US Open
Tate McRae hit the Blue Carpet on Day One of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sunday, August 30, 2026 in Flushing, NY.
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Tate McRae hit the Blue Carpet on
Tate McRae hit the Blue Carpet on Day One of the 2026 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sunday, August 30, 2026 in Flushing, NY.
Tate McRae hit the Blue Carpet on
The Dolly Parton estate has announced the first large public programs honoring the life and music of the late superstar, with events titled “DollyFest: The Celebration of a Lifetime” set to take place in Nashville and London on successive weekends in 2027.
Dates have not yet been announced for the two-day festivals. The estate said that a DollyFest had already been planned for Nashville in January 2027, with the artist’s participation, and now will go on in her memory, with the addition of a separate London event.
This may be the closest that Parton fans get to a public memorial, as Danny Nozell, her longtime business partner and founder/CEO of CTK Enterprises, noted in a statement that “as far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted.”
An announcement for the festivals says that “what was originally planned as a multi-artist event for January 2026 in Nashville and intended to feature Parton as performer and host will now morph into a global double-day, double-weekend, double-continent party of a lifetime.”
Nozell said that the original plan had been to hold an event on her birthday this past Jan. 19. “What Dolly started, we will ensure is brought to life. Many people behind the scenes know that DollyFest is a dream of Dolly’s that was intended to take place on her 80th birthday in Nashville. We had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go. And then, in August 2025, Dolly had to take a step back after her initial health challenges. A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, DollyFest is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!).”
Nozell suggested that the estate will not stand in the way of the many Parton tributes and memorials that are inevitable for this fall, but that this represents the estate’s official commemoration of her life, believing that she would want to be remembered via a festival more than any more solemn public occasion.
“We are not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in the ways they choose,” he said. “However, as far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted. So, instead, it feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly. This is something that is authentic to her, something that feels right to me, and something that artists and fans around the world can participate in, while also giving everyone time to grieve, and giving everyone time to plan.”
Details about the two festivals will be forthcoming soon, the estate said.
The Dolly Parton estate has announced the
In a last minute addition, the Toronto International Film Festival announced on Monday that filmmaker Zack Snyder’s new movie “The Last Photograph” will have its world premiere at the festival in September.
The drama will debut on on Sunday, Sept. 13, in the John Bassett Theatre.
Snyder’s film, which he made independently and is seeking distribution, stars Stuart Martin (“Army of Thieves”), Fra Fee (“Hawkeye”) and Costanza Andrade (“Game Over”) follows “an ex-DEA agent seeking revenge in a South American jungle where dangerous terrain and inner demons intermingle,” according to the official synopsis.
Snyder has been developing “The Last Photograph” since the 2000s, before he spent nearly a decade in the DC universe directing “Man of Steel,” “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League” and spearheading other DC movies as a producer like “Wonder Woman.”
“300” scribe Kurt Johnstad wrote the screenplay for “The Last Photograph” based on a story by Snyder, who serves as producer and his own cinematographer on the project.
Producers are Deborah Snyder, Gianni Nunnari Wesley Coller. Executive producers are Alessandro Salem, Kurt Johnstad, William Doyle, Juan Pablo Solano and Simón Beltrán.
Snyder’s regular collaborator Hans Zimmer composed the score alongside Omer Benyamin and Steven Doar.
After his time in the DC universe, Snyder made three movies for Netflix — 2021’s “Army of the Dead” and the two-part sci-fi epic “Rebel Moon” that was released in 2023 and 2024.
