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Canadian filmmaker Jamie Kastner has launched a fundraiser to support his legal costs in fighting the Ontario Provincial Police against a production order that could force him to surrender the source material for his documentary.

Kastner is the director of “There Are No Fakes,” a 2019 doc that uncovered an art fraud ring that passed off fake paintings as originals by the celebrated Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau, known for his vibrant paintings of the natural world and First Nations mythology.

The eye-opening film revealed there were up to 10 times more Morrisseau forgeries on the market as there were real works, and that the artist’s own nephew may have been complicit in helping to produce the fakes.

The film’s release inspired investigators in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to pursue the case, and in early March, police made eight arrests and 40 charges in addition to seizing 1,000 fake Morrisseau paintings. However, as part of the ongoing investigation, investigators also slapped Kastner with a production order, a legally enforceable order that compelled the filmmaker to hand over all of his source material. The director and his lawyer Iain MacKinnon have been fighting to keep the documents — which haven’t yet been opened — sealed.

The case will be heard in court in Thunder Bay on July 7.

Ahead of the date, Kastner has launched a petition urging the court to “strike down” the production order, as well as a crowd-funding campaign to raise funds for legal costs. The fundraiser has a goal of CAD$20,000 ($15,000).

“We have to fight this because it goes against basic journalistic freedom and the need to protect our sources,” Kastner told Variety earlier this year. “If talking to doc makers and journalists becomes synonymous to talking to police, no one would ever talk to us.”

Kastner’s crusade against the OPP production order has received the support of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), which said in March that it “strongly condemns” police actions in the case.

“Journalists and documentary filmmakers are not agents of the police and should never be forced to turn over interviews or source material,” said Brent Jolly, president of the CAJ.

“If people believe being interviewed by a journalist is equivalent to giving a police statement, confidence in journalism will be dramatically eroded,” he said.

Ontario authorities carried out a 2.5-year investigation into the case, involving more than 90 police officers over multiple jurisdictions. They’re believed to have taken 271 statements — dwarfing the 17 interviews Kastner completed for the film, and prompting questions as to why police require documentary material given the vast testimony they’ve gathered themselves.

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Canadian filmmaker Jamie Kastner has launched a

Trending

Shortly after being named CEO of Independent Artist Group, the full-service agency resulting from the merger of APA and music touring agency Artist Group International, Jim Osborne has named Jarred Arfa, Executive Vice-President, Head of Global Music.

Arfa comes to IAG from AGI, where he was Chief Operating Officer, and in his new role will oversee day-to-day operations of the combined music departments under the IAG banner, reporting to Osborne. As at AGI, he will be responsible for business development, legal, financial and corporate reporting, overseeing artist tour contracts, VIP ticketing, sponsorship and brand partnerships. But at the expanded and rebranded agency, he will fulfill his duties with the added help of the infrastructure he inherits from APA, which in addition to music and comedy touring, also includes legal, tour marketing, branding and sponsorships departments.

Arfa will also continue to work closely going forward with Billy Joel’s team, assisting on his record-breaking MSG residency, running through next July, as well as other tour dates, while working on the teams of numerous other artists. Among the others in top roles at Independent Artist Group that Arfa will work with are the previously announced Dennis Arfa and Marsha Vlasic, who will respectively serve as Chairman and Vice-Chair of the Music Division.

Said Osborne of the company’s latest appointment, “Jarred has been instrumental in getting this partnership to the finish line. We have tremendous confidence in him to not only lead the day-to-day operations of our music department, but to help us grow it from here.”

Shared Ron Burkle, whose Yucaipa Entertainment acquired AGI in 2012, “We have relied on Jarred on so many levels over the years to not only oversee the operations of AGI, but to also assist us in furthering our investments in the music business.”

“Jarred has been an invaluable asset to us on so many levels,” stated Vlasic. “We have tremendous confidence in him to lead our efforts to integrate and grow our combined music assets enabling our artists and agents to thrive.”

Added Jarred Arfa, “I am excited to work with the outstanding young team of APA agents who have been thriving, particularly in urban, as we combine into one cohesive unit. I look forward to further offering crossover opportunities for our artists that Jim Osborne and his team have done such an amazing job at. Our plan is to grow the department with a quality over quantity ethos.”

While at AGI, Arfa was an instrumental advisor in the sale of AGI to The Yucaipa Companies in 2012 and later served as a conduit in Yucaipa’s investments in K2 and Danny Wimmer Presents. He began his career at Robert Silverman’s CKX Inc., where he served as Director of Muhammad Ali Enterprises and Director of Operations for Elvis Presley Enterprises. 

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Shortly after being named CEO of Independent

Tech

Microsoft Launcher’s latest June update has been giving users plenty of trouble, especially if they happen to be using a Surface Duo.

The update, released on June 27, 2023, has already amassed plenty of posts from Reddit and Twitter users about their devices not working properly with Microsoft Launcher. Though it’s a wide range of devices having issues, the Surface Duo seems to be the most common which, according to Windows Central, seems to be tied to a recent system update.

(Image credit: Reddit user /yugabe)

Right now, the only real solution has been to reset the launcher when prompted by the error message, though some users are apparently reporting that doesn’t work either. This could especially be a problem for Surface Duo as it’s that device’s only launcher, because if resetting doesn’t work then you might have to resort to customizing settings again. Other phone users can simply switch launchers when the error pops up, however, saving a bit of a headache.

TechRadar has reached out to Microsoft concerning this issue, and will update this story if and when we hear back from the company.

Surface Duo users getting the short stick

Microsoft Launcher was first released in 2015 as a beta under the name Arrow Launcher, and officially released in 2017 for both iOS and Android. It was an initiative made to make its devices as accessible as possible across platforms.

It’s generally a solid feature that allows users the option to integrate between Windows PCs and smartphones, especially for larger devices like the Surface Duo with more screen real estate that can better take advantage of the feature. 

However, for the Duo, this recent error proves that it should be able to switch launchers like other phones can, as Duo users who are experiencing this problem are stuck troubleshooting until Microsoft pushes out a fix. And it certainly can’t be fun having an otherwise functional device that you’re forced to constantly either reset or customize options on repeatedly. 

Hopefully, the tech giant will have answers for this soon, and even better, will ensure that Duo users will have other options going forward.

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Microsoft Launcher’s latest June update has been

Video

YouTube wants to make it easier to dub your videos in other languages by giving you some help with AI. The company announced Thursday at VidCon that it’s bringing over the team from Aloud, an AI-powered dubbing service from Google’s Area 120 incubator.

YouTube is already testing the tool with “hundreds” of creators, YouTube’s Amjad Hanif says in a statement to The Verge. And Hanif says that Aloud currently supports a “few” languages, with “more to come”; according to spokesperson Jessica Gibby, Aloud is currently available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Still, even with a limited number of languages, Aloud could be a useful tool as a growing number of creators add multi-language dubs to their videos. And if you want to hear an example of Aloud’s results for yourself, check out the Spanish dub track in this video from the Amoeba Sisters channel. (Click the gear icon, then “Audio track.”)

Down the line, YouTube is “working to make translated audio tracks sound like the creator’s voice, with more expression, and lip sync,” Hanif says. Those features are planned for 2024, Gibby says.

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YouTube wants to make it easier to

Entertaintment

EXCLUSIVE: Iñaki Godoy, the 19-year-old lead of Netflix’s forthcoming series One Piece, has signed with M88 for representation.

Arriving on the streamer on August 31st, the show created by Matt Owens and Steven Maeda is a live-action adaptation of the same-name 1997 manga series from Eiichiro Oda. Godoy stars as Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate captain who sets out with his crew to attain the mythical treasure known as ‘One Piece’ and secure the title of Pirate King.

Godoy was most recently seen in Netflix’s series The Imperfects, centered on imperfect superheroes who must navigate their newfound abilities while dealing with personal struggles and a looming threat to humanity. He is otherwise best known for a turn in the streamer’s Spanish-language drama series Who Killed Sara?, following a man’s relentless pursuit of justice while investigating the mysterious death of his sister and the dark secrets he uncovers.

Additional credits for Godoy include the Mexican films No Abras La Puerta, MexZombies and Go Youth, as well as the series Los Elegidos and Sin miedo a la verdad. He continues to be represented by Viewpoint.

Founded in 2020 by former WME partner Phillip Sun and Macro founder and CEO Charles D. King, M88 reps storytellers, actors, writers and multi-hyphenates. Other recent signings include Aaron Tao and Winston Tao — the brother filmmakers otherwise known as TAO/S — as well as BMF star Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr., The Dropout director Erica Watson, Power Book II: Ghost star Woody McClain, the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, Ginny and Georgia writer Mike Guayo, Bravo, Burkina! filmmaker Walé Oyéjidé and Wu-Tang: An American Saga star Siddiq Saunderson.

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EXCLUSIVE: Iñaki Godoy, the 19-year-old lead of

Movies

In a saner world, we would have already had a dozen Jennifer Lawrence comedies.

When aliens arrive they will surely go directly to IMDB to survey her filmography and wonder why one of Hollywood’s funniest and most naturally charismatic stars spent the first decade of her career in dystopias, action movies and whatever it is you call “Mother!”

As if to make up for lost time, Lawrence has in “No Hard Feelings” made the kind of R-rated teen comedy that has usually launched young actors. She plays a 32-year-old Montauk Uber driver who, desperate for money after her car is towed, is hired by the wealthy parents (Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti) of a timid and sheltered 19-year-old (newcomer Andrew Barth Feldman) to take his virginity before he heads off to Princeton.

We’ve, of course, had plenty of movies about teenagers trying to get laid for the first time. But “No Hard Feelings,” directed and co-written by Gene Stupnitsky, may be the first in which the teen in question has seemingly no desire to do so. He’s heterosexual, his parents are sure based on his browsing history.

But when Maddie Barker (Lawrence) turns up in a tight pink dress and heels at the Long Island animal shelter Percy (Feldman) works at, he responds mostly with prickliness and fear to her come-ons. The encounter ends with Percy spraying Maddie with mace.

Now, a 19-year-old rejecting Jennifer Lawrence like this is potentially a good way to sever any possible connection the audience has with one of your main characters. It’s like having him smack a child. Some things are unforgiveable. Maddie and Percy go on a series of increasingly intimate dates, and Percy vows to eventually “put out.”

The basis of “No Hard Feelings,“ all around, is fairly untenable. Even less believable than Percy’s response to Maddie is her involvement in this scheme in the first place. In the movie’s opening scenes, her car is towed away by a ghosted ex-boyfriend (Ebon Moss-Bachrach of “The Bear”). In the uber-rich environs of Montauk, Maddie is trying to hold onto her house — the one she grew up in — while foreclosure lurks.

Maddie, forced to rollerblade to her bartending job, may be financially desperate. But, say what you will about the gig economy, it offers plenty of alternatives to earning money besides sleeping with teenagers who cringe when the restaurant doesn’t have Pepsi.

And yet, “No Hard Feelings” works better than it ought to. The preposterousness of the set-up is, naturally, part of the joke. Feldman, who here resembles the awkward Linguini of “Ratatouille” brought to life, brings more sensitivity to the role than you would expect, and flashes of good comic timing. So uncomfortable is he on their dates that at the sound of a break in a nearby game of pool, he jumps like a frightened cat. Skinny dipping in the ocean, he doggy paddles.

And while the role forces Lawrence into raunchy situations that could easily be said to be beneath her, “No Hard Feelings” gives her plenty of room to showcase her talent at upending traditional ideas of Hollywood glamour. At every moment, she delights in undercutting her own sexiness; it’s not every A-lister who’s willing to film a beach brawl in the nude. Lawrence — Hollywood screenwriters take note — is more at home parodying the sex bomb than being one.

Yet while “No Hard Feelings” finally gives Lawrence (also an executive producer) a platform for some of the slapstick humor she’s so good at, it also feels like she’s been inserted into the framework of a quite male coming-of-age rom-com/fantasy. Big-screen comedies are dishearteningly few and far between these days, so it’s temping to applaud that “No Hard Feelings,” which opens in theaters Friday, simply exists.

Stupnitsky’s “Good Boys” cleverly shrunk a familiar genre — the house-party movie — into an R-rated romp for sixth-graders. But “No Hard Feelings“ can feel stuck in adolescence. There are times here where you’re glad Lawrence is at least getting to act with adults. (Natalie Morales and Scott MacArthur are good as Maddie’s friends.) Lawrence could have easily carried a comedy that’s just on Maddie’s level, without the amateur-escort-for-a-kid storyline.

“No Hard Feelings” does, though, smartly dig into a generation gap in inverting the genre’s standard beats. Percy — and many of his classmates — are depicted as too tethered to their phones and too delicate to perceived offenses. In one scene, Maddie tears down the upstairs hall of a high-school party. Behind every door, there are kids not making out but calmly texting or playing video games — a portrait of Gen Z with plenty of basis in fact. Incredulous, Maddie exclaims: “Doesn’t anyone f—- anymore?“

“No Hard Feelings,” a Sony Pictures release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for sexual content, language, some graphic nudity and brief drug use. Running time: 103 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

___

Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

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In a saner world, we would have

Latest News

A few years ago, it seemed every week there was a new eight- to nine-figure deal between a high-profile writer-producer and a Hollywood studio or streaming service.

These lucrative pacts made people like Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy and J.J. Abrams essentially in-house producers for entertainment companies that were in an arms race to lock down top-tier talent for the streaming wars.

Even people with limited to no experience in entertainment secured rich deals based largely on name recognition, such as former First Family Barack and Michelle Obama and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. But lately such deals have fallen out of fashion among some executives, as media and entertainment companies rethink how they spend their resources.

The thinking behind these mega-deals was for the popular showrunners to bring in bigger audiences and help fill the platforms’ libraries with new hit series. But as subscriber growth on streaming services has slowed down, companies are analyzing whether it’s worth it to renew the deals.

“I do think these deals are going to be fewer and farther apart because there’s a lot of belt-tightening right now,” said Susanne Daniels, YouTube’s former global head of original content, who now teaches at UCLA. Daniels estimates the number of new signings of so-called overall deals will drop significantly next year.

Earlier this month, a podcasting deal between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Audio and Swedish streaming giant Spotify came to an end, after the royals’ company produced just 12 episodes of a single show in 2½ years. Spotify executive and the Ringer founder Bill Simmons, speaking on his own podcast, called them “f— grifters.” The Montecito-based couple still has a Netflix deal and has produced series including docuseries “Harry & Meghan,” “Live to Lead” and the upcoming “Heart of Invictus,” which will come out later this year.

Murphy, the much more productive and experienced producer behind “American Horror Story” and “Glee,” is said to be in talks for a new deal with Disney, five years after signing a deal worth up to $300 million at Netflix. Netflix and a representative for Murphy declined to comment. Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

The Disney deal talks are advanced but not finalized and aren’t expected to conclude until the Writers Guild of America strike ends, according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment.

Murphy’s output at Netflix had mixed results. Early efforts, such as “The Politician,” “Hollywood” and “The Prom,” didn’t do as well as the company would have liked, industry observers said. However, two of Murphy’s later shows, “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “The Watcher,” were successful.

“Dahmer” has been watched for more than 1 billion hours and is Netflix’s third most popular English-language show, according to Netflix data. The first season of “The Watcher” is ranked 10th, with more than 447 million hours watched. Murphy still has several projects in the Netflix pipeline, including two more installments of the “Monster” franchise.

“They had to spend a lot of money early on because they were trying to drive subscriber growth, and I think they’re in a position now where they’re watching a little bit more closely the money that they’re spending,” said Ryan Webb, a Los Angeles-based entertainment attorney at Greenberg Glusker.

The streamer has said it plans to keep its content spending at around $17 billion on average annually through 2024.

While Murphy and the royals represent wildly different situations, the shuffles comes as streaming services are looking closely at their finances amid Wall Street pressure to pare down costs. Many tech and entertainment companies have laid off staff and canceled programs.

Even big-name hit makers such as “Alias” creator J.J. Abrams’ production company Bad Robot have found themselves under the microscope. Warner Bros. Discovery-owned HBO last year decided not to move forward with the Bad Robot sci-fi series “Demimonde” due to a disagreement about the budget. Bad Robot in 2019 signed a $250-million overall deal with what was then called WarnerMedia.

Hollywood studios also are grappling with a writers’ strike, which has shut down productions as the Writers Guild of America pushes to increase the amount of money scribes make from streaming.

