, she has her baby. Cristina divorces Owen, and they deal with several conflicts as a couple after this, to finally leave their relationship. Sadly, Mark Sloan died 30 days after the accident after falling into a coma.
The characters who were in the plane crash face a trial, while Dr. Avery becomes the almost total owner of the hospital. This meant a change in the hospital’s policies. The hospital is renamed Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital in honor of those who died in the plane crash.
10 Season 7
ABC
In this season of Grey’s Anatomy, everyone is trying to get back to their lives after the shooting, so Andrew Perkins, a psychologist, shows up to rehabilitate the entire staff. Meredith must work up the courage to confess her miscarriage to Derek while Cristina must face her upcoming wedding to Owen. As for Alex, he tries to deal with his trauma with the elevators.
Derek resigns as Chief of Surgery, and other characters suffer deep sentimental arcs. Mark with Lexie, plus Arizona and Callie, along with Bailey, who still has traumatic memories from last season’s incident, have intense storylines.
9 Season 12
ABC
This is considered one of the best seasons of the whole story according to the audience because many changes can be observed. First, Meredith must try to find her balance between the professional world, her responsibility as a mother of three children, and the absence of the love of her life, who died last season. Plus, Meredith must work with one of the doctors responsible for Derek’s death.
Bailey becomes the person in charge of the hospital and must struggle with this responsibility, in addition to maintaining her marriage. Callie and Arizona also suffer an intense arc, while Jackson and April get divorced.
8 Season 11
ABC
First, we have Meredith dealing with the fact that she discovers that Maggie, who has just arrived at the hospital, is her half-sister. This season is listed as one of the saddest, as Derek dies in a car accident, which is a hard blow for Meredith and the audience.
Arizona and Callie try to rescue their marriage, while Jackson and April have a son, who dies moments after birth. Alex and Meredith’s friendship grows a little stronger, although Alex’s girlfriend Jo has problems with this.
7 Season 10
ABC
In this season, Alex gets to reconnect with his father, although the latter dies from a failed surgery. Alex initiates a love interest with Jo. Richard almost dies when he is electrocuted, while Heather dies this way when she finds him.
Cristina suffers a professional failure, as she loses an award for which she was nominated. Derek and Callie team up with the White House to work on a new project. Also, something that saddened fans was that Cristina left the cast at the end of the season.
6 Season 6
ABC
During this season of Grey’s Anatomy, all the members of the hospital try to get over George’s death. Izzie lives, but ends up with a fractured marriage, so, in the end, she divorces Alex. Cristina continues her relationship with Owen, although it’s in danger, due to the arrival of Teddy, who is an old friend of the latter.
As for Meredith, she moves forward in her relationship with Derek, who becomes the new Chief of Surgery, and they agree to have a child. At the end of the season, when she learns she’s pregnant, she suffers a miscarriage, due to the fact that the widower of a hospital patient enters armed and a massacre ensues. This marks one of the most intense season finales of the entire series.
5 Season 5
ABC
The fifth season of the TV show is one of the most intense of all because it marks a turning point in several storylines. First, the characters continue their lives as hospital residents, while Meredith and Derek start living together. Alex and Izzie begin a new relationship and Izzie is diagnosed with cancer.
George is also conflicted about his professional life, as he tries to study to pass his residency test, but also has the desire to become a doctor in the military. Finally, a disfigured man who has been run over arrives at the hospital, and it’s discovered that this is George. The season with him passing away and Izzie, who dies briefly from cancer while her companions try to resuscitate her, debating between life and death.
4 Season 4
ABC
In this season, Izzie, Alex, Meredith, and Cristina pass their final test to become residents. They’ll now have to work with their interns, while George, having failed, will have to repeat this program, and will be with Meredith.
The characters will have to deal with personal situations, such as Cristina after her breakup with Burke. In addition, Meredith and Derek ended their relationship, and the protagonist will also begin a very uncomfortable and intense arc with Lexie, her half-sister on her father’s side.
3 Season 1
ABC
This is the season that started the whole story of Grey’s Anatomy and is considered one of the best because it catapulted the success of the TV show from its very first episode. Here, Meredith Gray is introduced as she becomes a new intern at Seattle Grace Hospital. There, she must interact with various professionals, both inside and outside the hospital, as well as deal with many challenges and surprises.
She begins working directly with Dr. Miranda Bailey and also interacts with other interns at the hospital, such as Cristina, George, Izzie, and Alex. Likewise, she’ll maintain a romantic relationship with Derek, and other relevant characters in this season’s story are doctors Richard and Preston. This season received several nominations in awards such as the Golden Globes and Primetime Emmy.
2 Season 3
ABC
This season is also considered one of the best among the viewers and marks an important point in the entire story. Here, the interns continue to balance the demands of the medical field with their private lives. At the same time, it addresses the focus of the first season, which dealt with the beginning of this project on each character within the hospital, along with the second season, which dealt more with their private lives and backgrounds.
The interns will have to fulfill their last phase of the program and will have to face new challenges while growing professionally. Something that also added a unique touch to this season was the introduction of Mark, who is an antagonist in Derek’s eyes.
1 Season 2
ABC
The second season of this series follows the events of Meredith and her fellow interns, both inside and outside the hospital. It’s possible to see how they try to balance their personal and professional lives, although the focus of these chapters is more on the background of each one.
Some of the most interesting arcs are that of Izzie relating to patient Denny, and the love triangle between Meredith, Addison, and Derek. It’s also considered the best season of Grey’s Anatomy, due to the fact that it obtained the highest rating and both the TV show and its actors received multiple nominations and awards.
Payday 3 had its full launch on September 21, 2023, and in the 29 hours or so since, it’s only been playable for a handful of hours. High ping and matchmaking issues have been plaguing players hoping to jump in for some bank heist action, only to be met with errors and ‘Waiting for Match’ on an endless loop. And they’ve had enough, storming onto social media to vent their frustrations in droves.
Sites like Twitter (X) and Reddit are awash with complaints and memes from those who can’t access Payday 3. “The servers need a medic bag,” one person commented on a meme with 3.2k upvotes on Reddit. “Worst launch ever,” another wrote. “Incompetent devs.”
The Payday 3 team has addressed the matchmaking errors on the official Payday Twitter (X) account, telling players that they’re actively trying to fix the situation. “We’re seeing an increase of matchmaking issues, the team is investigating,” they wrote at 9:11 AM PT on September 22. They later followed up less than an hour later with, “We’re now seeing all platforms unable to matchmake, the team is working hard to restore functionality.”
Two hours after that, another follow-up was posted. “The team is still working on the current matchmaking service outage, hoping to have a more positive update soon,” they said. At the time of writing, Payday 3 is still experiencing matchmaking errors.
The team is still working on the current matchmaking service outage, hoping to have a more positive update soon.