In a last minute addition, the Toronto
I still think back to the first time I triggered a progressive multiplier that surged past 20x during a free spins round https://bof.co.at/slots/. My heart was pounding, the reels were spinning faster than my brain could process, and the balance counter ticked upward like a rocket launch countdown. That moment converted me from a casual spinner into a devoted multiplier chaser. Progressive multipliers aren’t just a flashy feature—they’re the engine that turns a modest bonus round into a life-changing win. When I review a slot, I don’t only consider the base game or the graphics. I seek those rare systems where the multiplier builds relentlessly, refuses to reset, and rewards patience and nerve in equal measure. The difference between a forgettable slot and one that keeps me up at night often comes down to how the multiplier behaves. Does it climb with every cascade? Does it lock in place during a respin frenzy? Does it call for an ante bet, or does it give you unlimited growth? In this piece, I’ll walk you through the hidden craft behind great progressive multipliers—what I’ve learned from thousands of spins, the math beneath the glitz, and the providers who consistently deliver pulse-racing action. If you’re ready to chase wins that make your hands tremble, let’s step into the glowing heart of modern slot design.
When I discuss progressive multipliers, I don’t mean the static 2x or the 3x symbols that sometimes appear in a paytable. I’m explaining a dynamic system that increases according to your actions during a defined round. Usually, these multipliers increase with each straight win, every cascade, or each collected scatter symbol. The defining characteristic is the fact that they do not reset between spins within the feature. I’ve encountered multipliers that initiate at 1x and increase by +1 for each tumbles, and I’ve experienced slots where the multiplier jumps by greater increases when you get special booster symbols. The adrenaline is hard to express because you can physically see the potential of your next win amplifying. Every fresh cascade feels like a step closer to a massive win. The core mathematics is often tied to a higher variance design, which means you could wait longer for the bonus to activate, but when it hits, the reward can be massive. Outstanding progressive multipliers are obvious in their mechanics. I need to see a distinct multiplier counter on the screen, glowing and growing, so I understand perfectly what’s at risk. The top implementations also add a strategic element: do you purchase the feature, raise your bet for boosted multipliers, or grind it out naturally? I’ve discovered that games that merge a progressive multiplier with a tumbling reels mechanism create a ideal combination of anticipation, as every individual tumble could be the one that drives the multiplier into the stratosphere and pairs it with a lucrative symbol lineup.
Over the years, I’ve formed firm opinions about which developers really grasp progressive multipliers. It’s not enough to slap a growing number on the screen; the integration with the game’s theme, pacing, and payout structure must be tight, almost invisible. I’ve seen studios attempt it and fail, resulting in messy bonus rounds where the multiplier feels pointless. But a handful of developers reliably deliver the goods. They’ve mastered the art of making every spin feel like it could be the one that changes everything. I’m going to break down the standouts, because if you’re looking for the cream of the crop, these are the names you need to know. Their approaches vary greatly, from the volatile cascade kings to the steady, builder-style trails. Each adds a unique flavor to the party, and I’ve celebrated massive wins on slots from all of them.
When I think about the absolute masters, three names instantly appear. Firstly, Pragmatic Play has established a reputation on the back of their cascade multipliers, most prominently in slots where the multiplier grows endlessly during free spins and remains active. Their skill to generate anticipation with every tumble is an effect I have not witnessed anywhere else. Then there’s Nolimit City, who seize the notion and inject it with pure adrenaline, often combining sky-high multipliers with edgy, dark aesthetics and a volatility level that could overwhelm you. Finally, I have to note ELK Studios, who bring a level of mathematical elegance and bonus-buy options that let me jump straight into the multiplier action. There are other strong contenders, of course, but these three consistently push the boundaries of what a progressive multiplier can deliver.
I need to mention Pragmatic Play because their multiplier mechanics have become the gold standard. In numerous iconic slots, the free spins feature commences with a 1x multiplier, and every winning tumble boosts it by 1x with no upper limit. I have reached multipliers over 100x during a single bonus round, and the feeling is unbelievable. The genius lies in the simplicity. There’s no confusing trail, no hidden rules—just a clean, visible multiplier meter that rises with every cascade. Combined with their high-paying symbol sets and the regular appearance of multi-symbol reels, these games can deliver base-game hits that rival other studios’ bonus rounds. I also like that they often include an ante bet option that doubles the probability of triggering the feature, which is ideal for players like me who choose to chase the multiplier frenzy straight. Their portfolio is a masterclass in creating a loyal following around a single, perfectly executed mechanic.