Insiders expect studios to use the strike to trigger force majeure clauses that allow them to exit deals. However, companies may have reasons to be careful when using that cost-cutting tool, said Elsa Ramo, managing partner at Ramo Law PC.

“There may be political reasons or messaging reasons or relationship reasons that could temper a very cutthroat business decision that you’re contractually allowed to do,” Ramo said. “I think those conversations are happening right now.”

The pullback is especially acute in the podcasting industry, where some companies have struggled to make money despite the rapid growth in the number of shows produced.

Spotify Chief Executive Daniel Ek said during an April earnings call that the company wants to avoid “overpaying” for exclusive talent in podcast deals. The company has restructured its podcasting division and made efforts to reduce its costs, including by recently cutting 200 jobs and consolidating Gimlet and Parcast, two production companies it acquired. Popular hosts include the controversial comic Joe Rogan, who has a licensing deal with Spotify worth an estimated $200 million.

“We’re going to be very diligent in how we invest in future content deals,” Ek said on the call. “The ones that aren’t performing, obviously we won’t renew, and the ones that are performing, we will obviously look at those on a case-by-case basis on the relative value.”

While the writers’ strike and the economic environment have caused a lull in overall deals, companies have still signed some major pacts recently and doubled down on existing relationships.

Netflix renewed its landmark agreement with Shonda Rhimes in 2021 and announced an expansion of training programs with her Shondaland production company earlier this year.

Shondaland has created some of Netflix’s biggest hits, including “Bridgerton” and its spinoff show “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” and the limited series “Inventing Anna.”

Last year, Walt Disney Co.’s 20th Television and ABC Signature extended their overall deal with former NBC executive Warren Littlefield’s production company. In 2021, “Insecure” showrunner Prentice Penny signed an overall deal with Disney’s Onyx Collective. Earlier this year, “Fleabag” creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge renewed her deal with Amazon Studios. In January, Warner Bros. reupped its pact with prolific TV producer Greg Berlanti.

“There will always be a demand and a premium paid for talent that can deliver, especially if someone has an established track record,” said entertainment lawyer Briana Hill, a partner at Pryor Cashman.

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A few years ago, it seemed

MCU



After years of anticipation, the Secret Invasion has finally arrived.

Announced in 2020 but delayed by the pandemic, Secret Invasion signifies the culmination of a story started in 2019’s Captain Marvel.

Talos Drinking in Captain Marvel 2019

Photo: Marvel

Skrulls have arrived on our planet, causing even Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to wonder whom they can trust.

Let’s talk about Secret Invasion episode 1-1, the return of Nick Fury that ends with a shocking climax.

Take Me to Your Leader

This is Nick Fury, I swear

Image: Marvel

The new series starts with a familiar face and a new character. We quickly learn which one is an ally to humanity, and it’s not the one you’d expect.

Agent Everett K. Ross – or should I say someone who looks like the agent – receives a phone call.

“Ross” meets with a fellow spy named Prescod. The latter gentleman has apparently gone off the deep end.

This dude is right about Skrulls!

Image: Marvel

Prescod reveals a Wall of Crazy that connects the dots on a series of attacks in places like Argentina, Colombia, and The Philippines.

“Ross” dismisses these accusations, but Prescod expresses confidence that he knows who is behind the violence. It’s Skrulls, folks.

We’ve known this for a while – and much longer if you’re a comic book reader from back in the day.

The divisive opening credits of Secret Invasion

Image: Marvel

The Skrulls famously replaced several Avengers in the comics, leading to an intergalactic conflict centralized in the United States.

As a television series, Secret Invasion intends to mine this mystery in hopes of creating an espionage masterpiece.

After all, “Ross” and Prescod don’t even know whether they can trust one another, a fact that comes to light by the end of the scene.

This is Agent Everett Ross...or is it?

Image: Marvel

“Ross” promises to take Prescod’s findings to Agent Nick Fury, whom the latter spy knows is off-planet. Yes, “Ross” says something a Skrull would say.

As recently predicted, “Ross” is a Skrull who eventually shoots and kills Prescod. Somehow, that’s not the end of this encounter, though.

Source: Hasbro/Marvel Studios

A fellow Skrull chases “Ross” and eventually forces the recently outed Skrull to jump from building to building. “Ross” fails and falls to his death.

Familiar Faces on a Somber Night in Russia

Source: Marvel Studios

At this point, “Ross” returns to his Skrull appearance, an action witnessed by the other Skrull and…S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill.

As fate would have it, the other Skrull is Talos, the heroic friend of Carol Danvers, Hill, and their mutual ally, Nick Fury.

Nick Fury can't remember what time it is

Image: Marvel

Hill reaches out to Fury, who grudgingly returns to his home planet. That’s the method through which the creator of The Avengers comes back to Earth.

For reasons we don’t understand yet, all these people (and Talos) have assembled in Russia.

This Skrull couldn't even win in Ready Player One!

Image: Marvel

Talos and Fury enjoy a decidedly intimate reunion wherein Talos reveals that his wife, Soren, has died. His daughter, G’iah, has also left.

Hill briefs her old boss, Fury, on what he’s missed. Throughout the episode, people question whether The Snap has changed Fury, which it clearly has.

Smart Hulk Snap

Photo: Marvel

We later learn that Fury remembers turning to dust, and it has paralyzed him with fear or at least something close to that.

Ever the soldier, Fury demonstrates a singular focus on the disaster unfolding in Russia.

He wants to know more about Gravik, the leader of the Skrull rebellion.

Gravik shows no fear

Image: Marvel

Talos and Hill fill in the blanks that Gravik has gained power and influence due to the frustration of many Skrulls.

They’d expected a new home world. Instead, they’d been left to fend for themselves on Earth for 30 years. It led to resentment.

Gravik is a screamer

Image: Marvel

Gravik promises that these Skrulls could make Earth their new home…by force. The current attacks represent his attempts to dismantle society.

Gravik has taken up residence in Russia because it’s home to the most abandoned nuclear facilities.

Nick Fury visits Nick Fury's grave

Image: Marvel

Radiation doesn’t bother Skrulls, but it keeps the pesky humans away.

Fury and his team are about to go in search of Gravik.

Welcome to Skrull Island

Where there's smoke, there's Skrull fire

Image: Marvel

We meet a familiar face and learn about two new ones. The recognizable figure is James Rhodes, the War Machine.

Rhodes now advises the President of the United States, whom he informs that Maria Hill and Fury have effectively gone off the reservation.

Source: Marvel Studios

Soon afterward, random thugs kidnap Fury on the streets of Russia, which almost feels like something he wants to happen.

When the thugs remove Fury’s mask, he comes face to face with MI6 agent (or leader?) Sonya Falsworth, an old acquaintance.

Falsworth tries to pump Fury for information before quickly realizing he’s clueless.

Sonya Falsworth is smug

Image: Marvel

For his part, Fury bugs Falsworth’s residence to spy on her later…but not in a creepy way. Okay, it’s in a creepy way but not a sexual way.

Anyway, while this happens, somewhere else in Russia, a person seeks asylum. He walks to a heavily guarded facility.

The security team asks him what he wants, and he replies, “Home in my own skin.”

Secret Invasion

Image: Marvel

Coincidentally, our old friend G’iah appears. She’s an adult now, although the math gets a little shaky.

At one point in the episode, Talos states that he’s 136 years old, which makes him about 40 in human years.

G’iah would theoretically look about nine years older than we last saw her in 1996.

G'iah welcomes a new Skrull

Image: Marvel

But she takes on the appearance of the Khaleesi from Game of Thrones instead.

G’iah is apparently a leader in the rebel Skrull faction. She authorizes the guards to allow the person into “New Skrullos.”

We get a look inside the compound, where Skrulls remain. The only ones who can leave are “warriors” for the cause. Eep!

Evil Science and a Family Reunion

Whose side is G'iah on

Image: Marvel

G’iah watches a “shell” conversion, which involves a Skrull meeting a human.

The Skrull proceeds to adopt the face of the human, who gets thrown into some kind of science-based device. It holds them in place.

This allows the Skrull to “take his mind” and become the person inside and out. G’iah doesn’t seem torn up about this monstrous act.

Skrull daughter and father argue

Image: Marvel

Soon afterward, Fury intercepts a message that suggests “Vasily Poprishchin” is the most likely person to be involved in the terrorist plot.

Sure enough, Poprishchin proves to be a Skrull who has given G’iah bombs in exchange for cash.

Maria Hill spots and recognizes G’iah and follows her while Talos and Fury fight Skrull-Poprishchin.

A Skrull communicates with his loyalists

Image: Marvel

The underlying theme throughout the episode defines Talos as a well-intended pacifist who hates harming his own kind.

Also, Skrulls are super-strong, and no human could ever take one in an arm-wrestling competition. They are susceptible to bullet wounds, though.

Rhodes vs. Fury -- who ya got?

Image: Marvel

Fury kills Poprishchin, but Hill finds herself overmatched against G’iah. At this point, Talos intercedes.

The daughter appears dismissive of her parents, which leads to Talos informing her that her mother’s last words were, “Find G’iah.”

She’s gonna need a lot of therapy to get past that fact.

This Secret Invasion scene is so secret you can't tell what's happening

Image: Marvel

After the conversation, G’iah goes off for a crying session – who can blame her? – and then self-reflects about her alliance.

G’iah decides to tell her dad what’s happening. The rebels will carry three explosives in backpacks and set them off in Vossoyedineniye Square on United Day.

Marvel and Skrull Heroes At Home

Photo: Marvel

A lot of people will die if Gravik pulls off this plan. This thought causes G’iah to reconsider, and she marks the backpacks with infrared.

Fury, Hill, and Talos can follow the three bags and prevent the explosion.

R.I.P. You Know Who

Source: Marvel Studios

I will warn you not to read further until you’ve watched the episode, as the series premiere features a shocking climax.

If you’re still here, I’ll presume you’ve watched. And yes, that’s really who you think that is, not a Skrull replacement.

During the chase through the square, the three heroes lose sight of the bags, as a planned exchange confuses everyone.

Skrulls

Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios

Gravik has guessed that Fury will find out what’s happening and try to interfere. So, he has taken countermeasures to prevent that.

That’s when everything goes pear-shaped.

Gravik himself appears and seemingly taunts Fury. Then, the Skrull takes on Fury’s form and proceeds to murder Maria Hill.

Skrull Kill Krew #1

Photo: Marvel Comics

In the moment of chaos, Hill doesn’t understand it’s not Fury. Her final thought is that her longtime cohort has killed her.

Hill says as much when the real Fury arrives to hold her as she expires. Her final words are a confused, “It was you.”

It’s a haunting moment.

Maria Hill and Nick Fury catch up

Image: Marvel

Even worse, the explosion still happens as the bags they retrieve are decoys, not the real thing.

In one fell swoop, Gravik has killed thousands, murdered Maria Hill, and tormented Nick Fury. He’s…a villain.

On Skrulls and Murders

SKRULL

While Marvel has named the episode Resurrection, we could easily call it the opposite.

This episode could have more accurately been named The Death of Maria Hill. That’s what everyone will remember from this story.

Still, the focus here centers on updating a plot left hanging throughout several Marvel stories.

That probably hurt

Image: Marvel

We hadn’t seen Talos and G’iah in ages. Nick Fury had been gallivanting around in outer space in the aftermath of The Snap.

Hill and Fury both had famously disintegrated, leading to the return of Carol Danvers to fight Thanos.

This episode filled in some blanks, but it raised just as many more.

Agent Ross and Agent 13

Photo: Marvel Studios

How long has a Skrull been masquerading as Everett Ross?

Is the real Ross hidden in a bunker somewhere just like the one we saw at the Skrull compound? Or is he dead?

Does this explain the weirdness between Ross and his ex-wife in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, or is there more to come?

Black Panther Wakanda Forever

Photo: IMDb

The brilliant part of this concept is that we won’t know what’s real and what isn’t until after the fact.

Every conversation comes with an asterisk that one (or more!) of the participants could be a shape-changer.

The Secret Invasion begins

Image: Marvel

At this point, all we know is that Prescod and Maria Hill are dead, Fury has lost faith in himself, and G’iah will probably face ramifications for her actions.

Then again, G’iah could have feasibly set up her dad by pretending to help when she really didn’t. We just don’t know.

G'iah looks concerned

Image: Marvel

That’s the genius of Secret Invasion. We’ll be off-balance throughout all six episodes. This was a good one, and I’ll give it a solid A.

 

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DCU

Working the night shift is a dream job for many people. Most places, like a front desk gig at a hotel or a 24-hour retail store, are pretty chill. You can collect your money in peace and maybe even catch up on a few shows in the process. But, if it involves working in a creepy abandoned hangout for kids, you should probably think twice. Yes, even if you are hella broke. Five Nights at Freddy’s trailer shows us exactly why we should not be like Mike and take a suspicious job. 

In the clip, Mike begins a new gig as the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, a place long shut down after its heyday in the ‘80s. Any person with a shred of curiosity and common sense would wonder what he would be guarding if the place is in disrepair. Well, Mike soon finds out when he shows up to his shift with his daughter Abby in tow.

A police officer shows up and asks if he has met them yet. The “them” in question is a gang of creepy animatronic animals who want to make Abby one of them. It turns out ghost kids who disappeared in the restaurant years prior possess those animals. Fantastic. Mike wants to know how to stop them and there isn’t a clear answer to his question. It’s gonna be a long five nights at Freddy’s weird pizza joint. 

a man in a chair is resisting an animatronic animal face being put over top of his in five nights at freddy's trailer
Universal Pictures

The Five Nights at Freddy’s trailer gives us a peek into the horrors we can expect when the film hits theaters and Peacock on October 27. When the night shift starts, the nightmare begins.

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Working the night shift is

Comics

It is always nice to see companies actually listening to their player base, especially when there is an issue with the game. That is exactly what Jagex has done regarding the Golden Cape Hunt event. This past weekend was the final weekend for the event and unfortunately, there was a bug that prevented golden shards from dropping for eight hours. To rectify this, RuneScape is giving players a second chance to complete the Golden Cape Hunt this weekend. Keep reading to find out the details.

Golden Cape Hunt Second Chance

This weekend, from June 30 at 10:15 Game Time until July 2 at 23:59 Game Time the Golden Cape Hunt event will be reactivated so that players who were unable to complete the event will be given a second chance to do so. This will require Jagex to implement a cold fix to reactivate the event, so do not worry if the event doesn’t go live at exactly 10:15. It will be coming!

Related: How to Complete the Golden Cape Hunt Event in RuneScape

With confirmed bad luck mitigation and the event restarting hopefully everyone who has yet to receive the Golden Cape and wants to will be able to receive it this weekend. It is worthwhile alone just for the Golden Consignment buff. Even if you bought your cape from the Grand Exchange, you would still make your money back and more using this buff. Still, why buy the cape when you have a second chance to earn it for yourselves? Great communication Jagex!

It was great to see the fast response and feedback to the event issue from Jagex. Hopefully, they continue to be as responsive and listen to the community regarding other ongoing issues with the game such as a common issue with accessing RuneScape through the Steam client. Either way, I will be making use of the extended event period this weekend and finishing up the last of the golden shards that I was unable to find. See you there!

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It is always nice to see companies

Festivals

The Palm Springs International ShortFest winners were announced on Sunday, with Japan and the U.S.’s “The Old Young Crow” taking the prize for best of the festival. Lithuania’s “Way Better” won best animated short and China’s “Will You Look At Me” landed best documentary short. Additionally, the award for best live-action short over 15 minutes went to France’s “Sèt Lam” and Spain’s “Mystic Tiger” took home the award for the best live-action short 15 minutes and under.

The festival handed out cash prizes worth $25,000, as well as five awards to help winners qualify for the Academy Awards. The competition included some 299 short films within the official selection. The annual festival began on June 20 and will conclude Monday, June 26.

See the full list of winners below.

Best of the Festival

The Old Young Crow (U.S.)

Animated Short

Way Better (Lithuania)

Documentary Short

Will You Look at Me (China)

Live-Action Short Over 15 Minutes

Sèt Lam (France)

Live-Action Short Under 15 Minutes

Mystic Tiger (Spain)

Student Animated Short

The Rainbow Dung Beetle (U.S.)

Student International Short

A Dead Marriage (Poland)

Best Student U.S. Short

SULAM (Ladder) (U.S.A.)