Despite having a solo mode, Payday 3 is an “always online” game, meaning that players must have access to an internet connection to be able to play. This also means that whenever the game experiences issues server-side, it affects both solo and multiplayer modes.
Whether developer Starbreeze Studios will add in the ability to play solo mode offline to prevent total outages like this from happening in the future remains to be seen. Prima Games has reached out to Starbreeze for comment.
About the Author
Meg Bethany Koepp
Meg was a video games journalist in the UK for seven years before moving to the US and eventually becoming Managing Editor at Prima Games in May 2022. When she’s not working, you can find her playing her ASUS ROG Ally, training Pokémon, or trailblazing through the galaxy in Honkai: Star Rail. You can contact Meg at [email protected].
This post was written by Meagan Keane and originally appeared on Adobe blog on Jun. 14, 2023.
The film follows Genevieve (Mika Sundwall) as she navigates a pivotal year filled with painful memories of a tragic school shooting that took her boyfriend’s life. As graduation approaches, Genevieve finds herself grappling with difficult life decisions to make. Hannah Peterson, who also wrote and edited the film, used Adobe Creative Cloud to capture the somber and vulnerable atmosphere of a community coping with loss.
Hannah shares, “These were the best products for me to use because they allowed for easy collaboration with my assistant editor and producers.” We spoke with Hannah about her filmmaking background, her tips and inspiration, as well as her editing process for The Graduates prior to its June 10th premiere. Read on for more details.
Can you tell us about your experience as a filmmaker and how you got started in the industry?
I moved to Los Angeles to get my MFA in film directing at CalArts and it was there that I met Sean Baker who came to speak as a guest artist. The Florida Project was the very first feature film set I was on, and it was hugely influential to me. For my thesis film, I took many things out of the pages of what I learned on that film, including the fact that he wrote, directed, and edited the film (on Premiere Pro). After I graduated, I was able to work with Chloé Zhao on Nomadland and I think I really came of age as an artist in making this film and also got to meet many of my future collaborators on set. Chloé also writes, directs and edits so when it came to my own feature film it was no surprise that this was what I wanted to do too.
How and where did you first learn to edit?
I first learned to edit on a rudimentary level when I lived in Kenya and made video content for a nonprofit organization. I taught myself how to edit on I-movie and it was a very intuitive process. Later I took an editing class at CalArts and learned through osmosis of my peers. Then I continued to learn by trial and error, editing my short films, asking friends, reading online tutorials, etc.
How do you begin a project/set up your workspace?
I rely on an assistant editor and a media manager to help me set up a workspace. Typically footage is labeled with scene numbers and takes. I watch through everything, look through my notes from set, and slowly begin to assemble it together.
Tell us about a favorite scene or moment from this project and why it stands out to you.
From an editing perspective, I really enjoyed working on the party scene where Ben and Genevieve have a confrontation and Genevieve leaves the party. It was my first time editing a party scene, and I really enjoyed the scope of it. There was so much choreography with the camera and the perspectives of the characters. It was also a moment that I was really proud of the performances by Alex Hibbert and Mina Sundwall and in that way, it was just such a delight to be able to work with the footage to build the tension and emotion that really stands out in this otherwise subtle film where the characters are internalizing much of what they are feeling.
What were some specific post-production challenges you faced that were unique to your project? How did you go about solving them?
I had to rewrite and restructure the film in the edit. I can say this because I also wrote the film, there was a lot that worked on the page that didn’t necessarily work in the edit. The script was structured almost as literary in that the characters were separated into chapters. However, I found very quickly in the edit, that all three main characters needed to be there from the beginning. As a result, I pulled much of the third act up top and had to find the rhythm of the film in a whole new way. It was overwhelming at first, but ultimately it was my favorite challenge of the filmmaking process because It was such an act of discovery and required so much flexibility and openness to find.
What Adobe tools did you use on this project and why did you originally choose them? Why were they the best choice for this project?
I used Premiere Pro, as well as Frame.io, Media Encoder, and After Effects. These were the best products for me to use because they allowed for easy collaboration with my assistant editor and producers.
Do you use Frame.io as part of your workflow? If so, how do you use it and why did you choose it?
Yes! We uploaded all of our dailies and proxies onto Frame.io and then used it as a hub to send cuts for review to different collaborators including producers, our composer, and sound designer.
If you could share one tip about Premiere Pro, what would it be?
Learn the keyboard shortcuts.
Who is your creative inspiration and why?
Really everything that I do in my work is informed by the experiences I had on the sets of Sean Baker and Chloé Zhao. Their filmmaking processes and modes of production are very much in dialogue with each other and taught me early on how to radically rethink traditional ways of making films. Both of them are writer-director-editors and it takes an enormous commitment and openness to approach a film in that way, it’s something I aspire to, and feel really lucky that on my first feature film, I was given the opportunity to do that.
What’s the toughest thing you’ve had to face in your career and how did you overcome it? What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or content creators?
The toughest aspect of being an artist to me, is the perseverance it takes. There are long and arduous periods where it feels like there is no forward motion and it is just not a very linear path. Some of the best advice I received and found useful was to just keep doing it — editing, writing, whatever it is. It takes a lot of practice to do something well and it’s those periods when no one is watching that it’s most important to just keep practicing, refining your craft, and finding your voice.
Share a photo of where you work. What’s your favorite thing about your workspace and why?
This home and office used to belong to a friend of mine who is an immensely gifted producer, and I really think that she left a lot of that creative energy in this space. This might be totally superstitious, but I try to restrict the space to purely generative work and then I protect it, if I want to go on the internet or use my phone I go elsewhere. As a result, every time I walk into it, I feel it buzzing. I keep the walls empty because I am easily distracted, but the Tyler Hays jigsaw puzzle above my desk is perfectly reflective of the creative process for me, so it made the cut.
This post was written by Meagan Keane and originally appeared on Adobe blog on Jun. 14, 2023.
The nonpartisan nonprofit Vote.org saw a spike in voter registration, thanks to Taylor Swift.
The organization said it had 157,041 eligible voters visit the site on Tuesday, which was National Voter Registration Day, as well as 35,252 new registrations.
This came after the Grammy-winning singer took to her Instagram Stories that morning, which has 272 million followers, to encourage her fans to register to vote using Vote.org. She wrote at the time, “Are you registered to vote yet? I’ve been so lucky to see so many of you guys at my US shows recently. I’ve heard you raise your voices, and I know how powerful they are. Make sure you’re ready to use them in our elections this year! Register to vote in less than 2 minutes at vote.org/NVRD.”
The organization said it not only saw record-breaking traffic it its site, making it the largest National Voter Registration Day since 2020, but it also saw a 72 percent increase in 18-year-olds registering compared to 2019 and a 115 percent increase compared to 2022.