Not all growing multipliers are built the same, and I’ve fallen into sufficient traps to understand what to look for. The greatest red flag is a multiplier that clears between every spin during a bonus round. I’ve tried slots that promoted a “progressive” multiplier, but the fine print showed it only applied to a individual cascade sequence and then went back to 1x. That’s not a real progressive multiplier in my opinion; it’s a cascading win multiplier with a deceptive name. Another pitfall is a multiplier cap that’s set too low. If a game claims a progressive multiplier but limits it at 10x, I’m instantly skeptical. The thrill of a progressive mechanic is closely tied to its maximum ceiling. A low cap eliminates the sense of infinite possibility. I’ve also been scathed by slots where the multiplier only counts to particular symbols or lines, greatly reducing its impact. The math might seem similar on paper, but in practice, I’ve seen huge multiplier numbers connected to tiny wins, which is a disappointing experience. I always recommend trying a slot in demo mode to understand the multiplier’s actual behavior before investing real money. The below points summarize the warning signs I never dismiss:
I can’t stress adequately how crucial the link between RTP, volatility, and progressive multipliers is. A slot with a huge multiplier capability can seem irresistible, but if the math model is harsh, you’ll hardly ever see it hit. I always examine the payout percentage and the risk factor before I jump in. High-variance slots with progressive multipliers often reserve their payout potential in those uncommon elite bonus rounds. The base game may seem like a grind, but the allure of a 10,000x or greater multiplier holds my interest in the game. I’ve learned that slots with higher RTPs, generally around 96.5% or above, provide me with more playtime and a better chance of reaching the bonus round without depleting my balance. The multiplier by itself might be marginally lower, but the frequency of triggering it compensates. Conversely, some welt.de ultra-high-volatility slots with RTPs around 94% can deliver multipliers that go beyond 50,000x, but you could require thousands of spins to see it. As a reviewer, I weigh these factors thoroughly. I want a progressive multiplier that feels achievable, not just a hypothetical number on a marketing sheet. The leading developers are open about these stats, and I always recommend that you check the game info before spinning. The underlying dance between RTP and multiplier caps is where the real magic—or the genuine disappointment—lives.
I’m a major advocate for the ante bet feature when it’s tied to progressive multipliers. Many of the leading slots now provide a checkbox that increases your stake by a percentage—usually 25% to 50%—in exchange for a considerably higher chance of starting the bonus round or an enhanced multiplier during the feature. I’ve calculated the numbers on this, and for a user like me who favors the thrill of the multiplier chase, the ante bet is often worth the extra cost. It effectively shifts the game’s math model slightly, increasing the frequency of the feature while keeping the same RTP range. Some slots take it even further by presenting a “bonus buy” option, where you wager a fixed multiple of your base bet—say 100x—to jump directly into the free spins. This is where I can directly experience the progressive multiplier without the base-game grind. I’ve utilized bonus buys to check a slot’s multiplier potential rapidly, and the results have been eye-opening. I’ve seen multipliers rise to 500x in one bought round and drop at 2x in another. The key is to review the paytable closely. Some games include an extra multiplier boost to the feature when you activate the ante bet, rendering the bonus round even more unpredictable. I always verify the enhanced RTP and the particular multiplier rules before I enable it. When applied wisely, the ante bet converts a casual session into a focused multiplier expedition.