Student Documentary Short

Kaamoksen Valossa (Finland) 

Special Jury Awards

Best International Short

Soleil de nuit (Canada)

Best Internation Short – Special Mention

Infantry (Brazil)

Best U.S. Short

Closing Dynasty (U.S.)

Best Comedy Short

Flail (U.S.)

Best LGBT+ Short

Blond Night (U.S.)

Best Midnight Short

Nian (U.S.)

Mozaik Bridging the Borders Award

Fata Morgana (Germany/Syria)

Local Jury Award

Under G-d (U.S.)

Young Cineastes Award

We Were Meant To (U.S.)

Kids’ Choice Award

Canary (Canada)

Mushka (U.S.)

Audience Award Winners

Best Live-Action Short

Death to the Bikini! (Canada)

Best Animated Short

Ice Merchants (Portugal)

Best Documentary Short

Eco-Hack! (U.S.)

Best Student Short

Ricky (U.S.)

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The Palm Springs International ShortFest winners were

TV

[Note: This first impressions review covers the first 20 or so hours of Final Fantasy XVI, concluding with the end of the party’s first trip to the Imperial capitol of Oriflamme. We’ll revisit our review next month, once we’ve had time to fully complete the game.]

Chris Pratt thinks you’ll really like his Mario voice

You don’t think much while playing Final Fantasy XVI.

Feel? Hell yes: Feel the satisfaction of its quick-moving combat; feel the punches as it drags its young hero Clive, kicking and screaming, through a particularly bloody iteration of the hero’s journey. Final Fantasy XVI feels as good as any game in this series has in years; in its first 20 hours, it is a triumph of big, funny, miserable, exciting feelings.

It’s just not necessarily a thinking game.

And that’s not automatically a sin: Amongst the grand, massive pantheon of the Final Fantasy series (numbered, or not), mental rigor has come in and out of fashion with the decades. True, it’s rare for an entry to do with XVI has, and entirely jettison the series’ usual turn-based combat in favor of a pure action game, far more reliant on reflexes than careful character builds or planning. But Final Fantasy has always been less about choosing attack choices from a menu, or even spending time with series mascots like moogles and chocobos (both present here, albeit in more militarized forms), than it has been about relentless re-invention.

In this case, the series has reinvented itself into one of its darkest outings to date, with players taking control of the aforementioned Clive, a former lordling transformed, through some very George R.R. Martin life events, into a slave-assassin stuck working for one of several countries waging endless war in a dying world. Breaking free to embark on a quest to find the mysterious figure who murdered his little brother, Clive ends up drawn into a conflict between “regular” people and a small, horrifically oppressed class of magic users; although it gives plenty of screen time to war-waging gods and political machinations, it’s this class conflict that serves as the game’s primary heart—and the origin of many of its most affecting moments.

Meanwhile, the game completes the path the series’ combat has been on since at least Final Fantasy XV (with a detour through the Final Fantasy VII remake), turning it into an able riff on games like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta. Clive combines swordplay and magic to dash across the battlefield, striking down foes, switching between abilities, and giving constant attack commands to his beloved dog. (Blessedly, you can automate those—and most other action-y aspects of the fights—through a set of customization-friendly accessories.) It’s here, in the hacking and the slashing, where accusations of superficiality can start to sink in, especially for players more accustomed to the pace of earlier games in the franchise; there are ways to do combat like this in a thoughtful fashion (the entire Souls franchise of games has proven that), but Final Fantasy XVI opts not to take on anything that might diminish its relentless pursuit of polish and speed, strike and smash.

Final Fantasy XVI – ‘Salvation’ Launch Trailer | PS5 Games

Admittedly, as Clive’s abilities expand, the decisions being made during combat become more complex—mostly through the addition of new verbs that allow for better counter-attacks or crowd control. But what they don’t ever do is become much more strategic. What’s missing most sorely in Final Fantasy XVI’s combat is an element of planning. Outside of a very basic upgrade system, and an equipment selection so minimal as to be largely non-existent, none of the choices you make in between fights have any meaningful impact on your conduct during them. The fact that it’s usually quite easy to discern the correct choice in the battles themselves—it’s usually whatever will stagger the foe fastest, allowing you lots of free hits on their uniformly beefy health bars—renders the entire thing much less than mindful.

That may, or may not, be a demerit: FFXVI is certainly reaping rewards for the elements it’s selling off here—most especially via the production of climactic battles that are beautiful and sweeping in scope. Boss battles tend to thrill on sheer spectacle if nothing else, and the feeling of dodging a massive swing from some towering monster, then seeing Clive dash back in to punish his foe mid-strike, remains satisfying throughout. (Less so in the non-boss fights that dot your travels through the Blight-ridden lands; these minor battles feel almost entirely like filler, even as the designers try to vary enemies enough to create new challenges from time to time.) Final Fantasy XVI wants to move fast at all times, whether it’s shuffling you along to its next plot beat, or tossing you into a mid-fight cutscene with some very mild “follow the button prompt” action commands to liven things up. It’s very good at looking and feeling incredible, far less interested in going much deeper.

The game’s superficiality extends to its story as well, which is emotionally affecting, well-presented, and, yeah, sometimes a little cheap. The game’s various and obvious Game Of Thrones inspirations—a new-found interest in profanity, sex, and father figures who couldn’t be more transparently doomed if they’d literally cast Sean Bean to play them—cover up what is, beneath, a very traditional Final Fantasy story. Clive might present as a rugged, scarred individual, but he’s not all that far from any number of old-school FF heroes, trying to hold on to optimism in a world where magic/technology (indistinguishably blended, as usual) are always pushing the villains of the planet to more extreme heights and powers.

Image: Square-Enix

At the margins, at least—in the game’s light smattering of optional story content that Clive can embark on in between major missions—there’s room for nuance to slip in, and it’s here that FFXVI finds something approaching a unique voice. The actual content of the game’s various side-quests is minimal—go there, kill that, go home. But their narrative force is surprisingly heavy, as the game uses them to outline the sheer hellishness faced by the less-fortunate in Valisthea’s society; on more than one occasion, the ending of a side quest elicited a “Jesus Christ, that’s dark” from us, an unfamiliar and welcome hint of bite from a franchise that typically trends cheerful.

It helps that Square-Enix’s decades-long focus on production values has put special emphasis on acting this time around; Ben Starr is serviceable as Clive, but the obvious stand-out is The Green Knight’s Ralph Ineson, who brings gravelly warmth to the part of mentor figure Cid. He’s a character given to cheesy one-liners and big speeches—but Ineson sells the hell out of every single one of them, making a compelling case for Cid’s role as a charismatic leader holding a small community of outcasts together. If it’s not the single best performance ever to grace a Final Fantasy game, it’s certainly in the running.

So, does it matter if a game is only occasionally more than surface deep, if the surface is so incredibly appealing? Final Fantasy XVI is generally a blast to play, delivering satisfying moments of violence, triumph, and heartbreak at a steady pace. (And when the game goes what we can only term “full anime,” as it typically does when the larger-than-life summoned monsters known as Eikons come out to play, it transcends into legitimately thrilling.) The worst thing you can say about the game is that it clearly wants to be deeper than it is—and even then, that just pushes it to tackle material this franchise has never touched before, sometimes to good effect. It’s a game for the hands and heart, not the head—but it’s damn good at what it does.

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[Note: This first impressions review covers the

Awards

John Leguizamo is heading back out on the road to explore America’s Latin history.

MSNBC has renewed the award-winning actor’s travel series Leguizamo Does America for a second season. The renewal comes just over a month after the series — which debuted on the cable network on April 16 and also streamed on Peacock — aired its first-season finale. Produced by NBC News Studios, the travelogue show will continue airing on MSNBC for its sophomore run, with season two’s new cities to be announced at a later date.

“I’m so excited for the opportunity to go deeper into America and keep exploring Latin excellence and go to the source of our happiness!” Leguizamo said in a statement. “More Latin legends dinners, more eating and laughter!”

The first season saw the native New Yorker of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent travel to five cities, including his hometown, Miami, Washington D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as Puerto Rico. The first set of six episodes featured celebrity guests like comedian George Lopez and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, alongside local heroes, young actors, community leaders and more. Directed by award-winner Ben De Jesus, the series explored the past and present of each location’s Latino communities.

“It’s been such an honor and pleasure to create, develop and produce this series with a partner as talented, brilliant and passionate as John Leguizamo,” said Liz Cole, president of NBC News Studios. “We’re especially proud to help put a spotlight on the Latino community’s rich culture and significant contributions to this country, working with a predominantly Latino editorial and production staff. We had an exciting first season with MSNBC Films, and we’re thrilled to collaborate with them again on season 2.”

According to MSNBC, Leguizamo Does America reached a broad multicultural audience, including Hispanic viewers, who made up 13 percent of the series broadcast audience. The network also touted the show, which aired at 10 p.m. on Sundays, as the most-viewed MSNBC original in over two years. 

“The team behind Leguizamo Does America created an illuminating series that is as savvy and clever as it is savory and colorful — told through the lens of one of the most iconic voices of the Latino community,” Rashida Jones, president of MSNBC, said. “This show proves once again that there is an audience for diverse stories, and we are so excited MSNBC is its home for another season.”

The news comes the same day as the award-winning actor is set to speak at the Aspen Ideas Festival, a week-long program of the Aspen Institute in partnership with NBCUniversal News Group, where he will appear as a 2023 featured speaker.

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John Leguizamo is heading back out on

Music

Guys, we might need to shut down live shows until we figure out what the hell is going on, because it’s getting weird. Earlier this month, Albanian pop stars appeared to be under siege as both Bebe Rexha and Ava Max both suffered physical attacks on stage while performing. This latest incident during a Pink concert, while less violent, nonetheless feels part and parcel with the current trend of supposed fans harassing artists at their own shows.

Chanté Adams in “A League of Their Own”, Denzel, and more

In video from the concert (below), Pink can be seen kneeling down to pick up a small package mid-song. “Is this your mom?” she nervously questions someone in the crowd. “I don’t know how I feel about this!” She then shuffles forward and hides the baggy of ashes (!!!) behind an amp, looking visibly disturbed.

Of course, wildly inappropriate fan behavior is not a new phenomenon. Just ask Charli XCX, who had a viral moment based on being bombarded by bizarre fan requests. Among the items brought to meet and greets for Charli to sign in 2019 included bottles of poppers and an anal douche. One fan infamously posed with the pop star and—relevantly—a small key chain of his mother’s ashes.

If you’re wondering why someone would do such a thing, the fan explained it to Paper Magazine. “There are two reasons why I asked Charli to take the picture. One, I wanted to do something with my mom. I wanted to spend time with her, bring her along with me,” he said. “And also I just thought it would be silly. I’m someone who uses humor to cope a lot, and I thought it would be a funny thing, Charli with my mom, but it’s not my mom, it’s just this keychain that has some of her ashes in it.” The fan added that Charli was “shocked and surprised” by the request, “But she didn’t seem horribly bothered.”

Perhaps the fan who threw the ashes at P!nk also thought it would be funny (that’s the reason the person who assaulted Bebe Rexha gave for chucking his phone at her face too). But fans should possibly stop to question whether what’s funny to them will also be funny to the person on stage (and also whether that supposedly funny thing might get them charged with assault).

Anecdotally, some concertgoers have been grumbling online about a decline in concert etiquette in recent years. Bad behavior includes lots of filming on phones, acting aggressively, and yeah, throwing shit. Some attribute this to people forgetting how to behave post-COVID, while others point to social media and the desire to capture viral moments overriding common sense. The desire for virality, on top of a hunger for attention from an idol, has certainly motivated people to act in outrageous ways.

Regardless of the reasons, incidents like this may well serve only to alienate artists from fans. Miley Cyrus, for one, cited a feeling of a lack of safety as one of the reasons she’s uninterested in touring at present. Would you want to keep having meet and greets if you knew someone was going to shove their anal douche in your hands? Or hold a concert if you knew someone was going to throw an unidentified powdery substance on stage? Bottom line: if you’re going to a show, please be cool, and if you want to bring your mother’s ashes along, maybe keep them to yourself.

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Guys, we might need to shut down

Docs

Marguerite’s Theorem (Le Théorème de Marguerite) by French director Anna Novion stars Ella Rumpf as Marguerite, a brilliant mathematics student at France’s top university working on solving Goldbach’s conjecture for her thesis. The film premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where its production designer Anne-Sophie Delseries won the CST Young Film Technician Award as it really immersed us in the world of a tormented genius who sees math everywhere while going through a period of doubt and coming-of-age of sorts. Anna Novion answered a few of our questions about the movie and this one-of-a-kind story about a rare female mathematics Ph.D. struggling to pay rent in Paris.

What inspired you to make this movie or tell this story?
Anna Novion: When I start a film, I always begin with a feeling, an emotion. I thought about a feeling of imprisonment and dislocation that I experienced when I was about 20 years old. I’d been ill and had to stay at home for six months. When I recovered, I felt very out of touch with the world, with young people of my age, with their carefree attitude. When I tried to convey what I had felt, I thought of the Ivy League schools where young people work in a vacuum and are cut off from the outside world. That’s how I met mathematicians and had an Instrumental meeting with Ariane Mézard, a great French mathematician. 

“When I start a film, I always begin with a feeling, an emotion.”

This meeting completely guided the writing of the film and took it to a place I hadn’t expected. The way she talked about her job triggered something in me because she talked about everything that drives me in my job: the passion, the necessity, the difficulty, the tenacity, the relentlessness… I realized that there was a real parallel to be drawn between mathematics and artistic creation. What links mathematics and filmmaking is the risk and passion that means we’re sometimes prepared to work for years without knowing whether our work will come to an end. It became a very personal film that evoked my relationship with creation.  

Did you always have a woman mathematician in mind for the protagonist, or is Marguerite based on a real person?
I think Marguerite is a blend of Ariane Mézard and myself. Ariane Mézard’s stories inspired me a lot. She was the best and only girl in her class. I also wanted to tell the story of what it’s like to be a woman in a masculine environment. Even in my profession, I’ve felt the pressure of feeling like you are the exception and you have to prove that you belong. So, Marguerite sees herself as a kind of anomaly, and she feels this competition all the more because she’s the only woman. 

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Marguerite’s Theorem (Le Théorème de Marguerite) by

Global

Toronto’s mayor-elect Olivia Chow will officially take office in mid-July, the city says.

In a statement Tuesday, the city said its clerk John D. Elvidge is expected to certify the official results of Monday’s mayoral byelection by June 28.

“At her request and subject to the certification of the official results, the Mayor-elect will take office on Wednesday, July 12, after making the Declaration of Office with the City Clerk,” the statement read.


Click to play video: 'Olivia Chow’s victory speech invites Torontonians to help her make ‘affordable, safe, caring’ city'


Olivia Chow’s victory speech invites Torontonians to help her make ‘affordable, safe, caring’ city


The city said it would share more details about the Declaration ceremony once plans are confirmed.

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Chow bested 101 other candidates vying for Toronto’s top job, and collected 269,372 or 37.17 per cent of the votes. 

Chow will take over from Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie who stepped in to head the city after the sudden departure of former mayor John Tory.

Tory stepped down from the role in February after admitting to having had an inappropriate relationship with a former staff member.

The crowded field to replace Tory included several well-known names including Ana Bailao, Mark Saunders, Anthony Furey and Josh Matlow, who rounded out the top five on election night.

Trending Now

In her victory speech Monday evening, 66-year-old Chow, a former NDP MP and a long-time city councillor, pledged she would work with city councillors, her fellow mayoral candidates and all levels of government to create “an affordable, safe and caring” Toronto.

“If we come together, we can mend a crack in the sky,” she said.


Click to play video: 'Implications of Olivia Chow’s Mayoral Win'


Implications of Olivia Chow’s Mayoral Win


&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Tech

Paramount Global has officially rolled out its integration of Paramount+ and Showtime for $11.99 per month.

The latest offering combines Paramount’s expansive collection of exclusive new originals, hit series, marquee franchises and popular movies from its brands and production studios including BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures and the Smithsonian Channel, with newly added Showtime content.

“By adopting the boundary-pushing programming of Showtime onto our platform, Paramount+ has fortified itself as the ultimate total household destination in streaming,” Paramount Streaming president and CEO Tom Ryan said in a statement. “Together, these powerhouse brands will showcase the breadth and depth of our content offering from across Paramount. At this price point, we’ll put the value of the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan up against any other.”