“Time and time again young people are showing up and demonstrating they care about their rights and access to the ballot box,” said Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org. “During the day on Tuesday we saw a 1226% jump in participation the hour after Taylor Swift posted. Our site was averaging 13,000 users every 30 minutes – a number that Taylor Swift would be proud of.”
This isn’t the first time the “Cruel Summer” singer has directed her Swifties to register to vote or talked about the importance of casting a ballot.
In 2018, she also posted on her social media, urging her followers to register in a politically charged post, in which she also endorsed two Democratic candidates. At that time, Vote.org also saw a sizable increase in registrations.
The film is in competition for the New Directors Award. Starring acclaimed Japanese actor Nagase Masatoshi (“Sweet Bean”) and newcomer Shirata Mihaya, the film follows a teenage girl (Shirata) with a special ability to communicate with the spiritual world as she goes on a road trip from Singapore to Japan. On arrival, she is chaperoned by a cynical uncle (Nagase) to uncover the mystery of her strange dreams and her mother’s disappearance years ago. Tsutsui Mariko (“Harmonium,” “A Girl Missing”), Peter Yu (“A Land Imagined”) feature in supporting roles.
The feature is presented by Jeremy Chua’s Potocol (Singapore), Shozo Ichiyama’s Fourier Films (Japan), Studio Virc (Slovenia) and Happy Infinite Productions (Philippines), executive produced by Jermyn Wong and Sally Ng in co-production with Nocturne Films (Singapore), Purple Tree Content (Singapore), Fire and Ice (Philippines), Hello Group (Singapore), KawanKawan Media (Indonesia) and cogitoworks (Japan) in association with Prism Pictures (Japan) and True Colour Media (Singapore).
The cinematography was provided by Woodford’s regular collaborator, Hideho Urata, who shot Golden Leopard winner “A Land Imagined” and “Plan 75.”
Chua said: “By soulfully exploring the aftermath of an apocalyptic event, the film examines how trauma leaves an indelible mark on its survivors that ripple onto close family relationships. Crafting evocative atmospheres and elemental textures as metaphors for hauntings, hallucinations and dreams, the director delicately weaves the supernatural and the lyrical into a mystical road trip for the senses.”
Woodford’s shorts include “Permanent Resident” (Clermont-Ferrand, 2017) and “For We Are Strangers” (Busan, 2015). She directs commercials at Eric Khoo’s Zhao Wei Films. Her episode of their HBO Asia horror series “Folklore” premiered at the series section of Tokyo Film Festival in 2021.
Woodford said: “The story was inspired by a conversation I had with my Japanese grandmother after she suffered a stroke. She told me she had missed the train that very morning of the Hiroshima atomic blast and narrowly escaped death. This near miss encounter changed her perspective on life and she decided to leave Japan. Knowing this helped me understand how she moved on despite encountering trauma. I became interested to explore trauma as a cyclic undercurrent that recurs throughout life with repercussions on a person and the others connected to them.”
The film is supported by the Singapore Film Commission, TorinoFilmLab, Creative Europe – MEDIA Program for the European Union, Slovenian Film Centre, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, Purin Pictures, National Arts Council Young Artist Award Grant, Talents Tokyo Next Masters Support Program, Kongchak Studios, White Light Post, VS Service and Crew United.
The project was developed at TorinoFilmLab’s FeatureLab, SEAFIC Southeast Asian Fiction Lab & Produire au Sud, Talents Tokyo, SGIFF Southeast Asian Film Lab and marketed at Busan Asian Project Market, European Work In Progress Cologne and Udine Far East In Progress.
The 71st San Sebastian Film Festival runs Sept. 22-30.
After three days of robust talks, the Writers Guild and the AMPTP are heading into the weekend without a deal, just as hopes were at their highest that an end to the writers strike could finally be in sight.
IndieWire has learned that talks have ended for the day late on Friday around 8:45, with “good progress” made, but the expectation is there’s still much to complete.
The WGA said in a statement to members that negotiations will continue on Saturday.
But the mood around town is noticeably more optimistic about progress being made than even a week ago. Back then, the two sides looked like they were at a crossroads; both sides felt like the other owed them a response. Now, on the 144th day of the writers strike, there’s still no tentative agreement, but the two sides have shared joint statements about negotiation updates, meetings are running long, and it at least feels like things are in the final stretch.
When the WGA last week requested a meeting with the AMPTP to resume formal conversations, the media did not anticipate that CEOs Bob Iger, Donna Langley, David Zaslav, and Ted Sarandos would be there to join them in the room. Sources have confirmed to IndieWire that the studio chiefs have been present through all three days of talks. They even stayed late on Thursday until around 7:30 p.m. PT when excitement, speculation, and rumors around town were at their highest that a late night deal could be finalized.
That didn’t happen, and the WGA later told members to continue to be out on the picket lines in full force on Friday. And they delivered, with bigger crowds and positive energy across town.
“Your Negotiating Committee appreciates all the messages of solidarity and support we have received the last few days, and ask as many of you as possible to come out to the picket lines tomorrow,” the negotiating committee wrote to members late Thursday.
A report in Variety said that the studios did make an offer that would provide a success-based residual and would offer more data transparency to creators, but specific wording on streaming residuals were among the hold ups in talks.
Part of the anticipation that a deal could get done was fueled by a CNBC report that said a deal would happen on Thursday, with a warning that if it didn’t happen then, the strike could last through the winter. A similar Fox Business report followed, though that one got mocked when the writer accidentally tagged the parody Carol Lombardini account on Twitter.
The language in the CNBC report, several writers IndieWire spoke with said, sounded like a blatant tactic to put pressure on the WGA, like Lucy again pulling the proverbial football away from Charlie Brown. Other sources also felt the enthusiasm for a deal was overstated, with one saying early Thursday they would’ve been surprised if a deal got done that soon, while others said the hype was “over skis” or was just a rumor.
There’s also the factor that the WGA wants a full contract with details ironed out before anything is formally announced, rather than merely announce tentative deal terms. The idea is to ensure there are no loopholes of the kind the guild previously said were not “good enough.“
Additional reporting by Tony Maglio.
A previous version of this story said negotiations would continue after the weekend.
Brian Austin Green competed with pro dancer Sharna Burgess during season 30 of Dancing With the Stars. In a unique twist for the show, Brian’s partner on the dance floor was actually his girlfriend. Ever since Brian and Sharna got together in 2020, their relationship has made headlines, and they got more serious than ever amidst their DWTS journey. Today, they’re parents of one son together, plus a blended family, and they’re set to walk down the aisle after Brian proposed on his 50th birthday!
Of course, Sharna is not the first woman who Brian has romanced in the public eye. Learn more about his past girlfriends and spouses below:
Tiffani Thiessen
Brian Austin Green and Tiffani Thiessen during their ‘90210’ days. (Bei/Shutterstock)
Brian dated Tiffani Thiessen from 1992 until 1995. The two were already an item when Tiffani landed her role on Brian’s show, Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1994. They were introduced by a mutual friend, and although Tiffani was a bit hesitant about taking the role, she said she and Brian were able to “make it work.” In 2015, she also revealed that she and her ex are “still very close and good friends.” Brian and Tiffani also lived together during their relationship.
“We started dating well before she was doing the show,” Brian explained on a podcast in 2020. “That was a weird time. She came on the show and we broke up not too long after that. I’m not blaming the show, but sort of blaming the show. It was strange. That was the first relationship that I had been in, with Tiffani. I was a kid.” After Brian and Tiffani broke up in real life, though, their characters on 90210 started dating. “We went through a whole period in our personal lives of trying to distance ourselves from each other as much as possible, but then still seeing each other every day at work,” Brian recalled.
Vanessa Marcil
Brian Austin Green and Vanessa Marcil together before their split. (Bei/Shutterstock)
Brian met Vanessa Marcil after she landed a role on Beverly Hills, 90210 in the late 90s. They started dating in 1999 and got engaged in July 2001. The pair’s son, Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green, was born in March 2002, and they were planning to tie the knot after his birth. However, they eventually broke up in 2003 instead.
Unfortunately, things weren’t always great for Vanessa and Brian after their breakup. In 2018, Vanessa publicly slammed Brian, claiming that he and then-wife Megan Fox had cut Kassius out of their lives amidst a custody battle. She said that Megan and Brian had previously attempted to gain full custody of Kassius, but when Vanessa was awarded the joint custody that she asked for, Brian allegedly stopped contacting his oldest son. “Five years ago, on their own, they decided to completely cut Kass out of their lives and his younger brothers’ lives,” Vanessa claimed at the time. “He has only seen his dad in passing or in public places.” However, by 2019, Kassius was seen hanging out with his dad, and Vanessa revealed in Sept. 2020 that Brian was back in their son’s life.
Still, things remained tense between Vanessa and Brian. That same month, she answered a fan question about why she always “speaks so poorly” about Brian on social media. “I just speak the truth now at my son’s request in order to help my son heal and not shoulder these secrets anymore,” she said. “If his father’s actions reflect poorly on him, that is his doing. Not mine. I speak with empathy regarding Kassius’ dad considering the complete devastation that my son went through.” She added, “If you look back at our history, his father publicly tried to slander me, lie about me, shame me as a working mother and take full custody of myself. I never commented. He admits this now. He’s lucky that I don’t “speak poorly” about him after what he put our innocent boy through.”
Regardless of everything that happened in the past, though, Vanessa seemed to be supportive of Brian during his Dancing With the Stars debut. Kassius attended the premiere in person to support his father, and Vanessa posted a photo of the teenager headed to the studio. “Headed to see dad,” she wrote. “#TeamGreen.”
Megan Fox
Brian Austin Green and Megan Fox attend a red carpet event together. (Rob Latour/Shutterstock)
Megan Fox is Brian’s most well-known relationship. The two got together after meeting on the set of Hope & Faith in 2004. At the time, Brian was 30 and Megan was just 18. The actress later admitted that he was hesitant about the age difference at first, but she was able to convince him that there was more to her than just being a teenager. Brian proposed to Megan in 2006, but they called off the engagement three years later in 2009.
However, by June 2010, the exes ended their separation and announced that they were engaged once again. Just days later, they tied the knot in Hawaii. The pair’s first son, Noah, was born in Sept. 2012, followed by another son, Bodhi, in Feb. 2014. Unfortunately, their relationship hit another roadblock in 2015 when they split once again. Megan even filed for divorce in August of that year. By early 2016, though, the two were back together and expecting their third child. Another son, Journey, was born in Aug. 2016, and Megan dismissed the divorce filing in April 2019.
Then, in the spring of 2020, Megan began sparking romance rumors with Machine Gun Kelly, who she met on a movie set. After she starred in his May 2020 music video, Brian confirmed that he and Megan had once again separated. She filed for divorce again in Nov. 2019.
While Brian and Megan have made co-parenting work since their split, there has been at least one instance of public tension. On Halloween 2020, Brian posted a photo that included the pair’s son, Journey, on Instagram. Megan has always been adamant about keeping her children out of the public eye until they can decide if they want to be in the spotlight themselves, so this rubbed her the wrong way. “Why does Journey have to be in this picture?” she asked. “It’s not hard to crop them out. Or choose photos that they aren’t in. I know you love your kids, but I don’t know why you can’t stop using them to post via Instagram. You’re so intoxicated with feeding the pervasive narrative that I’m an absent mother, and you are the perennial, eternally dedicated dad of the year. You hav them half the time. Congratulations you are a truly remarkable human! Why do you need the Internet to echo back to you what should be inexhaustibly evident in the way you r children love you?”
Courtney Stodden
Brian Austin Green and Courtney Stodden were briefly linked in 2020. (Beretta/Sims/Rob Latour/Shutterstock)
Just over a month after Brian confirmed his split from Megan, he was photographed out on a lunch date with Courtney Stodden, who is 21 years younger than him. Amidst their rumored romance, Courtney was also pictured wearing Brian’s hat, and she shared a video on Instagram of the two of them cozying up in a hot tub together. However, it appeared that Courtney and Brian had different ideas of what they wanted from each other, and things turned publicly sour between them very quickly.
“Brian wanted me to remain his little secret,” Courtney claimed in July 2020, while also referring to the actor as a “womanizer.” She said that other woman had told her that Brian was also seeing them amidst the pair’s fling. Meanwhile, Brian claimed that the hot tub video was just taken as a favor for one of Courtney’s friends. “I was just trying to be a nice guy and I shot a video for her friend Ashley, saying hello,” he explained. He also said that Courtney posted the video online a month after it was actually filmed, which led to false reports about the pair’s relationship status at the time. “I think she’s a nice person, I just think she’s making some bad choices,” Brian admitted.
In August 2020, he opened up about his regrets from his time with Courtney, as well, due to her past (Courtney famously married a 51-year-old man when she was just 16). “I remember when I hung out with Courtney getting a call from somebody afterward saying, ‘I saw pictures of you and Courtney Stodden,’ and I was like, ‘How do you know her name?’” he said. “I had done no research at all. It wasn’t until I was told who this person is [that I realized, this is what you might experience. Then you have that moment of “oh s***, what have I done?” I wish I would have known beforehand.” However, he added that she was “a really nice person” who he “didn’t want to bad mouth,” either.