Paramount+ programming includes the Taylor Sheridan’s “1883,” “1923,” “Tulsa King” and “Special Ops: Lioness,” “Star Trek,” Spongebob Squarepants,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” “Scream VI,” “NCIS” and “Paw Patrol.” The service also offers access to live events and sports, including the NFL on CBS and thousands of exclusive soccer matches a year, anchored by the UEFA Champions League. 

Meanwhile, Showtime programming includes “Yellowjackets,” “Dexter,” “Your Honor,” “George & Tammy,” “Billions,” “The Chi,” “The Curse,” “Fellow Travelers,” “A Gentleman in Moscow,” and The Woman in the Wall.” 

“From ‘Your Honor’ to ‘Yellowjackets,’ Showtime is synonymous with provocative and sophisticated series which, when combined with Paramount+ and the mass appeal of our blockbuster movies and originals, makes for an unparalleled array of content choices for the entire household,” Showtime, MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks president and CEO Chris McCarthy added.

Paramount Streaming Losses Reach $511 Million as It Misses Q1 Earnings

Prior to the integration, Showtime’s programming has been available through a bundle with Paramount+.

“Up to now, customers who have used the current Paramount+/SHOWTIME bundle have watched 40% more titles than subscribers with the standalone Paramount+ plan, and they spend about 20% more time on Paramount+,” a spokesperson told TheWrap.

The spokesperson noted that “Yellowjackets” currently ranks as the highest Showtime driver of starts and consumption on Paramount+ since the bundle launch, followed by “Your Honor.” The company anticipates that “Billions” and “The Chi,” which return on Aug. 11 and 4, respectively, will also be strong performance drivers for the combined service.

Paramount Remains ‘Very Open Minded’ to Consolidation Opportunities, CFO Says

In addition to the top tier of Paramount+ increasing from $9.99 per month to $11.99 per month, the cheaper, ad-supported Essentials tier, which will not include Showtime, has increased to $5.99 from $4.99 per month. Consumers who already pay for the Paramount+/Showtime bundle are not be affected by the price increase.

A free 30-day trial of Paramount+ with Showtime will be available for new customers from now through July 12. Meanwhile, existing Premium subscribers will automatically receive access to the new rebranded plan.

The Showtime linear channel currently remains as of this time, but will be rebranded to Paramount+ with Showtime in the future. Internationally, Showtime content is already included on Paramount+. Showtime’s standalone app will shut down by the end of 2023.

‘Star Trek: Prodigy,’ ‘Grease’ Series Canceled and to Be Removed From Paramount+ Ahead of Showtime Integration

The move comes as Paramount Global is pushing to turn its streaming business profitable. The combination is expected to generate $700 million of future expense savings for the company.

As of the end of its latest quarter, Paramount Global reported a total of 60 million Paramount+ subscribers globally. Losses in the streaming business increased to $511 million in the quarter compared to $456 million a year ago, but fell from $575 million in the December quarter. Revenue in the direct-to-consumer division grew 39% year over year to $1.5 billion. At the time, executives said that Paramount remained on track for peak streaming investment in 2023 and would return to free cash flow in 2024.

Paramount+ With Showtime comes after Warner Bros. Discovery launched its Max rebrand on May 23, combining the libraries of HBO Max and Discovery+. Max offers three pricing tiers: Max Ad Lite for $9.99 per month, Max Ad-Free for $15.99 per month and Max Ultimate Ad-Free for $19.99 per month.

In addition, Disney+ and Hulu will combine into one app offering by the end of the year.

‘1883’ Draws 3.8 Million Viewers in Paramount Network Premiere

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Paramount Global has officially rolled out its

Video

Following CNN’s airing of audio of Donald Trump confessing to having classified documents on Monday night, the man himself put the tape on blast on his social media. But “Morning Joe” panelist Jonathan Lemire noticed one key thing missing from Trump’s words: a denial that the tape is real.

In the audio obtained by CNN, and later by The New York Times, the twice-indicted former president can be heard talking to unnamed people about papers, and is heard rustling them. Those papers reportedly contained confidential plans regarding Iran, and Trump clearly indicates that he doesn’t have the ability to declassify them anymore (which, of course, flies in the face of Trump’s previous claims to Fox News’ Bret Baier).

Shortly after the audio was released, Trump angrily posted on Truth Social, writing that prosecutor Jack Smith “illegally leaked and ‘spun’ a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe.” But, on Tuesday morning’s episode of “Morning Joe,” Jonathan Lemire was quick to point out what that post means.

“We should note, in his Truth Social post last night, he didn’t challenge the validity or authenticity of the tape,” Lemire said. “He took a different interpretation of it, but didn’t say it was fake.”

That said, Lemire and his “Morning Joe” colleagues don’t expect this new audio to hurt Trump much, at least among his Republican colleagues.

“You would think so, right? But I mean, how many potential offramps have they had that they passed by?” Charlie Sykes said.

You can watch the full conversation from “Morning Joe” in the video above.

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Following CNN’s airing of audio of Donald

Entertaintment

WWE is expanding its relationship with broadcaster Jackie Redmond. The sports entertainment giant will now have Redmond serve as a backstage interviewer for “Monday Night Raw” alongside Byron Saxton, Variety has learned exclusively.

In addition, Redmond will now serve as co-host of WWE’s premium live event kickoff shows alongside Kayla Braxton, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, and Pete Rosenberg. She will continue to do studio work for WWE, as she has with “Raw Talk” and “Talking Smack,” throughout the year. During the hockey season, Redmond will continue to work for NHL Network and WBD Sports.

Cathy Kelley will now move to “SmackDown,” where she will join Kayla Braxton as a backstage interviewer. Megan Morant will host “Raw Talk,” “SmackDown LowDown,” international shows for television, and digital shows including the “Monday Night Raw” sidecast on Twitch.

Redmond first joined WWE in 2021 as co-host of “Raw Talk” and “Talking Smack.” She has over 10 years of broadcasting experience, getting her start as a host and reporter in her native Canada. In addition to her work for NHL Network and WBD Sports, Redmond has also worked for companies like Rogers Sportsnet.

Variety previously reported on other broadcaster shakeups at WWE. In October 2022, the company switched up a number of its commentary and interviewer positions. It was in that announcement that it was revealed Kelley would be returning to WWE after exiting in 2020. Saxton moved to the backstage interviewer role at that time, after having previously worked on the “Raw” commentary desk.

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WWE is expanding its relationship with broadcaster

Movies

The long, white dress worn by Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in the final scene of the original 1977 “Star Wars” movie, “A New Hope,” was once thought to have been long gone, destroyed after the film’s production.

But the iconic dress was recently found in a London attic and will go up for sale at a live auction on Wednesday. It could sell for as much as $2 million, according to an estimate by Propstore, a company that sells film and TV memorabilia and is organizing the auction.

In the film, Princess Leia wore the dress, a ceremonial gown that was made from lightweight silk and styled with a silver belt, during an awards ceremony. In the scene, the princess, who is a leader of the Rebel Alliance, honors Han Solo, played by Harrison Ford, and Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, with medals after the destruction of the Death Star.

The dress was thought to have been destroyed after filming for the movie had been completed. Brandon Alinger, chief operating officer of Propstore, said it was common during filmmaking in the 1970s for costumes to be destroyed or returned if they were rented.

“There was not a great focus on saving this material when that first movie was made,” Mr. Alinger said.

The dress was among the items that had been slated to be destroyed, but a crew member of the set recognized it and held on to it. The dress had been stored for years, until recently, when it was found in an attic at the home of the movie crew member in London, Mr. Alinger said.

“When we first saw it, it was in something of a poor state,” Mr. Alinger said.

After the dress was found, textile conservators in London spent eight months working to restore it, removing dust and dirt that had accumulated on it and restitching open seams, according to Propstore.

“This is sort of very painstaking work,” Mr. Alinger said. “Imagine someone bent over with a microscope or a magnifying lens, studying the little holes and trying to fill those holes with a similar material.”

The dress was conceived of by John Mollo, who won the award for best costume design for “Star Wars” at the Academy Awards in March 1978.

“It’s incredibly important because it’s literally the last thing that you see in the original ‘Star Wars’ film,” Mr. Alinger said of the dress. “I think if you’re a ‘Star Wars’ fan, you look at it and it just gels for you.”

There are no words spoken in the final scene of the movie — except for guttural noises from Chewbacca, Han’s Wookiee co-pilot, and beeps from the droid R2-D2.

In that scene, the leading characters, Luke and Han, walk down a long hall, where a crowd has gathered for the ceremony. Leia places medals over the necks of Han and Luke, who then bow to her before turning to face those gathered in the hall as they applaud the heroes.

The auction for the dress, which began on May 31 for online proxy bids, started at $500,000, and an absentee offer was submitted for $750,000, according to Propstore. Bids can be submitted online or in person at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

The dress is among more than $12 million worth of TV and film memorabilia that will be sold at the auction, with bids ending on Friday. Items include a shield from the 2004 movie “Troy” that was worn by Brad Pitt while playing the main character, Achilles.

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The long, white dress worn by Carrie

Latest News

Lewis Capaldi is “taking a break” from touring to focus on his mental and physical health.

The 26-year-old singer took to social media on Tuesday to make the announcement, saying that he came to the realization after his Glastonbury set on Saturday, during which Capaldi lost his voice and fans helped him finish his hit “Someone You Loved.” Earlier this month, Capaldi canceled all his shows prior to Glastonbury in order to “be at my best and ready” for the festival.

“The fact that this probably won’t come as a surprise doesn’t make it any easier to write, but I’m very sorry to let you know I’m going to be taking a break from touring for the foreseeable future,” Capaldi wrote in a statement. “I used to be able to enjoy every second of shows like this and I’d hoped three weeks away would sort me out. But the truth is I’m still learning to adjust to the impact of my Tourette’s and on Saturday it became obvious that I need to spend much more time getting my mental and physical health in order, so I can keep doing everything I love for a long time to come.”

Capaldi has been open about his struggles with mental health and Tourette syndrome, which causes uncontrollable repetitive movements or sounds. In his Netflix documentary “How I’m Feeling Now,” Capaldi documented his journey being diagnosed with the disorder amid his rise to fame.

“It was terrifying to share it,” Capaldi told Variety in an April interview. “Even though I’m open and forthcoming online, it’s usually through quite a jovial lens.”

Read Capaldi’s full statement below.

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Lewis Capaldi is “taking a break” from

MCU

Australian megastar Chris Hemsworth continues to stay busy with a handful of new movie and TV credits over the next few years.

Over the last decade and change, Hemsworth rose through the ranks of Hollywood through his work in a number of major franchises that stand out in the pop culture landscape.

Before a potential health scare that led him to plan out a break from work to take care of himself, Hemsworth was quite active in the entertainment landscape with credits in Men in Black: International, Bad Times at the El Royale, Spiderhead, and much more.

Chris Hemsworth’s Upcoming Movies & TV Shows

With that being said, below are five new movies and TV shows that will feature Chris Hemsworth in 2023 and later.

1.) Furiosa

Chris Hemsworth

2015’s hit movie Mad Max: Fury Road will add to its legacy with a prequel movie titled Furiosa featuring The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s Anya Taylor-Joy, with Chris Hemsworth actually taking on a rare villain role.

The Aussie will play the bearded and terrifying Warlord Dementus who leads a band of bikers that will surely give Taylor-Joy’s younger Imperator Furiosa a world of problems upon his arrival.

2.) Transformers One

Optimus Prime, Transformers: Prime
Hasbro

Joining three of his Marvel Studios co-stars in Scarlett Johansson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Laurence Fishburne, Hemsworth will go into the animated genre by taking on the iconic voice of Autobot leader Optimus Prime in Transformers One.

This movie will serve as a prequel to Michael Bay’s first Transformers movie from 2007, with Hemsworth taking over for the legendary Peter Cullen as a younger version of Optimus that leads an early battle on Cybertron.

Chris Hemsworth, Tyler Rake, Extraction 2
Netflix

Teaming up with Joe and Anthony Russo, Chris Hemsworth took on the role of Tyler Rake in 2020’s Extraction and 2023’s Extraction 2, with Extraction 3 getting a confirmation for development one day after its predecessor debuted on Netflix.

While no story details were announced for this new outing, Hemsworth is confirmed to return as the black market mercenary and former Australian Special Agent for a third time.

4.) Hulk Hogan Biopic

Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan

First reported in 2019 for an eventual Netflix release, it was announced that Chris Hemsworth would team up with Joker director Todd Phillips to develop a biopic centered on iconic WWF and WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan.

Although updates on development have been scarce, Hemsworth will portray Hulk Hogan in this film, bulking up even beyond his MCU levels and diving into one of wrestling’s most legendary figures from the 1980s.

5.) What If…? Season 2 (Rumored)

Thor, What If...?
Marvel Studios

While he hasn’t been confirmed for inclusion yet, Hemsworth is rumored to be returning to the voiceover booth in the MCU for the second time as he plays Thor, the God of Thunder, in Season 2 of What If…? on Disney+.

He played an important supporting role in Season 1 as a member of the Guardians of the Multiverse, but it’s unclear what new stories he would take on with a possible comeback in Season 2 after bringing the goofy Party Thor to life in Episode 7.

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DCU

According to a box office analysis, The Flash is bound to lose so much money that it would have probably been better for DC to have never released the film in the first place. Ezra Miller leads The Flash as Barry Allen, giving their best performance yet in the role; however, Miller’s acting and the combined efforts of The Flash‘s talented cast — including Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton’s versions of Batman, Sasha Calle’s Supergirl, and others — could not save the film from being a box office bomb. After The Flash had one of the DCEU’s worst box office openings, things have not gotten better for the film.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT


On Twitter, box office analyst Luiz Fernando seemingly answered whether Warner Bros. Discovery would have lost more money not releasing The Flash than it has by putting the movie in theaters.

According to the analyst, The Flash is eyeing a $280 million to $310 million global run at the box office. Based on the movie’s $150 million marketing budget and the fact that the studio only keeps half the global theatrical gross of the film, The Flash would not even properly recoup its marketing cost if it matches projections. Beyond that, Luiz calculates that The Flash could end up losing over $200 million, a hefty blow to the DC brand.



The Flash May Lose Warner Bros $200m

The Flash losing $200 million is a major deal. Before the film’s release, the latest DC entry was heralded by a number of celebrities — including Tom Cruise, Stephen King, and Jaden Smith — as a fantastic movie. DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn echoed the sentiment with statements claiming that The Flash is one of the best superhero movies of all time. Miller’s many controversies over the past couple of years, allied with a series of leaks, which included The Flash fully leaking on Twitter, contributed to the pre-release hype not translating into box office numbers.

The Flash‘s poor financial exploits put it alongside some of the several box office bombs that have come from the comic book movie community over the years. The Flash‘s $200 million loss stands alongside films like Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern, which grossed just $220 million against a $200 million budget, and 1997’s Batman & Robin, with the George Clooney film making $238 million on a $125 to $160 million budget.

2017’s Justice League, whose major box office loss led to major shakeups at DC, reportedly lost less money than The Flash. The film grossed $657.9 million on a $300 million budget, losing around $60 million. The Flash is also performing worse than Black Adam. Per Box Office Mojo, the ill-received Dwayne Johnson movie ended its global run with $393.2 million against a reported $195 million budget, losing up to $100 million. The Flash also had a poor second-weekend drop, with its 73% only being better than Morbius‘ 73.8% among comic book movies that debuted in first place. Based on the numbers, The Flash is sadly a failure for DC.

Source: Luiz Fernando/Twitter

Key Release Dates

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According to a box office analysis, The

Comics

RauLeCreuset14m ago

That’s not what that means. Hines was upset at the inconsistent public stance and lack of communication. He was concerned Todd Howard was going to get blindsided with questions about why Xbox was saying at the time that Activision games would be multi platform but not Bethesda games.

The bigger takeaway was this:

“If what Hines states is true, The Elder Scrolls 6 will be an Xbox and PC exclusive. While not particularly surprising, this does seem to go against Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer’s testimony last week, in which he stated the company had yet to decide if The Elder Scrolls 6 would be available on PlayStation.”

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RauLeCreuset14m agoThat's not what that means. Hines

Festivals

Wireless video is essential for modern productions. For our “Deals of the Week,” we have options for all budget levels.

Video and film production in 2023 is all about being untethered. Be it your follow focus, monitor, and even your lens, our tools have become more wireless across the board. 