Tina Louise
Brian Austin Green and Tina Louise dated for about a month in 2020. (Rob Latour/MediaPunch/Shutterstock)
Around the same time that BAG was linked to Courtney, he also started spending time with Tina Louise, who is an Australian model. Brian and Tina were first seen together in public at the end of June. On the very same day that paparazzi caught them together, Courtney shared the hot tub video on Instagram, which Brian later said was a “calculated” move on her part. Tina and Brian’s first date came on the very same day that they met in person, and took place at Tina’s vegan restaurant, Sugar Taco.
Over the next several weeks, Brian and Tina spent quite a bit of time together, and were photographed packing on the PDA on more than one occasion. However, things fizzled out pretty quickly, and they split after one month of dating. In August 2020, Brian opened up about how he actually met both Courtney and Tina via Instagram. “All of a sudden I started getting DMs when Megan and I separated,” the 48-year-old explained. “I would get these DMs, and when you’re going through something like that and you’re hurting, you feel better when it seems like somebody is taking your side.”
Sharna Burgess
Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess for ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ (ABC)
Brian and Sharna were first linked at the end of 2020, just one month after Megan officially filed for divorce. The two were photographed heading on a post-Christmas vacation together in December. Just a couple of weeks later, Brian opened up about his relationship with Sharna for the first time. “She’s amazing, super responsible and super sweet,” he gushed. “She’s caring, passionate and fun to be around. I feel blessed right now.” At the time, he admitted that he and Sharna hadn’t put a “label” on their relationship yet, but said they met through their mutual business manager.
By mid-January, Brian and Sharna had gone Instagram official. In February, she publicly gushed over him for the first time in an interview, and also threw some praise Megan’s way. “He and his wife — uh, ex-wife — have raised three beautiful children,” Sharna said. “And they are so wonderful and sweet and kind and considerate. They’ve done such an amazing job. I think they’re doing a great job with managing their situation. So I’m grateful that I’ve been able to fit into their world.”
In the months since, Brian and Sharna have only gotten more and more serious. She has been photographed spending time with his children, and the two are not shy about showing off their love for one another on social media and out and about in public. Sharna also hinted that she and Brian have discussed an even more serious future together, as she captioned a photo of them together with, “Endgame,” in early Sept. 2021.
On the Sept. 20 premiere of Dancing With the Stars, it was revealed that Sharna would be Brian’s professional dance partner. Of course, this means that the two get to spend even more time together, but it also presented a new challenge in their budding relationship. “It’s a learning curve for me,” Sharna told HollywoodLife and other media outlets after the premiere. “I’ve never done this before. So, everything for me is new. Learning that balance every day nad how to approach it, I think that’s the biggest challenge. But we haven’t had a bad moment because our communication is so great in our relationship.”
On June 28, 2022, Brian and Sharna welcomed their first child together, Zane Walker Green. And on September 22, 2023, they revealed in a joint Instagram post that they’re engaged to be married! That same day, they explained via podcast appearance how it all went down.
“We’ve been engaged for two months,” Sharna said during the Oldish podcast. “Brian proposed to me.” They explained that it happened during Brian’s 50th birthday, on July 15, 2023. “Sharna threw me this surprise party,” Brian divulged. “And I was like, ‘That’s a perfect place to do it. She’d never see it coming.’”
The Writers Guild of America met again with chief executives and studio and streamer negotiators on Friday in a marathon bargaining session that failed to produce a deal, though management-side insiders did claim that progress was being made.
Talks went well into the night on the third day that union negotiators met with a group of top company leaders including Disney’s Bob Iger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos at the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers offices in Sherman Oaks. The meeting began at 11 am PT and concluded by 8:45 pm, according to sources.
The sides made “lots of progress and [engaged in] good faith but they need more time,” said one management-side source. “Everyone’s fully engaged but [it’s] unclear what exact plans are.”
Potential regulations on the use of A.I. remained a key issue at the table. “AI remains the thorniest issue,” said a management-side source. On this issue, the person said, “they are still far apart.”
In its own statement on Friday night to members, the WGA negotiating committee noted that the two parties will meet again on Saturday. “Thank you for the wonderful show of support on the picket lines today! It means so much to us as we continue to work toward a deal that writers deserve,” the committee wrote.
Negotiators had made progress in the previous days of talks, according to studio-side sources, but the mood was soured on the management side late on Thursday, when the union allegedly came back with asks on issues that the studios believed had already been settled. “We all got mad,” said one studio-side source, though their sense on Friday was that both sides were intent on wrapping up a deal and were moving through the hiccup. As the negotiations stretched on on Friday, CEOs spent long periods waiting around in their caucus room and killing time, said studio-side insiders familiar with the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the mood among writers on Friday’s packed picket lines was one of cautious optimism, as union members anticipated that the end of the historic work stoppage might be nigh. “The fact that they’ve been talking for three days straight is terrific,” showrunner Marc Guggenheim (Legends of Tomorrow) told THR at Disney.
As of late on Thursday, studio-side sources claimed that their side had made moves on top WGA issues including artificial intelligence and residual compensation tied to the success of streaming shows. TV staffing requirements had also been a major talking point that day at the bargaining table and management had made compromises there, according to these sources. In a message to members on Thursday night, the WGA negotiating committee said only that “The WGA and AMPTP met for bargaining today and will meet again tomorrow,” and exhorted members to show up in force at Friday’s picket lines.
The Writers Guild of America’s 144-day strike is now 10 days away from tying with the 1988 work stoppage as the longest strike in the union’s history. In July, several months into the WGA strike, members of the performers’ union SAG-AFTRA joined their writer counterparts out on the picket lines, the combination of which has essentially halted most Hollywood production.
Kim Masters contributed reporting.
Sept. 22, 9:48 p.m. Updated with the WGA negotiating committee’s statement.
Russell Brand on Friday shared his first video after numerous sexual assault allegations were made against him on Saturday. In the clip, which he shared to X, he blasted “big tech” and “legacy media” for trying to shut down “independent media,” including him.
He did not directly address the claims made by four anonymous women — which he denied in a video shared before they were made public — except to say, “Obviously, it’s been an extraordinary and distressing week.”
After the joint exposé by Channel 4, The Times, and The Sunday Times, Channel 4 and BBC removed TV and audio shows featuring the comedian, Paramount+ took down his comedy special, and his upcoming live tour has also been canceled.
Netflix has, however, opted to keep his 2018 special up for now.
In his video, Brand lashed out at the UK’s Online Safety Bill, which was passed through Parliament earlier this week, and the Trusted News Initiative that was co-founded by the BBC. He described the latter as “a collaboration between big tech and legacy media organizations to target, control, choke and shut down independent media organizations like this one.”
Following his demonetization on YouTube, he also urged his fans to follow him on the social media platform Rumble, as the company has “made a clear commitment to free speech.” He said it will be his new “primary platform.”
British police have launched an investigation into the claims uncovered in Saturday’s report. One of the women was 16 at the time of the alleged incident, the age of consent in Britain.
Brand’s talent agency, Tavistock Wood also, dropped him, though it was later revealed that a report was made to the agency from an accuser in 2020.
His book deal with Pan Macmillan imprint Bluebird has similarly been suspended. A rep for the company said in a statement, “These are very serious allegations and in the light of them, Bluebird has taken the decision to pause all future publishing with Russell Brand.”
Channel 4 has also launched an internal investigation into Brand’s behavior. The comedian had several shows on the network, including “The Russell Brand Show,” “Russell Brand’s Got Issues” and “Russell Brand’s Ponderland.”
While there are no shortage of classic TV shows that have since been made into reboots or revivals, Beverly Hills, 90210 stands a cut above — new life has been breathed into the iconic Fox hit not once, but twice.
Based on the shock the small town Walsh family experienced upon moving from Minneapolis to Beverly Hills, California, the nation first got to know Brandon (Jason Priestley) and Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) and the cast of characters they encountered thereafter — including Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), David Silver (Brian Austin Green), Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering), Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris), Valerie Macon (Tiffani Thiessen) and Emily Valentine (Christine McCarthy) — from 1990 to 2000.
The show was originally rebooted in 2008 with a new cast (although several of the original teen soap’s stars, including Garth, Doherty and Spelling, made appearances at times) and in summer 2019, it took on a new form entirely, as much of the original cast reunited as “heightened versions of themselves” in BH90210.
“Having gone their separate ways since the original series ended 19 years ago, Jason, Jennie, Ian, Gabrielle, Brian and Tori reunite when one of them suggests it’s time to get a Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot up and running,” the newest revival’s longline read. “But getting it going may make for an even more delicious soap than the reboot itself. What will happen when first loves, old romances, friends and frenemies come back together, as this iconic cast – whom the whole world watched grow up together – attempts to continue from where they left off?”
Masked Singer alum Spelling gushed about the project to Us Weekly in February 2019, saying, “We are all so excited to go back to work together because it’s like family coming back together,” she said at the time.
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The group experienced tragedy ahead of its air date, however, when Perry died after suffering a massive stroke at the age of 52 on March 4, 2019. Following his passing, Doherty paid tribute to her former onscreen love on his most-recent show, Riverdale, in October 2019, following the gang’s TV reunion earlier that summer.
Scroll through to see how the rest of the show’s stars have grown since their days on the beloved TV drama.
They sure don’t make movie posters like they used to. Case in point, all the gorgeous posters created for the original Indiana Jones films. While the posters for Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade are stunning, there’s just something sexy about that first poster for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, featuring a shirtless Harrison Ford, machete in hand, standing in front of a temple column. This teaser poster by artist Bruce Wolfe remains iconic, and is the basis for the latest premium statue from the folks at Gentle Giant. You can check out images of this amazing Indy statue, now up for pre-order, right here in our gallery.
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Lucasfilm/Gentle Giant
This deluxe Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom statue stands approximately 15 inches tall. As we mentioned, it’s inspired by the original 1984 theatrical one-sheet poster. This 1/7 scale statue depicts Indy in his torn shirt, holding a whip in front of the vine-draped pillar. Gentle Giant is limiting this Indy statue to only 1,000 pieces, and it comes packaged with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a full-color box. This statue comes at a price of $300.00, and the manufacturer will start shipping these in spring 2024. Right now, the target date for shipping is around April to June 2024.
Gentle Giant/Lucasfilm
Gentle Giant has produced some other fantastic Indiana Jones statues in the past, focusing on the original film and also Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They even have a bank based on the golden idol from the opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Many of these are still available from the official Gentle Giant site. Hopefully, we get some more based on Temple of Doom in the future. Who doesn’t want to see Indy and Short Round’s friendship immortalized forever in statue form? You can already sign us up for that pre-order.
Took me three goes to install this driver using GeForce Experience and froze my PC the first time. Most problems I’ve had with a driver install using GFE in a very long time. But, once it was done, CP2077 looked pretty good, though still had to lower it to not as fancy levels to hit 60fps. Being able to keep Ray Tracing at Ultra is a very nice touch even if resolution takes a hit.
“We would chat about all sorts of things. There were a number of people who had screen-tested, and I had advocated for Gyllenhaal,” said Goyer. “I mean, Gyllenhaal is amazing, Christian Bale is amazing, so who knows what.”
He added, “I believe there is” when asked if there is footage somewhere of Gyllenhaal auditioning in a Batman costume.
One other tidbit: Goyer said that an unnamed executive from Warner Bros. wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to play The Riddlerfor the sequel, The Dark Knight. But Goyer said, “That’s not the way we work.” The films were made around themes, not villains.
The 2008 Dark Knight starred the late Heath Ledger (Gyllenhaal’s Brokeback Mountain costar) as the Joker, He won a posthumous Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
The company, which is behind unscripted hits such as The Real Housewives franchise, Below Deck, Vanderpump Rules and competition series such as The Traitors and America’s Got Talent, is now increasing its requirements around anti-discrimination and harassment policies, making an inclusive workplace and channels to report concerns and violations.
Frankel, who has been pushing for better treatment for her fellow reality TV stars, posted to Instagram about the Deadline report.
“It’s not easy to burn bridges and speak up about what should be obvious to many.
“There are very few times in my career and life when I have been certain that I am on the right path, albeit a challenging one… but worth the fight for a cause.
“To the ignorant who have said that people sign up for mistreatment, shame on them. To my former colleague housewives who said that it doesn’t apply to them because they know how to handle themselves, when others with less power can’t, I can explain it to you but I can’t understand it for you. To the ones strong enough to speak up and reach out to me, your courage is commended. I don’t begrudge or blame the talent as they are there for ratings FOR PROFIT by any means necessary, in a zero sum game where you are winning or losing. They are the unsullied warriors there to play a dangerous game.
“To my former employers at NBC Universal and Frances Berwick, who I have always enjoyed, liked, admired and genuinely respected, Bravo to you.
“You are a strong example to women, to executives and to other networks and streamers who have already begun to fall in line and make changes.
“Life is about learning and changing and making difficult choices. If it was easy, everyone would do it.”
She concluded, “The change is happening… the reality reckoning is here. PS. This conversation is far from over. We are just getting started…” @sagaftra@bravotv@deadline
From left: Maleficent, Ursula, Chernabog, Dr. Facilier, Cruella de Vil (All images courtesy of Disney)Graphic: The A.V. Club
With the live-action version of The Little Mermaid now swimming in the calm blue waters of Disney+, audiences can see Melissa McCarthy camp it up as Ursula in all her glory. It makes us wonder, do villains really have more fun? Disney films certainly wouldn’t be as lively without them. These big bads don’t have to abide by silly morals and the rules of civilized society. They do what they want to get what they want, and they don’t care who gets hurt in the process. Of course, they’re often afflicted with fatal flaws like greed, vanity, jealousy, and a hunger for power—which, more often than not, lead to their deaths—but you can’t say they don’t have a hell of a time, right up until their last moments.