For our Deals of the Week, we have three wireless video options to upgrade your toolkit and make it ready for making movies in 2023.

The cheaper option on our list, the Accsoon CineView HE is a great wireless video solution for creatives that don’t have a lot to spend. Filmmakers will be able to send a 1080p60 camera signal to the included receiver plus up to three mobile devices. A versatile wireless video system, it provides a cost-effective way of monitoring an HDMI camera signal over distances up to 1200′ with only a 60 ms delay. 

The included dedicated receiver features an HDMI output and a USB UVC output to output your signal to a computer for streaming using third-party apps. The companion app provides image tools such as peaking, zebras, false color for exposure, and cube 3D LUT overlay. The transmitter and receiver feature DC and USB Type-C power inputs, and they also support an optional L-series battery that can power the set for up to 12 hours.

For the price, the CineView HE is one of the best tools you can buy if you need wireless video and you’re on a budget. 

Teradek has been the leader of wireless video in film and television. Go to any set, and you’ll see two things—SmallHD and Teradek. Both of these tools are now owned by the same umbrella company, which means you’ll see a little bit of crossover in the product line.

With the Teradek Bolt 6 LT 750, filmmakers can transmit and receive lossless HD video from up to 750′ line of sight with claimed latency of around 0.01 ms. While that will depend on your environment and setup, it’s some of the best specs on the market for a wireless video tool.

This kit includes a wireless Bolt 6 LT 3G-SDI/HDMI transmitter and a wireless Bolt 6 LT 3G-SDI/HDMI receiver that supports the new 6 GHz wireless frequency. It features a bright OLED display and can wirelessly receive up to UHD 4K30 video with 10-bit 4:2:2 HDR support.

The transmitter inputs video over 3G-SDI or HDMI and features 3G-SDI and HDMI loop outputs, and the receiver outputs video via 3G-SDI and HDMI. Both units are also compatible with all Bolt 4K models using the 5 GHz wireless band. If you have money to spend on your kit, Teradek is the way to go.

A more recent addition to the wireless video landscape, the Atomos Shogun CONNECT is less of a wireless video system and more of a monitor/recorder with wireless video capabilities.

Expanding on the HDR recording and monitoring capabilities of the original Shogun, the CONNECT version integrates cloud connectivity via multiple wireless interfaces. The 7″ 1920 x 1200 touchscreen display boasts a brightness of 2000 cd/m², while a loop-through 12G-SDI input and output interface support SDI RAW recording. Both the HDMI and 12G-SDI connections can record, monitor, and transmit 4K video with ease. Record and store your footage using the SATA 3 SSD slot compatible with Master Caddy II/III and AtomX SSD mini. Power for the Shogun CONNECT can be achieved via the locking DC jack or with a separately available L-series battery.

But which one is right for you? Let us know in the comments.     

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Wireless video is essential for modern productions.

Film

The Call of Duty games, evolution of the fandom, the developer Activision’s many scandals and the overall appeal of the unkilllable videogame saga gets dissected in full focus tonight!

 

 

 

 

 

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The Call of Duty games,

TV

Neve McIntosh (“Shetland”) and James Anthony-Rose (“Slow Horses,” “Pennyworth”) are joining the seven-episode fourth season of Masterpiece on PBS’ “All Creatures Great and Small.”

The drama, based on a collection of stories by best-selling author James Herriot that have sold 60 million copies internationally, is currently filming on location in Yorkshire and will air on the network in early 2024 and Channel 5 in the UK this fall.

Season 4 will return to Yorkshire Dales, picking up in 1940 as Churchill takes office and Europe is under serious threat. With Tristan away serving in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Siegfried Farnon (Samuel West) and James Herriot (Nicholas Ralph) bring in some extra hands to help around the practice.

McIntosh will play the highly efficient bookkeeper Miss Harbottle, while Anthony-Rose will play undergraduate vet student Richard Carmody who arrives at Skeldale as part of his placement under the guidance of James.

“I can’t wait for our Masterpiece audience to see this new season of All Creatures Great and Small,” Simpson said in a statement. “It continues to be full of the warmth and humor that has made it one of our most successful series ever.”

In addition to Ralph and West, Rachel Shenton returns as Helen Herriot (“White Gold,” “For Her Sins”), Anna Madeley (“Time,” “Patrick Melrose”) returns as the matriarch of Skeldale House, Mrs. Hall, and Patricia Hodge (“Miranda,” “A Very English Scandal”) reprises her role as Mrs. Pumphrey.

Other members of the Season 4 cast include Tony Pitts, Imogen Clawson, Paul Copley, Cleo Sylvestre MBE, James Bolam MBE, Will Thorp and Sam Retford.

PBS Kids Not Impacted by Writers’ Strike: ‘There Isn’t That Same Commercial Engine Driving It’

“All Creatures Great and Small” is a Playground production for Channel 5 and Masterpiece in association with All3Media International. Masterpiece is presented on PBS by GBH Boston.

The series is executive produced by Colin Callender, Melissa Gallant, lead writer Jamie Crichton and Ben Vanstone for Playground, Susanne Simpson and Rebecca Eaton for Masterpiece, and Louise Pedersen and David Swetman for All3Media International. New additions include Maxine Alderton (Emmerdale Farm, Doctor Who) and Helen Raynor (A Discovery of Witches, Call the Midwife).

Andy Hay (“The Last Kingdom,” “Jamestown”) will serve as lead director and direct episodes 1 and 2, while Stewart Svaasand (“Tin Star,” “Death in Paradise”) will direct episodes 3, 4 and 6 and BAFTA winner Jordan Hogg (“Ralph and Katie,” “Screw”) will direct episode 5 and the Christmas special, which will be written by Vanstone.

PBS Kids Head Sara DeWitt Says ‘Creativity Is Most Exciting’ Outside of Traditional Media

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Neve McIntosh (“Shetland”) and James Anthony-Rose (“Slow

Awards

The Malta Film Commission has outlined its plans to take the Mediterranean island’s burgeoning locations business to the next level as it enjoys its busiest year ever, on the fringes of its new Mediterrane Film Festival.

Commissioner Johann Grech told an industry conference taking place within the new festival that after six years in the job building up Malta as a shooting location, his next goal was to take the country’s film industry to the ‘next level’.

“The ‘next level’ for film in Malta means creating a truly sustainable, year-round film industry, giving ever more opportunities to our people,” he said.

The country – which increased its cash rebate to 40% from 30% on eligible local spend at the beginning of 2023 – has hosted 20 productions in the first six months of this year, against 24 productions for the whole of 2022.  

Four productions have shot or are shooting on the island in June, spanning Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2; North Sea oil rig accident thriller Last Breath, capsized fishing boat drama Not Without Hope and reality show House Of Streams.

Ridley has returned to his favorite spot of Fort Ricasoli, where he has had Ancient Rome including its colosseum reconstructed, while Last Breath and Not Without Hope made use of Malta’s famed water tanks, which previously hosted the shoots of films like Captain Phillips.

Pre-production is also underway for the return of the news season of France-set show The Madame Blanc Mysteries.

At the heart of commission’s plan is an ambitious educational and outreach campaign aimed at expanding and up-skilling the country’s pool of film crew.

“The film industry has captured the imagination of Malta’s young people. One in four are interested in working in film. Our task is transforming that raw enthusiasm into skilled crews,” said Grech

He explained how the country had responded to a looming crew crunch ahead of the busy summer schedule with a European Union-backed program of free courses covering different aspects of production, aimed at encouraging people in Malta’s 290,000-strong workforce to transfer their skills to the film industry.

“With Gladiator 2 shooting here in Malta – alongside a host of other productions – it was clear that we were heading for a real crunch in capacity. There was a danger we would simply run out of people,” he explained.

“So, the Film Commission stepped in. We asked Malta’s skilled workers to step up. Like a happier version of that famous British army recruiting poster – your country needs you.  And the response was strong – thousands called.

“We were ready with short, tailored training courses. To enable individuals with existing craft skills to transfer them to the needs of film. Take a make-up artist working in a salon, or a carpenter making furniture – they already have really strong skills. They just need to be shown how those skills can be deployed on a film set.”

According to Grech, Malta currently has around 1,500 people registered as available for work on film and TV productions, with 900 people working on a regular basis.

Some 600 local crew are currently working Gladiator 2 alongside 400 international technicians, he said.

“I want to increase the workforce by 50% within two years,” he told Deadline.

In a longer-term initiative, the commission has also spearheaded a move to add cinema to the primary school curriculum in Malta, to prime a new generation of film and TV professionals.

“I want our children, our young people to choose a career in the film industry and that’s why we’re having a very robust educational program to ensure we meet those challenges,” Grech told Deadline after his speech.

Alongside Maltese state and EU funding, the programs are also being paid for by a new obligation for productions benefiting from the cash rebate to pay 0.5% of their spend on the island into a special educational fund.

Another pole of the 2030 strategy is to expand infrastructure and improve existing facilities.

Grech said that a previously announced project to construct the country’s first interior sound stage at the Malta Film Studios in Kalkara was advancing and that it would be put out to international tender shortly.

The 4,000 square metres facility will feature an environment-controlled, indoor 2,000 square-metre water tank overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.

Grech said a next step would be further investment in post-production and VFX companies.

The new Mediterrane Film Festival – spearheaded by Grech and his team – is also part of the commission’s strategy to foster a cinema culture in Malta and put it on the map as a regional industry hub.

Running June 25 to 30 in the Maltese capital of Valetta, the aim of the event is to foster collaboration between the so-called Club Med or MED9 nations, or EU member states with Mediterranean borders.

Each of the territories – spanning Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain – have submitted a film for its new competition, with contenders including award winners Saint Omer, Alma Viva and Alcarràs.

A jury chaired Film London and British Film Commission CEO Adrian Wootton will hand out the new Golden Bee awards at a gala ceremony on Friday.

The event will also world premiere a special film celebrating Malta as a shooting location and featuring David Walliams, Eric Bana, Natascha McElhone, Jareh Harris, Joaquim de Almeida, Annabelle Wallis, Darko Perić and Daniela Melchior in the cast.

The industry conference also continues until Friday with panels on public financing, trends in AI and digital technology and industry standards for diversity and inclusion.

Other festival events include the world premiere on Tuesday evening of survival thriller Deep Fear, in the presence of co-stars Ed Westwick and Madalina Ghenea.

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The Malta Film Commission has outlined its

Music

Post Malone is gearing up for the release of his upcoming album, Austin, and revealed the names of the project’s 17 tracks on Monday. He also shared a snippet of one of the songs, “Something Real.”

“My new record AUSTIN has 17 songs and drops July 28th ??,” Malone wrote on Instagram. “Here’s a snippet of one of em ? I love you!!!”

The snippet features his beautiful vocals while a haunting choir repeats the lyrics, “Something real” and “Something I can feel.”

Among the tracks featured on the record are songs such as “Novacandy, “Socialite,” “Speedometer,” “Hold My Breath,” and “Enough Is Enough.” (Full track list below.) The back of the record features a white cut-out of a pickup truck parked in front of a suburban home and the album’s title (his name, Austin) printed in large font. (The LP also features singles “Chemical” and “Mourning.”)

Malone announced the record in mid-May, sharing an Instagram Reel with details about the new music.

“I wanted to say that I love you guys so very fucking much,” Malone shared in an Instagram Reel. “I’m here on tour in Europe right now, and I wanted to tell you guys that I have an album coming out this summer on July 28. It’s called Austin. Like my name — that is my name.”

He added: “It’s been some of the funnest music, some of the most challenging and rewarding music for me, at least — trying to really push myself and really do some cool stuff. I played guitar on every song on the record, and it was a really, really fun experience, and I’m super, super excited to share it with you.”

Malone — who dropped his album Twelve Carat Toothache — is also set to head out on the road this summer for his If Y’all Weren’t Here, I’d Be Crying 2023 Tour.

Trending

Austin Track List:

1. “Don’t Understand”
2. “Something Real”
3. “Chemical”
4. “Novacandy”
5. “Mourning”
6. “Too Cool To Die”
7. “Sign Me Up”
8. “Socialite”
9. “Overdrive”
10. “Speedometer”
11. “Hold My Breath”
12. “Enough Is Enough”
13. “Texas Tea”
14. “Buyer Beware”
15. “Landmine”
16. “Green Thumb”
17. “Laugh It Off”

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Post Malone is gearing up for

Docs

Completing my first short film marked a significant milestone in my journey as a filmmaker. 

With this accomplishment, I now proudly present myself to the world as an up-and-coming film director, dedicated only to pursuing directing jobs that align with my wildest dreams and aspirations. Coming from six years of experience in corporate filmmaking, where I collaborated with some diverse brands to create web and social media content, I realised that while it offered creative opportunities, it fell short of fulfilling my ambitions. 

It became clear that I needed to go beyond being a video maker and prove my ability to deliver on a larger scale; I need to shoot more content.  This need has two objectives:

1- I need to refine and establish my visual style as a director

2- I need a way to make experience without committing to a full length projects before I transition to making my first feature.

But as any filmmakers know, creating a short films is no easy task. 

It requires strong ideas, careful planning, meticulous execution, and an enormous amount of energy and time.  So, I started researching the topic to understand how to maximise the potential of a short film. With this article I want to present my findings.

The Rise of Branded Content

In today’s fast-paced digital era, brands are constantly searching for innovative methods to captivate their target audience and effectively communicate their unique value proposition. 

One approach that is gaining significant popularity is the use of short films.

Traditional advertising methods, such as interruptions and annoying ads, no longer resonate with viewers who are increasingly using ad blockers or simply skipping ads to focus on the content they genuinely desire. 

The effectiveness of classic advertisements is fading, compelling brands to explore new avenues to capture audience attention.

Short films offer a condensed storytelling format that allows brands to convey their core values and brand narrative in a captivating and emotionally engaging manner. 

By crafting compelling characters, exploring thought-provoking themes, and weaving narratives that resonate with the audience, brands can forge a deep emotional connection that effectively promotes their values while prioritising audience satisfaction and entertainment. (Dens, N. & Poels, K. – The rise, growth, and future of branded content in the digital media landscape, 2022, International Journal of Advertising)

Short films possess immense potential for sharing and engagement in the age of social media, where content spreads rapidly. More and more brands are using it to convey their values, their ’themes’, to us audiences.

I love how some brands use incredible storytelling techniques to entertain audiences all over the world. I recently saw a short film made by Vogue about NYC, and I absolutely loved it. 

Another excellent example of branded content that gained significant attention is Discord’s “Imagine a Place” short film.

I think that by making branded  short films one learns and showcase skills profitable on the market. More than ever, brands are striving nowadays for great content.

The Importance of Proof of Concept

Proof of concept short films play a crucial role in the film industry. 

These short films serve as visual representations of a larger project’s potential, be it a feature film, a television series, or a web series.

A proof of concept short film allows filmmakers to convey their creative vision, tone, and style to potential investors, producers, and collaborators. It provides a glimpse into the larger project’s potential and helps stakeholders understand the filmmaker’s storytelling capabilities. 

This powerful tool aids in securing funding for a feature film or series, as it demonstrates the commercial viability of the concept and increases the chances of obtaining financial support.

Additionally, releasing a well-executed proof of concept short film generates buzz and excitement around the project. It garners attention from industry professionals, critics, and audiences, igniting interest and anticipation for the larger work. 

Furthermore, it serves as a testing ground for ideas, enabling filmmakers to refine their execution and identify areas for improvement before committing to a full-length production.

As an example, I would like to share a nice proof of concept short film that caught my attention due to its ability to surprise and defy expectations, while keeping the shooting budget fairly low.

Conclusion

Proof of concept short films and branded content have become essential tools for filmmakers and brands alike. These mediums enable filmmakers to effectively communicate their vision, secure funding, generate interest, refine their ideas, and foster collaboration.

As I embark on my journey as a film director, I firmly believe that the power of short films will rise more and more to shape the industry. In fact, I think that creating a proof of concept short film or a branded content short film is the most secure and effective way to ensure a return on the investment of time, energy, and resources dedicated to crafting a short film.

These approaches not only allow filmmakers to showcase their talent and creative vision but also offer a tangible and strategic value for the effort put into the project. 

By aligning with brands or demonstrating the potential of a larger project, you can leverage these short films to attract funding, generate buzz, and create opportunities for future collaborations. 