So in honor of Disney’s rogues’ gallery of sinister characters, we’ve ranked their 30 best villains, from animation and live-action, based on a combination of factors, including character design, vocal performance, impact on the story, and overall villainy. Bear in mind that some of them aren’t revealed as villains until the end of their films, so there be spoilers ahead.
Now, with all that out of the way, read on dearies, for the absolute best of the worst.
Combining Irish music, charisma, and a ghost’s unfinished business made it feel like Fall.
Many ghosts have unfinished business. It’s a well-known trope in murder mysteries, and Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major expanded on it with detailed characters and picturesque Irish charm.
I was as captivated by the Irish scenery and music as I was trying to solve the mystery, and I love murder mysteries.
Tamera Mowry-Housley was delightful as the lead character, a former orchestra conductor Gethsemane Brown. She’s easily charmed by Ireland and the tales surrounding Orla and Eamon’s deaths, but she insists that ghosts don’t bother her.
She tries to blow off her first encounter with the ghost Eamon McCarthy as a coincidence or a hallucination because if she actually saw him, there might be something wrong with her. Her dad saw visions, and they all pretended he didn’t.
The film never covered any of Gethsemane’s other family, except that she was closest to her dad. They shared a love of music and the ability to speak to the paranormal. It made sense that she was the one who cracked Eamon’s musical code.
Eamon McCarthy (Risteárd Cooper) was witty and likable, but he was also earnest and sad since he had been blamed for his girlfriend Orla’s murder and was determined to prove his innocence.
Please, I just want to my girl again, and the only way I can is to figure this out.
Eamon
Their story reminded me of a modern Romeo & Juliet since he accidentally drank poisoned wine upon finding Orla’s body. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been reunited with his soulmate since he had unfinished business.
Love makes the world go round, but whisky makes it go twice as fast, especially when it’s been poisoned.
Eamon
While Gethsemane was a reluctant participant, she agreed to help Eamon uncover the truth. It was easy to discover that he was set up, but not as easy to prove who the real suspect was.
Only she could talk to people, and another officer, Declan, wanted the accident files to stay hidden.
Eamon had never had any problems with Declan or anyone else, so he didn’t know Declan would have poisoned him.
While some locals would dish gossip to Gethsemane, others feared she was a reporter digging into an unwanted secret. This made her more determined to help Eamon.
Everyone in a small Irish town was connected, and everyone was connected. Initially, it seemed like Billy, Eamon’s nephew, and Seamus, his friend, could be trusted.
Soon after, they appeared shady and involved in burglaries, but Eamon couldn’t believe they’d hurt Orla.
That was family. It was just as devastating thinking that Orla’s best friend, Deidre, would strangle her after she’d been fired.
So many people loved Orla, yet the suspects kept adding up, and people wanted to shut Gethsemane up.
No one would have guessed Dr. Elizabeth was the killer when so much evidence pointed to Declan, Seamus, and Billy. However, part of me suspected her. Besides Eamon, she would’ve been the only one with that musical ringtone Rion identified.
Women hate being scorned for a man’s new lover, even if she is a friend. They hate it even more when they become a buddy and are suddenly part of the “friend” trio.
Something about Dr. Elizabeth never felt right when discussing Eamon and Orla. She was obsessed with Eamon and considered Gethsemane’s sightings of Eamon easy access to the case.
Dr. Elizabeth couldn’t break Eamon and Orla’s bond, though. She tried, but he only had eyes for Orla, and when the ghostly couple reunited after the murder was solved, you could tell they were eternal soulmates.
Eamon and Gethsemane’s banter throughout the film was one of the best parts.
He encouraged her to tap into her paranormal abilities, and she encouraged him to write his first song since Orla died.
They helped each other find passion and meaning in their lives again.
Eamon: You can always concentrate on what you don’t want to do, so always go for the dream. That’s where the passion is. Teaching or performing, whatever. Gethsemane: As soon as I pull myself out of a murder investigation, I’ll take advice from a dead person on the top of my list.
It meant so much to Gethsemane to hear that both her father and Eamon were proud of her. Will that give her the push she needs to pursue love?
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries does a fantastic job of melding mystery and romance. Inspector O’Reilly and Gethsemane reminded me of Detective Mike and Hannah from the Hannah Swenson Mysteries since Gethsemane was just as determined to solve the case.
Gethsemane kept finding clues about Orla’s murder and showing up at new crime scenes when Inspector O’Reilly wanted her to leave things to the professionals for her own safety.
He met with her to humor her and prove he took her seriously, which sounded condescending and charming simultaneously. He meant well since she didn’t solve crimes, but her detective skills were just as talented as his.
Every time Gethsemane found a clue, she also found more trouble, such as finding Eamon’s house ransacked. It only proved Inspector O’Reilly’s point that she needed to stop asking questions, or she could become seriously injured.
I also enjoyed the love triangle since both men were viable options and protective of Gethsemane. While I preferred her solving cases and awkward flirting with Inspector O’Reilly, Griff was a wonderful person, too.
He encouraged her to teach her students in different ways and embrace the Irish culture, which helped bring out the beauty of the music.
The two men kept showing up at the same time and soon realized they liked the same woman, such as when Griff protected her from Seamus and Inspector O’Reilly arrived immediately after to arrest Seamus. They both wanted to be her knight in shining armor.
Nothing was more awkward and charming than when they both presented Gethsemane with flowers after she conducted her first choir performance and won a trophy. How will she choose?
Since “Haunted Harmony Mysteries: Murder in G Major” was adapted from the first book in the Gethsemane Brown Mysteries Book Series, we suspect there’ll be additional films, but that hasn’t been announced yet.
We’d love to see her team up, solve more mysteries with her ghostly friend and Inspector O’Reilly, and see where the love triangle leads.
Now that you’ve read my opinion, what were your thoughts on this murder mystery? Would you like to see a sequel? Were you team Griff or Inspector O’Reilly?
Share your thoughts below.
Laura Nowak is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
Pauly Shore said he is hoping for Richard Simmons’ blessing to portray the ’80s fitness guru in a biopic.
The Encino Man star took to social media Thursday to share that he has reached out to Simmons to discuss a potential film. “I’ve noticed all the reactions to me playing Richard Simmons in a new biopic,” he wrote. “I heard he’s living deep in Big Bear. We’ve been playing phone tag (yes, he still has a phone). I’m trying to make it happen for you guys. Be optimistic.”
Shore continued, “In the meantime, hit up Hulu, Amazon, Disney, HBO and all the big producers. I definitely can morph into this guy. I’ll see you at the Academy Awards 2025.”