The combination of artistic expression and commercial viability makes proof of concept or branded content short films the best choice, in my opinion, for young filmmakers planning the next step in their filmmaking journey.

In my next article, I will go into details of my process to prepare for a short film, highlighting the key steps and learning I had while creating my latest short ‘Doppelganger’.

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Completing my first short film marked a

Global

TAIPEI, Taiwan — 

As a child, Li Lejie went to work with his parents, acting as a lookout as they sold steamed buns on the street.

His job was to shout a warning if he spotted the chengguan, or urban management officers, who could fine them or confiscate their supplies for hawking food by the side of the road. His mother often told him he had to attend college someday, so he could become a businessman like his uncle.

Last summer, Li graduated from a university in Chengdu, in western China, with an internship in online tutoring and an opportunity for a promotion. But to his parents’ dismay, he quit to start his own street stall instead.

“I just wanted to try it, see what it was like,” the 23-year-old said. “And I had some quibbles with work.”

After 10 months of interning, Li was fed up with his supervisor and frustrated that his promotion would be probationary, without a raise for several weeks. Underwhelmed by other job openings in Chengdu, he moved to Guangzhou, on the southern coast, in August to join a high school friend selling braised snacks to passersby.

As China’s economic growth falters and young workers vie for dwindling jobs, many are embracing a humble occupation they might have once considered beneath them: street vending. Local governments that once treated it as a public nuisance have encouraged the trend, relaxing regulations in the hopes that more markets and food kiosks will boost spending and employment.

The paradigm shift is a sign of the deep wounds that the pandemic, along with tight government controls, have left on the world’s second-largest economy.

Chinese officials have begun encouraging street vending as a way to boost economic growth.

(Getty Images)

In June 2020, then-Premier Li Keqiang advocated for the “street stall economy” as a way to offset the financial pain caused by the country’s harsh COVID-19 restrictions. At that time, the idea of turning to food stalls to jump-start growth was widely panned and soon abandoned. But after three years of China’s unyielding “zero-COVID” pandemic policy, which stymied travel, spending and industrial output, authorities are turning to every possible option to bolster economic activity.

“We all thought that with the end of zero-COVID, we would get an explosion in consumption,” said Michael Pettis, professor of finance at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management. “We’re still waiting for that to happen.”

While consumer spending picked up after coronavirus prevention measures were repealed in late December, the rebound has since tapered because of declining confidence in the country’s financial health amid a housing downturn, a slack labor market and high levels of government and household debt.

In May, youth unemployment reached a high of 20.8%, ahead of a record 11.6 million more college graduates entering the workforce this summer. A regulatory crackdown on private enterprise has hurt sectors that traditionally hired graduates, such as technology, education and real estate.

The dire situation has forced the government to swallow its traditional disdain for street stalls, long considered a plague on cleanliness and order in Chinese cities. Earlier this year, Beijing and Shanghai loosened rules to allow pop-up sellers to operate in more public areas. Other major cities, including Hangzhou and Shenzhen, have followed suit.

In Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, street food is also back on the menu, though the chengguan tasked with supervising vendors still keep a zealous eye out for rule-breakers. Even so, Li spends much less time running from them than he did as a boy.

“If they come, they just stay to the side, maybe take a picture and wait a while,” Li said. “Now they’re all softer than before. It is a big change.”

Street vendor cooking food in Beijing

A street vendor cooks food to sell on a quiet street in Beijing.

(Kevin Frayer / Getty Images)

As prospects for career advancement have dimmed for young Chinese, some workers have begun to reevaluate how much they will sacrifice for ambition, trading in high-powered jobs for a better work-life balance, flexible hours and travel. The growing inclination to try out street vending has also been driven in part by social media, a source of new recipes as well as videos on how to get started.

When Hu Jia, a 23-year-old in Chengdu, began posting video diaries of her new food cart on China’s Instagram-like app Xiaohongshu, other users started messaging her for advice on how to resign from their jobs and run their own stalls.

“They probably feel that the work they put in is not proportional to what they get back,” Hu said. “They could get pressure from their boss, their salary is low, they’re exhausted, so they think that going to work for themselves, whatever else it is, is at least freeing.”

Hu had been dissatisfied with her monthly salary of 5,000 yuan, or about $700, working in e-commerce with little opportunity to advance at the company. When her boyfriend made her a tasty mashed potato dish that he’d seen online, Hu thought it might be worth trying to sell.

Within three days, they had recouped their initial investment of 900 yuan, or about $125, she said. The couple has also started teaching others how to launch their own street-side businesses, for a fee.

“A street stall is a relatively low-cost thing to start up,” Hu said. “Plus, we aren’t working right now. If we had failed, we still would have been fine.”

Part of the unemployment crisis is due to a mismatch in available jobs and the high expectations of educated workers. The shortage of desirable positions for today’s college graduates, who came of age during China’s boom times, has sparked discussion over the younger generation’s willingness to accept other types of work. In a flippant twist on street vending, some graduates have set up stands to sell their academic knowledge, such as political science or psychology consulting.

Online, many have compared themselves to Kong Yiji, a figure from Chinese literature who wears a scholar’s robes but lives in poverty because he refuses to take a position beneath his education level. “Higher education is not just a stepping stone, but a pedestal I can’t come down from, more so is the long gown that Kong Yiji can’t take off,” one viral social media post declared earlier this year.

People buying vegetables from street vendors in Beijing

Residents buy fresh vegetables from street vendors in Beijing.

(Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)

In response, Chinese state media have encouraged young people not to hold on to such “shackles of the heart” and have frequently warned against tangping, or “lying flat,” a popular term for giving up in the face of burnout and “involution,” or diminishing economic returns.

Zhang Miao, a 28-year-old in Suzhou, west of Shanghai, decided to “take off his long gown” a year ago, when he shuttered his e-commerce business as online shopping slowed and started selling skewers of barbecued meat instead. His family had a hard time accepting his decision.

“They think what I’m doing is not as good as the industry I was in before,” he said. “They worry that my income has decreased, and the older generation, my grandparents, probably think that it’s shameful.”

As his kiosk has become more profitable, Zhang said, his parents have grown more supportive. He’s since overcome his initial fear of embarrassment about selling food on the street, but still considers it too undignified to cry out his wares.

“Although Kong Yiji’s long gown has come off, the undergarments are still there,” he said.

As some local street markets have flourished, Chinese media have been quick to tout success stories.

In May, the little-known industrial city of Zibo in Shandong province became an unexpected sensation on Douyin, or Chinese TikTok, drawing millions of visitors to its lively barbecue stalls. Government workers from other parts of China toured Zibo to glean inspiration, and the city’s mayor spoke at a May forum where new Chinese Premier Li Qiang emphasized the need to create more consumer hot spots.

But even with more young people on board, street vending is unlikely to be a panacea for China’s economic troubles.

“It’s just a short-term, temporary solution to the unemployment challenge,” said Zhang Yifan, a professor of economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “For long-term growth, China still needs to rely on something else.”

People buying noodles from a street vendor in Shanghai

Customers buy noodles from a street vendor in Shanghai.

(Hector Retamal / AFP via Getty Images)

Government officials have adopted various measures to improve employment rates, including mandates for state-owned companies to increase headcount. Guangdong province announced a proposal to place 300,000 graduates in jobs in rural villages, while Henan province unveiled a 100-day plan to provide unemployed graduates with guidance and training.

Economists say that without significantly increasing people’s income, it will be difficult to boost consumption enough to wean China off the infrastructure investments the government has relied on to keep the economy growing. In June, the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates in an effort to stimulate borrowing and increase spending.

And as street stalls have become more popular, it’s already getting harder to make money.

“I thought by opening a stall I could escape the involution of looking for work,” one vendor wrote on Xiaohongshu. “It turns out I just took up another kind of involution.”

According to young merchants, space rental fees have increased, while every day more stalls pop up offering cheaper prices. Many describe the work as tiring, and recommend against quitting a well-paid job or taking up street vending as a full-time occupation.

“The competition is huge,” said Wu Yuanyuan, 23, a pharmaceuticals trainee who started selling desserts out of her car trunk on weekends to make extra cash. “One day you set up a stall; the next day there’s probably two or three more vendors in that same spot.”

Li, the Guangzhou vendor, said it took months to fine-tune his product and determine the location with the best foot traffic. He and his high school classmate tried selling braised duck wings first, but the preparation took hours and the profit margins were thin.

Braised bullfrogs were another experiment, but they needed to be bought fresh, which meant Li and his friend had to eat the unsold ones themselves — he estimated they each ate as many as four a day.

They finally settled on grilled fish, paying another street vendor 6,000 yuan, or about $840, to teach them how to make it. After five days of test-cooking 30 fish, with the help of a chef friend to adjust the recipe, they started selling in October.

“Everyone says opening a street stall is liberating — since you’re working for yourself, you can rest when you want to,” Li said. “But when you do it, you realize once it starts going well, you can’t bear to stop and rest.”

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TAIPEI, Taiwan —  As a child,

Trending

Broadimage/Shutterstock

Lindsie Chrisley opened up about her current relationship with her siblings – and why she no longer follows all of them on social media. 

“Well, since I’m being v[ery] honest. I blocked everyone in an argument since I didn’t want to deal with it,” the Chrisley Knows Best alum, 33, wrote during a Monday, June 26, Instagram Q&A. “So it’s my fault. My b.”

Lindsie — who seemingly no longer follows sister Savannah, 25, and brothers Chase, 27, and Grayson, 17, on Instagram — admitted that while there was a dispute, there are currently no major issues between the siblings. (The former reality star is still following 31-year-old brother Kyle.)   

“No drama though, everything is fine. We are all fine,” she added. 

This isn’t the first time the South Carolina native has set boundaries with her family. Last year, Lindsie revealed she was spending the holiday season apart from dad Todd and stepmom Julie Chrisley following their prison sentencing. 

“With my parents’ sentencing just being a couple of days before Thanksgiving and me having Jackson for Thanksgiving, emotions were very high at that point,” she shared during a December 2022 episode of her “The Southern Tea” podcast. “I just didn’t feel it was in the best interest of Jackson for him to go and see my parents in any state that they normally aren’t if that makes sense.” 

Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, were sentenced to 12 and seven years in prison, respectively, in November 2022 after their conviction for bank fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion four months earlier. The pair’s former assistant, Peter Tarantino, was also sentenced to 36 months behind bars for his connection to the fraud. 

Lindsie, whom Todd shares with ex-wife Teresa Terry, was also previously estranged from her father, but the duo reconciled last year when Todd and Julie went on trial. Lindsie, for her part, testified on her dad’s behalf but later revealed that the trial wasn’t the reason for their reconciliation.

“I can confidently tell you there was no reconnection due to any legal reasons whatsoever,” she explained during a July 2022 podcast episode. “Nothing like that ever transpired.”

Lindsie noted that she and her dad got back in touch last year after her split from ex-husband Will Campbell, with whom she shares 10-year-old son Jackson. “After my divorce stuff had become public, my dad had posted, ‘I’m here, I love you, whatever’s going on in your life right now I see it,’” she recalled. “That’s really more so how we were able to reconnect. So, to answer that question — in short, it was definitely because of my divorce.”

While Lindsie has since continued to strengthen her bond with Todd by spending time with him in jail, speculation arose last month that she hadn’t visited Julie in prison because her stepmom “didn’t want to see” her.  However, Lindsie slammed the allegations during a May episode of “The Southern Tea,” explaining that the procedure for visiting Julie’s facility was much more difficult than the one used for visiting her dad. 

“You can speak to the process that you had to go through to even be able to see her and could probably confirm that the process for her looked very differently than the process for us with my dad,” she shared at the time, adding that she was finally able to speak with Julie over the phone. 

“But when I did talk to her, it was so good to hear her voice,” Lindsie recalled. “She shared her desire for [my son], Jackson, and I to come and visit. So, as soon as school is out — given that the approval has gone through and I have been cleared to physically visit — I will be taking him.”

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Broadimage/Shutterstock Lindsie Chrisley opened up about her current

Tech

Indian cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan is venturing into the field of generative AI with studio, aggregator and digital IP monetization platform Ikonz.

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence (AI) system capable of generating text, images, or other media in response to prompts, with ChatGPT and Bing Chat being current popular examples.

Ikonz, which already works with Indian graphic novel properties Amar Chitra Katha, Tinkle and Chacha Chaudhary, has a stated vision of “bringing together advanced technologies and cultural icons to create a new era of interactive entertainment.”

The Ikonz team is working with Bachchan to capture his iconic attributes to deliver an experience to fans globally. When launched at the end of 2023, customers in India can interact with Bachchan at various locations and instantly have him interacting with them.

Abinav Varma Kalidindi, founder and CEO at Ikonz, said: “It’s a momentous day for Ikonz as the true symbolism our name has been derived with the icon Amitabh Bachchan joining forces with us. Together we will leverage the power of generative AI to create immersive experiences that transcend physical boundaries. With our state-of-the-art technology, fans will now have the opportunity to interact with their favorite actor like never before. Who knows you might even be able to take selfies with Amit-ji [Bachchan] in your city”

Bachchan added: “I am intrigued with the way technology is evolving and the pace at which new innovations are coming up  worldwide, one such being generative AI. I am happy to be a part of such an amazing futuristic world of generative AI , and have therefore partnered with Abinav-promoted Ikonz . Together we shall embark on this new metaverse world.”

Ikonz is backed by investors including Village Global, a venture capital firm backed by Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Reid Hoffman.The company has also received investments from Woodstock and Polygon and from “Baahubali” star Rana Daggubati and Prasad Vanga’s Anthill Ventures.

Read Variety‘s special report on generative AI here.

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Indian cinema legend Amitabh Bachchan is venturing

Video

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first look at The Hypnosis, the debut feature from Swedish filmmaker Ernst De Geer, starring Herbert Nordrum (The Worst Person in the World) and Asta August (The Kingdom).

The pic debuts in Competition at this year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival, with Paris-based company Totem Films handling sales. Scandinavian Film Distribution is the local distributor.

Story follows André (Nordrum) and Vera (August), a young entrepreneurial couple who have been offered the opportunity to pitch their female health app at a prestigious competition. Before the presentation, Vera tries hypnotherapy to quit smoking. From this point, her attitude changes and André starts to behave unexpectedly.

Screenplay is by De Geer and Danish writer Mads Stegger (Nach) and was produced by Mimmi Spång of Garagefilm International in co-production with Film I Väst AB, Mer Film AS, and Totem Atelier. The pic received support from the Swedish Film Institute, Norwegian Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Film i Väst, SVT, NRK, and YLE. Additional credits include music by Peder Kjellsby (Barn), cinematography by Jonathan Bjerstedt, and Robert Krantz on editing.

Nordrum is best known for his breakout role in Joachim Trier’s 2021 Cannes winner, The Worst Person in the World, while August, daughter of double Palme d’Or Danish filmmaker Bille August, has credits on projects like Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom and Amalie Næsby Fick’s Sex.

The Hypnosis will mark De Geer’s feature film debut. A native Swede, he studied directing at the Norwegian Film School. His graduation film, the Culture (2018), won prizes at several festivals, including Palm Springs and Premiers Plans. The short was also nominated for a Norwegian National Film Award.

De Geer shaped the film at a series of international workshops, including Les Arcs Coproduction Village 2020, Discovery GIFF 2020, and Wild Card Swedish Film Institute.

Check out the full trailer above.

Karlovy Vary runs June 30 – July 8.

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EXCLUSIVE: Here’s your first look at The

Entertaintment

The BBC’s highest-paid presenter Gary Lineker was suspended and swiftly reinstated in March during an impartiality meltdown that rocked the British broadcaster.

Deadline has obtained documents under a Freedom of Information Act request that provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how Director General Tim Davie responded to the crisis.

Diary extracts and emails reveal that Davie was in contact with a senior government official on the day of Lineker’s suspension. The papers also reveal the frantic weekend meetings that took place to reinstate Lineker after his suspension wreaked havoc on the BBC’s Premier League coverage.

Scroll on for the timeline, which brings together the documents obtained by Deadline, as well as details from sources, and information already in the public domain. 

March 7, Tuesday
At 2PM, Tim Davie emerged from a lunch with Rebekah Brooks, the woman who runs Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in the UK, when Gary Lineker posted a single tweet that would spark a days-long crisis.

While Davie was dining, Lineker was fulminating over the UK government’s pledge to “stop the boats,” a policy aimed at deterring immigrants from seeking asylum by sea. Lineker, who has welcomed refugees into his home, tweeted: “This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.”

It almost instantly stoked controversy and raised questions about whether the BBC should take action against Lineker, given Davie had made impartiality his top priority after becoming Director General in 2020.

March 8, Wednesday
Right-wing newspaper The Daily Mail splashes on the Lineker tweet under the headline: ‘Lineker faces BBC rebuke for likening small boats plan to Nazis.’

Lineker woke up to 237 Whatsapp messages, which he later blamed on the Mail front page. Instead of ignoring the scandal, he doubled down.

In another tweet, Lineker thanked fans for a volume of “love and support” he had not experienced since scoring for England in a World Cup. “I’ll continue to try and speak up for those poor souls that have no voice,” he added.

Davie was in Cardiff, Wales, for staff meetings the same morning. He traveled back to his house near Henley in the afternoon and worked from home. This included a weekly strategy meeting with Richard Sharp, the BBC’s outgoing Chairman.

March 9, Thursday
Lineker was again plastered over the front of UK national newspapers. Sources said he attended a Zoom meeting with Davie and Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer, first thing in the morning to discuss his Twitter post.

At the same time as the meeting, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer told the House of Commons that Lineker’s tweet was “disappointing and inappropriate.” She added: “It is important for the BBC to maintain impartiality if it is to retain the trust of the public.”

Lucy Frazer

Lucy Frazer

Getty

By 10AM, Davie had headed to Heathrow for a flight to Washington D.C. where he was meeting with BBC journalists as the corporation looks to grow its news audience in the U.S.

While Davie was at the airport, Lineker was doorstepped by a huddle of reporters outside his home in south London. He told the press that he did not regret posting the tweet and confirmed that he had spoken with Davie. 

At 2.20PM, Lineker tweeted: “Well, it’s been an interesting couple of days. Happy that this ridiculously out of proportion story seems to be abating.” He added that he was “very much looking forward” to presenting Premier League highlights show, Match of the Day, on Saturday.

Sources said the BBC’s position hardened that afternoon. Executives planned to issue a statement in which they would say that Lineker crossed a line and had been given a warning. Deadline understands that the corporation wanted Lineker to make a statement admitting his tweet was wrong.

At 5.30PM, BBC Chairman Sharp had a pre-arranged phone call with Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office denied that Lineker was discussed.

March 10, Friday
Davie and Polly Payne, Director General of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) agreed to talk later in the day. Payne instructed her assistant to organize the call with Davie’s office.

The BBC summoned Lineker’s agent, Jon Holmes, to a meeting at its New Broadcasting House headquarters at 2.30PM. With Davie in Washington, the BBC was represented by content chief Moore.

The two sides attempted to reach a resolution, with sources saying that the BBC effectively threatened to suspend Lineker unless he issued an apology. Holmes refused and warned Moore that taking his client off air would create more problems than it solved.

At 3.30PM, Davie called Moore for an update. Around an hour later, the BBC issued a statement on Lineker, in which it said: “We have said that we consider his recent social media activity to be a breach of our guidelines. The BBC has decided that he will step back from presenting Match of the Day until we’ve got an agreed and clear position on his use of social media.”

Lineker did not comment.

At 5.30PM, Payne called Davie. The BBC and the DCMS did not deny that they discussed Lineker, but the government said that at no point had it “sought to influence the BBC’s decisions on this matter.”

BBC

Gary Lineker presents ‘Match of the Day’ on the BBC

BBC/Guy Levy

Minutes before the phone call, Lineker’s fellow presenters started announcing that they would not appear on Match of the Day or other shows in solidarity with Lineker. Ian Wright and Alan Shearer were among those who took a stand.

As the chaos started to unfold, BBC Chairman Richard Sharp began a period of leave until March 19, according to his diary.

March 11, Saturday
More BBC presenters, pundits and commentators staged an effective strike, meaning a number of football shows fell off the air. The BBC apologized for the disruption to its schedules. Lineker maintained his silence.

As the BBC was in chaos at home, Davie was still in Washington. At 5PM, he gathered the BBC’s executive committee, an operational board of senior managers. Chief Content Officer Moore and Deborah Turness, the BBC’s CEO of news, sit on the committee.

Rishi Sunak

Amid allegations that the government had pressured the BBC into standing Lineker down, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a statement. “I hope that the current situation between Gary Lineker and the BBC can be resolved in a timely manner, but it is rightly a matter for them, not the government,” Sunak said.

That evening, Davie granted an interview to the BBC, in which he admitted it had been a difficult day for the corporation. He denied any political influence and said that he wanted to get Lineker back on air.

March 12, Sunday
After catching a red-eye flight back to the UK and landing around 6.30AM, Davie started a series of Zoom calls at 9AM.

Davie and Moore met with Holmes at least three times (at 11.30AM, 3PM, and 4PM) and eventually agreed to reinstate Lineker in what represented a significant climbdown.

The BBC said it would launch a review of social media guidelines for its freelance stars. Lineker agreed to abide by existing guidelines. He did not apologize for his tweet, nor did he delete the message.

Two sources said Holmes told Davie that employees were mutinous because they believed he had cowed to pressure from the government and conservative newspaper The Daily Mail.

Davie updated the BBC executive committee at 5PM.

March 13, Monday
At 9.30AM, Davie attended what appears to be an extraordinary BBC board meeting, during which it was likely that Lineker was the main subject of discussion.

Just after 10AM, the BBC announced that Lineker would be restored to his presenting position. 

Gary Lineker

Gary Lineker

Getty

Davie said: “The BBC has a commitment to impartiality in its Charter and a commitment to freedom of expression. That is a difficult balancing act to get right where people are subject to different contracts and on air positions, and with different audience and social media profiles. 

“The BBC’s social media guidance is designed to help manage these sometimes difficult challenges and I am aware there is a need to ensure that the guidance is up to this task. It should be clear, proportionate, and appropriate.”

Lineker said: “I am glad that we have found a way forward. I support this review and look forward to getting back on air.”

That evening, Davie was scheduled to attend a drinks reception with BBC stars, but his diary suggests that the event was postponed after the frenetic few days.

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The BBC’s highest-paid presenter Gary Lineker was

MCU

Episode 1 of Secret Invasion introduced the audience to a very different Nicky Fury. Once again portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, the master spy who was always three steps ahead of his opponents, returns to Earth, seemingly as a shell of his former self.

Facing his own mortality, and haunted by the events of the “The Blip,” Fury’s return to action is met by an inner circle who wonders whether or not the former head of SHIELD is fit to try and stop the impending Skrull takeover.

Secret Invasion

Photo: Marvel

“[The bad guy] actually referred to Fury as ‘vapors of himself,’ which is harsh,” Jackson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So it’s time to reassess or reevaluate who you are, what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. And throughout the course of this series, he finds ways to strengthen himself so that he can be up to the task at hand.”

Olivia Colman Joins The MCU

One of Fury’s many doubters is Sonya Falsworth, a high-ranking M16 agent played by Oliva Colman. Falsworth is portrayed as a long-time frenemy of Fury, who is blunt in her assessment that he is washed up.

Sonya Falsworth Secret Invasion

Photo: Marvel

“She does it, in a weird way, out of a sort of love. ‘Please be careful,’” Colman says with a laugh. “Her sort of love is a funny old thing, but I think she genuinely does mean it.”

For Colman, entering the MCU in Secret Invasion was like a dream. As it turns out, the actress had been trying to join the universe for years.

Sonya Falsworth Secret Invasion

Photo: Also Marvel

“Yes, I’ve been asking if I can join it for ages. I’ve been phoning my agent. I have loved watching all these films, particularly since having children. My two oldest are now teenagers, and we’ve watched them all together. So I would’ve said yes to anything they’d given me in this, actually,” she stated.

Source: Marvel Studios

Whether or not Falsworth and Fury can team up to stop the Skrull invasion remains to be seen. For now, however, fans can simply sit back and enjoy the chemistry between these two Hollywood legends.

Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!

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Episode 1 of

DCU

Review: Batgirls #19 (Last Issue)
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad
Art: Robbi Rodriguez
Colors: Rico Renzi
Letters: Becca Carey

 

Reviewed by: Matthew B. Lloyd

 

Summary

It’s the conclusion to The Hill shooter storyline as well as the finale for this title.  How will the Batgirls catch the sniper and who is the sniper…or are there two shooters?

Positives

Batgirls #19, like every other issue of the series, is just plain fun.  There’s some great action, adventure and art along the way, and some heart, but we never lose sight of the fact that Cass and Steph are having fun.  Is it wrong for comics to be fun? No, it’s not.  There some more serious things touched on in this issue, but it’s hard not to connect with the pure enjoyment of reading a comic about characters that are fun- it’s what the original Robin, Dick Grayson was all about.

Cloonan and Conrad have built this series very effectively.  The stories rely on the characterization of Cass, Steph and Babs.  This issue brings to close a subplot that’s been running- Steph’s desire to be a better fighter.  She’s had some rough experiences of late, but she’s come through them and we see the results in this issue.  She’s gained some confidence and skill and it pays off in Batgirls #19.  Plus, her own natural talents in combat come to the fore as she takes down one of the shooters.  Who knew trash talking could be so effective?

Positives Cont’d

Robbi Rodriguez gives a stellar performance on the art this issue.  There are some great action and “pin-up” worthy shots throughout the book.  Be it the last page, one of the shooters taking a bullet or the fight choreography, Rodriguez brings his “A” game and stands out this issue perhaps more so than any other.  The choice to put Officer Brooks in the Ben Cooper Batman mask is a brilliant call back- more fun!  The unique color palette that’s been a mainstay of this title from both Sarah Stern and Rico Renzi keep the look of the book consistent here.  It’s a very exciting approach to use a limited yet specific set of colors to create a special feel and visual appearance for the series.  When I say it’s art I mean Art.

Conrad and Cloonan sign off with a couple of special moments.  First, Grace O’Halloran has faced a drinking problem throughout this series and this issue see’s her hard work come to fruition.  She’s honest with Roky about how hard it’s been, but she’s held on.  It’ a nice moment when Roky acknowledges that hard work.  It’s also a nice bit of personal growth and healing that’s not often shown for a supporting character.  It’s an adult theme handled well in a serious manner, and it’s a mature touch that is quite unique.

The final page gives the reader a true “goodbye.”  And, it’s something greater than a “thanks and farewell.”  It’s a mini treatise on shared experiences.  The idea that everyone is a Batgirl is an important plot point these final two issues.  This final page includes the reader.  All of us reading together over the past year and a half have shared these issues together and we, like Steph, Cass and Babs are now Batgirls as well because of this shared experience.  This is another mature piece of writing as it is something that can be applied to all experiences and teach us something about life.  So, think about the people with whom you’ve shared unique experiences, high school, college, work, military service, trauma, natural disaster…you are connected because of this.  The lesson is that we are more alike than different, we are all people here together, to think about how you treat your fellow man.  What would Batgirl do?  After all, we are all Batgirls, now.

Negatives

The obvious negative is that this is the last issue of Batgirls.  It’s difficult to understand why some books sell and why other don’t.  Every comic can’t be a best seller, but it hurts to see the books you love get cancelled, while other titles you will never read keep on going either continuously or via perpetual reboots.  Batgirls is a book that offers something different, something with more heart, more sensitivity, more…cleverness….  Recently I’ve been rereading the 2009 Power Girl series by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner.  Throughout the issues I’ve noticed house ads for a lot of series that I was loving back then that all got cancelled when DC rebooted with the New 52- Adventure Comics, Zatanna, and of course Power Girl.  Batgirls will be missed for all the reasons it’s been a great series, and especially because it isn’t just like everything else.

Verdict

Get out a few tissues for the tears you’ll have to wipe away as they roll over your smile as we say good by to Batgirls.  Batgirls #19 goes out with an inspiring and thoughtful message coupled with some great action, excellent art and beautiful colors.  Perhaps, one day we’ll meet again, this could be just the beginning.

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719 Review: Batgirls #19 (Last Issue)[Editor’s Note: This review may

Comics

Congress apparently has strict limits on the use of ChatGPT and similar generative AI tools. Axios claims to have obtained a memo from House of Representatives administrative chief Catherine Szpindor setting narrow conditions for the use of ChatGPT and similar large language AI models in congressional offices. Staff are only allowed to use the paid ChatGPT Plus service due to its tighter privacy controls, and then only for “research and evaluation,” Szpindor says. They can’t use the technology as part of their everyday work.

House offices are only allowed to use the chatbot with publicly accessible data even when using Plus, Szpindor adds. The privacy features have to be manually enabled to prevent interactions from feeding data into the AI model. ChatGPT’s free tier isn’t currently allowed, as are any other large language models. 

We’ve asked the House for comment and will let you know if we hear back. A use policy like this wouldn’t be surprising, though. Institutions and companies have warned against using generative AI due to the potential for accidents and misuse. Republicans drew criticism for using an AI-generated attack ad, for instance, while Samsung staff supposedly leaked sensitive data through ChatGPT while using the bot for work. Schools have banned these systems over cheating concerns. House restrictions theoretically prevent similar problems, such as AI-written legislation and speeches.

The House policy might not face much opposition. Both sides of Congress are attempting to regulate and otherwise govern AI. In the House, Representative Ritchie Torries introduced a bill that would require disclaimers for uses of generative AI, while Representative Yvette Clark wants similar disclosures for political ads. Senators have conducted hearings on AI and put forward a bill to hold AI developers accountable for harmful content produced using their platforms.

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Congress apparently has strict limits on the

Festivals

Inside Amy Schumer returned to Paramount+ after six years for its fifth season – a season that Paramount was hoping could score an Emmy nomination to compete against the likes of SNL and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

However, Emmy voters hoping to take a last minute watch on Paramount+ before tonight’s voting deadline will have been disappointed after it was one of the latest titles to be scrapped from the streaming service.

Paramount+ has purged a phalanx of programming today including a number of original series, original movies and Nickelodeon content.

The low-profile move comes after Paramount revealed last week that it was canceling and scrapping four series: Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, The Game and Queen of the Universe.

Inside Amy Schumer is joined by From Cradle to Stage, a docuseries directed by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and based on his mother’s book, Tell Me a Story, an anthology thriller from Kevin Williamson that was originally commissioned as a CBS All Access original and Ghislaine: Partner in Crime, a docuseries about Jeffrey Epstein’s partner exec produced by Susan Zirinsky.

On the movie side, titles scrapped include Fantasy Football, directed by Anton Cropper and starring Marsai Martin, Omari Hardwick and Kelly Rowland, and Snow Day, a musical family comedy starring Rob Huebel.

Nickelodeon series removed include All In With Cam Newton, Allegra’s Window, Becca’s Bunch, Bella and the Bulldogs, Crashletes, Digby Dragon, The Fresh Beat Band, The Halo Effect, Legendary Dudas, Monsters vs. Aliens, Mutt & Stuff, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, Peter Rabbit, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Ride and The Troop.

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Inside Amy Schumer returned to Paramount+ after

Film

AMC UNVEILS FIRST SNEAK PEEK SCENE FROM THE WALKING DEAD: DARYL DIXON: “AMC unveiled a sneak peek scene from the The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon during tonight’s new episode of The Walking Dead: Dead City. The new series in The Walking Dead Universe starring Norman Reedus debuts this fall on AMC and AMC+.

In The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, Daryl (Norman Reedus) washes ashore in France and struggles to piece together how he got there and why. The series tracks his journey across a broken but resilient France as he hopes to find a way back home. As he makes the journey, though, the connections he forms along the way complicate his ultimate plan. The series stars Norman Reedus, Clémence Poésy, Adam Nagaitis, Anne Charrier, Eriq Ebouaney, Laika Blanc Francard, Romain Levi and Louis Puech Scigliuzzi and is executive produced by Scott M. Gimple, Showrunner David Zabel, Reedus, Greg Nicotero, Angela Kang, Brian Bockrath and Daniel Percival. “

—

WORLD DRIVE-IN MOVIE FESTIVAL AND JAMBOREE TO HONOR “ROGER CORMAN’S FIRST 70 YEARS”: “Roger Corman, the legendary director, producer, distributor, writer and mentor to dozens of Hollywood  stars, will be the guest of honor at the third annual World Drive-In Movie Festival and Jamboree October  6-8 at the West Wind Las Vegas Drive-In. 