While Simmons has been out of the spotlight for several years, he rose to fame in the early 1980s, hosting The Richard Simmons Show as well as selling millions of copies of his workout videos, Sweatin’ to the Oldies.
Last year, following the release of TMZ‘s documentary What Ever Happened To Richard Simmons?, his rep shared a statement with the New York Post, which read, “Richard is eternally grateful for the continuous outpouring of love and gratitude he has received from across the Globe. He is happy, healthy and living the life he has chosen to live.”
Shore also said earlier this year that he is ready to return to acting. He told Page Six in March, “I do truly miss acting and I miss being on set … hopefully it happens … it’s about just dreaming and hoping.”
His comments came a day after the 2023 Academy Awards, where two of his Encino Man co-stars, Brendan Fraser and Ke Huy Quan, won their first Oscars. But during the ceremony, Shore also became the butt of one of host Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes.
“Two actors from Encino Man are nominated for Oscars,” Kimmel said to the audience. “What an incredible night it must be for the two of you, and what a very difficult night for Pauly Shore. Maybe it’s time to reboot Bio-Dome.”
Voxtrot have returned with their first new song in 14 years, “Another Fire.” The track features the group’s five original members—singer Ramesh Srivastava, bassist Jason Chronis, drummer Matt Simon, guitarist Mitch Calvert, and multi-instrumentalist Jared Van Fleet. “‘Another Fire’ is about personal and universal regeneration,” Srivastava said in a statement. “Hearing it come to life through my bandmates’ contributions was thrilling—just like old times, but unmistakably new.” Watch the video below.
“I had a dream where we were onstage and it was really positive,” Srivastava said last year. “There was such a strong and palpable feeling of love in my heart that when I woke up, it was still with me. I switched on my phone and started looking at things tagged with ‘Voxtrot’ on social media—teenagers covering our songs, people with Voxtrot tattoos—and just went down this internet rabbit hole that made me realize how much love there still is for the band. For the first time since we broke up, it seemed very, very obvious that we should do this.”
Voxtrot’s last release was the 2009 single “Berlin Without Return.” The band released one album, a self-titled debut, in 2007.
Courtesy of Michael Allio/Instagram; Courtesy of Danielle Maltby/Instagram
Michael Allio wants to clarify details about his split from Danielle Maltby— including her claim he broke up with her egg one day after her egg retrieval procedure.
“Before [Danielle] moved up I told her I wanted to be extremely clear about where I was at and I told her that I am no place and can’t even fathom a place in the future where I can have kids. I’m so focused on raising my son [James],”Allio, 39, said via his Instagram Story on Friday, September 22. “I said, ‘Sadly you have to move up here and go through this relationship knowing you will maybe never have kids with me. And I felt really bad saying that because I know she always wanted them. But I had to be honest about where I was at. … The idea of welcoming another child, for me, I can’t even do it. It doesn’t fit my lifestyle.”
Allio — who shared his 6-year-old son James with his late wife, Laura — explained during the Instagram Q&A that Maltby, 37, handled the news “really gracefully” before ultimately deciding to relocate. Allio claimed that when it came to “the whole egg freezing thing, she didn’t do it for me,” adding that Maltby probably hoped as they were dating the eggs would be “used for a child that we conceived together, but it didn’t happen that way.”
Allio first confirmed the twosome had called it quits on Monday, September 18, during an appearance on Jason Tartick’s “Trading Secrets” podcast, saying the breakup was “no fault” of Maltby’s and the pair were “working through some things and trying to stay close.”
Michael Allio and Danielle Maltby have both weathered tragedy, getting a second chance at love during season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise. Allio made his Bachelor Nation debut during Katie Thurston‘s season of The Bachelorette in 2021, but he ultimately self-eliminated because he didn’t want to leave his son, James, alone at home. The Ohio […]
Maltby, for her part, broke her silence about the split on the Friday episode of her “The WoMed” podcast, telling listeners Allio broke up with her the day after she underwent a process to retrieve her eggs.
“I was very, very blindsided by it,” she claimed. “Obviously [I’m] still very emotional and hurt and confused. I still don’t really have any answers. I’m in it.”
Allio, meanwhile, stated on Friday that he wanted to “clear things up” via his social media due to a “narrative going around” that was part “true” and part “false.”
“I’m not stranger to critique. I know that I’m incredibly flawed and I know that Danielle is a very good person but I do need to clear things up. Because certain things are a little bit off,” he alleged, noting that his intention isn’t about “winning an argument” but because “there is just truth out there and I’m happy to assist.”
While many celeb couples have gone the distance in Hollywood, other romances haven’t stood the test of time. Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott sparked an on-again, off-again relationship in 2017, welcoming two children: daughter Stormi and a son, whose name they have yet to reveal, in February 2018 and February 2022, respectively. Us Weekly broke […]
In regards to whether Maltby knew Allio was going to share the breakup news via Tartick’s podcast, Allio confessed he hadn’t given her a heads-up about the plan. He said while he initially wanted to do a “joint breakup” announcement, she was against the idea because “this breakup was not mutual.”
“She told me, ‘Go out there, say what you want to say do what you want to do I’ll follow suit and also let’s not call each other and talk to each other anymore because that makes healing that much more difficult,’” he recalled her saying. “And sometimes you do need that separation. So when she started taking down photos of us on Instagram I took that as she’s ready to announce this and get this going.”
Allio and Maltby met on season 8 of Bachelor in Paradise in summer 2022 and quickly connected as they had both previously lost their partners. Allio’s late wife, Laura, died in 2019 from cancer while Maltby’s fiancé, Nick, died in 2011 following a drug overdose. The duo agreed that they wanted to pursue their relationship outside of the show during the season 8 finale andAllio told Malby he loved her during the BiP reunion shortly after.
Maltby later uprooted her life to join Allio in Akron, Ohio. During her podcast episode on Friday, Maltby said Allio was “the first person that ever made me feel safe in a relationship, that made me feel like I was enough.”
There’s something about Mexico that makes someone fall in love. While many get engaged on Bachelor in Paradise, only a handful have stayed together, gotten married and even had kids! Marcus Grodd and Lacy Faddoul were the first “successful” Bachelor in Paradise couple after he popped the question during the 2014 finale of season 1. While […]
Allio, for his part, addressed why he agreed to Maltby relocating from Nashville to Ohio if he had plans to end the relationship, Allio said the move was “without a doubt a sacrifice on her end” but he’s unable to leave Ohio because of “his support system” that helps raise his son, James.
Claiming that he would “totally have considered moving to Nashville” if he wasn’t raising a child, he explained that “Danielle was in a transition period and she wanted to leave her job” and was even considering a move to Chicago at the time. “If we would have stayed long distance we wouldn’t have known whether or not this would have worked,” he said. “And our goal was to make it work.”