“Roger Corman’s First Seventy Years” will be the theme of the three-day event, which will include an  onstage appearance by Corman and his producer wife, Julie Corman, during the Saturday night double  feature, which will also be an episode of Shudder’s hit show “The Last Drive-In.” 

Joe Bob Briggs, host of “The Last Drive-In” and founder of the Jamboree, said, “I don’t know of any other  filmmaker who has worked 70 years straight in Hollywood. A few actors have done it because they  started as children, but Roger wrote ‘Highway Dragnet’ in 1953, when he was 27 years old, and then  proceeded to produce, direct and distribute more movies than most people even watch, much less  make, in one lifetime. Roger has contributed so much to cinema history that we’re not even sure of the  precise number, but it’s probably 700 films at this point. Forty years ago, at the Gemini Drive-In in Dallas, I gave Roger a Lifetime Achievement Award engraved on a Chevy hubcap, but he was only 57 at the Bme  and now he’s lived a second lifetime, so I’m not sure what we’re gonna give him this Bme.” 

Diana Prince, Executive Director of the Jamboree who also plays “Darcy the Mail Girl” on “The Last Drive In,” announced the special event as “the drive-in faithful paying back the man who premiered more  movies at drive-ins than any other filmmaker. . . . He’s already been honored by the MoBon Picture  Academy, the American Film Institute, the Cinematheque Francaise, the British Film Institute, and the  Museum of Modern Art, but this is the people’s award. He’s never been honored the drive-in way. We  have quite a few surprises planned.” 

Julie Corman will also be honored the same night for her half-century as a producer of such drive-in  classics as “Chopping Mall,” “The Student Teachers,” “Sorority House Massacre II,” “Crazy Mama,” “The  Nest,” “The Lady in Red,” and “Brain Dead.” 

“If I had my druthers, we would show ten Roger and Julie films that night,” said Briggs, “but  unfortunately Vegas has only 12 hours, 25 minutes of darkness at that time of year. We’ll probably settle for a quintuple feature.” 

For more details on the World Drive-In Movie Festival(Friday night of the Jamboree) and the “Sleepaway  Camp” 40-year reunion and marathon (Sunday night of the Jamboree), go to  

https://joebobsjamboree.com“

—

Official Trailer For Zombie Comedy FINAL CUT From Michel Hazanavicius – In Theaters July 14: “Oscar® winner Michel Hazanavicius’ remake of Shin’ichirô Ueda’s cult hit One Cut of the Dead follows a director (Romain Duris, L’Auberge Espagnole) charged with making a live, single-take, low-budget zombie flick in which the cast and crew, one by one, actually turn into zombies. Featuring hysterically unhinged performances from Oscar® nominee Bérénice Bejo (The Artist), Matilda Lutz (Revenge), and Finnegan Oldfield (Corsage), Final Cut is a sly love letter to the art of filmmaking and a blood-soaked, hilarious genre farce with a meta-to-the-max premise.”

Kino Lorber Will Release FINAL CUT In Theaters On July 14th

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AMC UNVEILS FIRST SNEAK PEEK SCENE

TV

James Gunn has been one of the most prolific comic book filmmakers of the 21st century, but even he understands why people get bored of the genre.

In a new appearance on the “Inside of You” podcast, the newly minted DC Studios co-CEO explained how he hopes to avoid the franchise fatigue that has led to waning public interest in some superhero properties.

“We’re going to be very careful with the product that we put out and making sure everything is as good as it can possibly be,” Gunn said.

Gunn offered his diagnosis for what he sees as a decline in superhero movie quality, explaining that he thinks studios often push ahead with sequels and reboots before finding the narrative justification for the films.

“People have gotten really lazy with their superhero stories,” he said. “And they have gotten to the place where, ‘Oh, it’s a superhero, let’s make a movie about it.’ And then, ‘Oh, let’s make a sequel, because the first one did pretty well,’ and they aren’t thinking about, ‘Why is this story special? What makes this story stand apart from other stories? What is the story at the heart of it all? Why is this character important? What makes this story different that it fills a need for people in theaters to go see?’”

Gunn added that he believes some recent movies have placed too much emphasis on spectacle at the expense of character.

“People have gotten a little lazy and there’s a lot of biff, pow, bam stuff happening in movies and I’m watching third acts of superhero films where I really just don’t feel like there’s a rhyme or reason to what’s happening,” he said. “I don’t care about the characters. And they’ve gotten too generic.”

This weekend’s box office is an indication of superhero fatigue, as non-Gunn DC title “The Flash” in its second weekend sunk in theaters while non-franchise movies thrived.

Gunn said that he hopes to combat the repetition by working a variety of genres into his DC Universe. His first slate will begin with 2025’s “Superman: Legacy” and include projects as varied as a “Swamp Thing” horror movie and a Green Lantern series said to be inspired by “True Detective.”

“I like very serious superhero movies, and I like very comedic superhero movies,” he said. “I like ones that are a murder mystery but it’s with superheroes. I like to see these different types of stories, as opposed to seeing the same story told over and over again.”

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James Gunn has been one of the

What to Watch


Well, this is a bit of a shocker.


Whether you love it, hate it, or are watching because you can’t look away, The Idol Season 1 has been the topic of the conversation in recent weeks.


Initially set for a seven-episode freshman season, the HBO drama has now been confirmed to end with The Idol Season 1 Episode 5, which is set to air on Sunday at 9 p.m. on the premium cabler and streaming sibling Max.


The decision is a surprise, especially because the series has not been marketed as a five-episode run, leading to questions about what happened to the rest of the footage.


According to TV Line, the series’ runtime was changed after Sam Levinson took creative control and made some significant changes.

Jocelyn White Dress - The Idol Season 1 Episode 1


“The season ended up being five episodes when it was all said and done after Sam [Levinson] took over and made significant changes. The story only ended up requiring 5,” a source close to the show told the outlet.


Before its debut on HBO, the Lily-Rose Depp-fronted drama has been saddled with bad press.


It all started with a Rolling Stone article that featured several wild allegations about working on the show.


The show’s stars have rubbished the claims, so there’s no telling what really went down on the set.

Rachel Sennott and Troye Sivan (Actors) - The Idol Season 1 Episode 1


Adding fuel to the fire that the show would not be sticking around at HBO: A recent Page Six report claimed the show was never supposed to be an ongoing series.


“The door is definitely still open — it’s definitely not a decision [yet].”


“At this point, this is normal in our process … we’re only two episodes in.”


The report claimed that Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye was not interested in another season after the response to the show.

Jocelyn Smiling - The Idol Season 1 Episode 1


However, HBO released a statement on the show’s future.


“It is being misreported that a decision on a second season of The Idol has been determined,” HBO wrote on Twitter.


“It has not, and we look forward to sharing the next episode with you Sunday night.”


The Idol Season 1 stars Depp as a musician named Jocelyn who sets out to “claim her rightful status as the greatest and sexiest pop star in America,” the logline teases.


Her passions are reignited following a chance meeting with Tedros (Tesfaye), “a nightclub impresario with a sordid past.”

Jocelyn Sat Down - The Idol Season 1 Episode 1


In addition to Depp and Tesfaye, The Idol stars Troye Sivan, Dan Levy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Jennie Ruby Jane, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son, and Hank Azaria.


What are your thoughts on the news?


Hit the comments.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.

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Well, this is a bit of a

Awards

With too much television, viewing every piece of content that is up for consideration for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards nominations is impossible. With 163 drama series, 95 comedies, 51 limited or anthologies and 61 television movies, every TV-goer has their tastes.

Variety staffers have come together to curate its own dream Primetime Emmys ballot, with voting set to close at 10 p.m. PT tonight.

However, it should be noted — we love consistency, especially in TV land.

With our selections, we want to continue to promote (and advocate) for the Television Academy to allow 10 nominees in the top series categories. In addition, we would love to see uniformity in the acting races (having some categories with five while others have eight doesn’t make much sense. With this large TV boom, more options should be available for the respective lineups.

Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Primetime Emmy predictions in the major categories.

We also don’t “play by the rules” of submissions. If we felt a show fared better in one genre versus another (i.e., “The Bear”) or a performer felt like a leading entry as opposed to a supporting (i.e., Brian Cox), then we recognized as such. We also combined all of the reality (competition, structured and unstructured), variety (talk series, scripted variety, pre-recorded and live) and documentary (series, special and hosted nonfiction) into each of their respective races. Not every type of show needs its own category.

From the list below, you’ll find the expected critically acclaimed suspects, such as the HBO final seasons of “Barry” and “Succession” and AMC’s “Better Call Saul.” We loved the new genre breakouts of the year, such as “Andor,” “House of the Dragon” and “The Last of Us,” but also the ones that get ignored such as Paramount’s “Star Trek: Picard” with Patrick Stewart and Disney’s “The Mandalorian” with Katie Sackoff.

You’ll find inventive and passionate choices that many of us are crossing our fingers for, like Freevee’s “Jury Duty” (please find love for James Marsden), Netflix’s “Mo” (not talked about enough by the general public) and Prime Video’s “Swarm” (which cements the star power of Dominique Fishback).

Read Variety’s nominees below. Our winners will be announced before Emmy nominations drop on July 12.

Drama Series

  • “Andor” (Disney+)
  • “The Bear” (FX)
  • “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
  • “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
  • “The Last of Us” (HBO)
  • “The Sandman” (Netflix)
  • “Succession” (HBO)
  • “The White Lotus” (HBO)
  • “Will Trent” (ABC)
  • “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)

Comedy Series

  • “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • “Barry” (HBO)
  • “Jury Duty” (Freevee)
  • “Mo” (Netflix)
  • “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
  • “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
  • “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
  • “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
  • “Wednesday” (Netflix)
  • “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)

Limited or Anthology Series

  • “Beef” (Netflix)
  • “Black Bird” (Apple TV+)
  • “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)
  • “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
  • “George & Tammy” (Showtime)
  • “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” (Netflix)
  • “Love & Death” (HBO)
  • “Mrs. Davis” (Peacock)
  • “A Small Light” (National Geographic)
  • “Swarm” (Prime Video)

TV Movie

  • “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” (Paramount+)
  • “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas” (NBC)
  • “Father of the Bride” (HBO)
  • “Fire Island” (Hulu)
  • “Jerry and Marge Go Large” (Paramount+)
  • “The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die” (Netflix)
  • “Prey” (Hulu)
  • “Reality” (HBO)
  • “They/Them” (Peacock)
  • “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)

Lead Actor (Drama)

  • Paddy Considine, “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
  • Kieran Culkin, “Succession” (HBO)
  • Diego Luna, “Andor” (Disney+)
  • Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
  • Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us” (HBO)
  • Patrick Stewart, “Star Trek: Picard” (Paramount+)
  • Jeremy Strong, “Succession” (HBO)
  • Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear” (FX)

Lead Actor (Comedy)

  • Ronald Gladden, “Jury Duty” (Freevee)
  • Donald Glover, “Atlanta” (FX)
  • Bill Hader, “Barry” (HBO)
  • Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
  • Jason Segel, “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
  • Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
  • Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
  • D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, “Reservation Dogs” (FX)

Lead Actor (Limited)

  • Steve Carell, “The Patient” (FX)
  • Sam Claflin, “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
  • Taron Egerton, “Black Bird” (Apple TV+)
  • Kumail Nanjiani, “Welcome to Chippendales” (Hulu)
  • Evan Peters, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)
  • Daniel Radcliffe, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)
  • Michael Shannon, “George & Tammy” (Showtime)
  • Steven Yeun, “Beef” (Netflix)

Lead Actress (Drama)

  • India Amarteifio — “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” (Netflix)
  • Emma D’Arcy — “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
  • Melanie Lynskey — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
  • Helen Mirren — “1923” (Paramount+)
  • Sophie Nélisse — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
  • Bella Ramsey — “The Last of Us” (HBO)
  • Katie Sackhoff — “The Mandalorian” (Disney+)
  • Sarah Snook — “Succession” (HBO)

Lead Actress (Comedy)

  • Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me” (Netflix)
  • Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
  • Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • Natasia Demetriou, “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
  • Bridget Everett, “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
  • Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
  • Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday” (Netflix)
  • Heléne Yorke — “The Other Two” (HBO)

Lead Actress (Limited)

  • Jessica Chastain — “George & Tammy” (Showtime)
  • Dominique Fishback — “Swarm” (Prime Video)
  • Kathryn Hahn — “Tiny Beautiful Things” (Hulu)
  • Riley Keough — “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
  • Amber Midthunder — “Prey” (Hulu)
  • Elizabeth Olsen — “Love & Death” (HBO)
  • Rachel Weisz — “Dead Ringers” (Prime Video)
  • Ali Wong — “Beef” (Netflix)

Supporting Actor (Drama)

  • Claes Bang — “Bad Sisters” (Apple TV+)
  • Brian Cox — “Succession” (HBO)
  • Ismael Cruz Córdova — “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Prime Video)
  • Giancarlo Esposito — “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
  • Tom Hollander — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
  • Matthew Macfadyen — “Succession” (HBO)
  • Alexander Skarsgård — “Succession” (HBO)
  • Matt Smith — “House of the Dragon” (HBO)

Supporting Actor (Comedy)

  • Mel Brooks — “History of the World Part II” (Hulu)
  • Anthony Carrigan, “Barry” (HBO)
  • Phil Dunster — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
  • Harvey Guillén — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
  • James Marsden — “Jury Duty” (Freevee)
  • Chris Perfetti — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • Luke Tennie — “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
  • Tyler James Williams — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)

Supporting Actor (Limited)

  • Murray Bartlett — “Welcome to Chippendales” (Hulu)
  • Domhnall Gleeson — “The Patient” (Hulu)
  • Paul Walter Hauser — “Black Bird” (Apple TV+)
  • Joseph Lee — “Beef” (Netflix)
  • Young Mazino — “Beef” (Netflix)
  • Timothy Olyphant — “Daisy Jones and the Six” (Prime Video)
  • Jesse Plemons — “Love & Death” (HBO)
  • Liev Schreiber — “A Small Light” (National Geographic)

Supporting Actress (Drama)

  • Jennifer Coolidge — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
  • Ayo Edebiri — “The Bear” (FX)
  • Meghann Fahy — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
  • Simone Kessell — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
  • Gates McFadden — “Star Trek: Picard” (Paramount+)
  • Aubrey Plaza — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
  • Christina Ricci — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
  • Rhea Seehorn — “Better Call Saul” (AMC)

Supporting Actress (Comedy)

  • Paulina Alexis — “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
  • Sarah Goldberg — “Barry” (HBO)
  • Janelle James — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • Lukita Maxwell — “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
  • Sheryl Lee Ralph — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • Hannah Waddingham — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
  • Lisa Ann Walter — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
  • Jessica Williams — “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)

Supporting Actress (Limited)

  • Nabiyah Be — “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
  • Maria Bello — “Beef” (Netflix)
  • Margaret Cho — “Fire Island” (Hulu)
  • Niecy Nash-Betts — “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)
  • Julianne Nicholson — “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)
  • Ashley Park — “Beef” (Netflix)
  • Lily Rabe — “Love & Death” (HBO)
  • Evan Rachel Wood — “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)

Reality Program (Competition, Structured and Unstructured)

  • “AEW: All Access” (HBO)
  • “Chopped” (Food Network)
  • “Couples Therapy” (Showtime)
  • “Indian Matchmaking” (Netflix)
  • “Is It Cake?” (Netflix)
  • “90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way” (TLC)
  • “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
  • “Top Chef” (Bravo)
  • “Vanderpump Rules” (Bravo)
  • “Welcome to Wrexham” (FX)

Variety Series (Talk, Scripted, Pre-Recorded, Live Special)

  • “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
  • “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
  • “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium” (Disney+)
  • “Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl” (Disney+)
  • “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
  • “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC)
  • “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
  • “The Oscars” (ABC)
  • “The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Rihanna” (Fox)
  • “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” (Bravo)

Documentary (Series, Special, Hosted Nonfiction)

  • “Descendant” (Netflix)
  • “The Last Movie Stars” (CNN)
  • “Harry & Meghan” (Netflix)
  • “MH370: The Plane That Disappeared” (Netflix)
  • “Secrets of the Elephants” (National Geographic)
  • “The Secrets of Hillsong” (FX)
  • “The 1619 Project” (Hulu)
  • “Sr.” (Netflix)
  • “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence” (Hulu)
  • “Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter” (Lifetime)

Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Creative Arts predictions in all categories.

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With too much television, viewing every piece