Among of my favorite variants is the multiplier trail, a visible path that signals your progress during a bonus round. Instead of simply a number ticking up, you get a board-game-like journey where each step reveals a higher multiplier and frequently awards extra free spins. I’ve spun slots where the trail has 20 steps, and reaching the final position means you’ve converted a typical 5x multiplier into a monstrous 50x. The psychology driving this design is genius. You’re not just waiting for a win; you’re energetically moving forward, accumulating tokens or hitting special symbols that nudge you closer to the final prize. This mechanic keeps me engaged even amid a series of dead spins because the trail carries the promise of future glory. I’ve observed that the best multiplier trails also include protections, like a assured minimum win or a retrigger at certain checkpoints. It’s a fine balance between risk and reward. When the trail is too easy to complete, the anticipation fades quickly. Should it’s unattainably steep, frustration begins. The top-tier developers calibrate the trail so that attaining the final multiplier gives the sense of a genuine achievement, not simply a random gift. As I’m assessing a slot, a well-designed multiplier trail is a huge plus. It indicates me the studio focused on the player’s journey, not just the math model. The graphical feedback of a glowing trail, the noise of tokens landing, and the escalating multiplier merge into a sensory-rich experience that keeps me glued to the screen.
The complimentary spins round represents the most common home for progressive multipliers, and it’s where the mechanism stands out. I’ve observed two different methods that get my pulse racing. The primary involves the infinite multiplier chain, where every win boosts the multiplier and there is no limit. verwandte Artikel The alternative involves the symbol-collecting multiplier, where you need accumulate particular symbols to boost the multiplier by a specific increment, often with a restart function that adds a strategic layer. I’m captivated by the uncapped version because it feels like the game is giving up control to the world of randomness. All spins that fails to result in a cascade is agony, but a one series of wins can launch the multiplier into the triple digits. I’ve secured wins that started with a 1x multiplier and, after a unending cascade run, ended with a 250x multiplier applied to a screen full of premium symbols. The accumulation strategy, on the other hand, gives me a sense of progression even when I am not hitting big wins. Each collected token creates a small victory, and the multiplier’s expansion is stable and foreseeable. Top-notch slots also grant additional bonus spins when players hit certain multiplier thresholds, which can extend the bonus round considerably. I’ve played bonus rounds that lasted for over ten minutes because the cascades and extra spins persisted. That’s the trademark of a stellar progressive multiplier feature.
There is a special type of slots that provide no multiplier cap at all whatsoever, and these are the slots I pursue with a fervor that borders on obsession. The idea that a multiplier could in theory reach 1,000x or even beyond is the greatest adrenaline rush. I have sat in front of my screen, watching a cascade sequence unfold, and understood that if the payouts just keep connecting, I could be facing a payout that stretches all expectations. The mathematics behind these unlimited multipliers are intriguing. The volatility of the game is heavily shifted toward the far end of the distribution, meaning you’ll experience plenty of dead bonus rounds, but when things align, what results is a story you will share for months. I have tried dozens of these slots, and the top ones include a visual and audio feedback system that intensifies as the multiplier grows. The screen might shake, the soundtrack could build, and the multiplier display radiates like a reactor core. This sensory crescendo is vital because it reflects the increasing stakes inside my own head. However, I always remind myself that unlimited does not guarantee guaranteed. The cascades must keep coming, and a single non-winning spin can terminate the feature suddenly. That is the high-stakes tension that makes these games so engaging. I have experienced sessions where I was one cascade away from a legendary payout, only to be halted by a screen full of low-value icons. The almost-win is part of the allure.
I’m thrilled by the direction multiplier mechanics are heading. I’m observing developers try out persistent multipliers that transfer between bonus rounds, essentially constructing a metagame that compensates long-term loyalty. Imagine a slot that tracks your multiplier progress across multiple sessions and enables you to cash in when you’re ready. I’ve also spotted a trend toward community-driven multipliers, where players in a tournament or shared lobby collectively build a multiplier that eventually triggers for everyone. This social element could transform how we perceive progressive multipliers. Another frontier is the incorporation of skill-based elements. I’ve sampled prototypes where my ability to time a button press or navigate a mini-game directly affects the multiplier’s growth. While slots should continue to be games of chance, a small skill component that influences the multiplier adds a layer of agency that I find deeply rewarding. I also expect more hybrid mechanics that combine progressive multipliers with expanding reels, sticky wilds, and symbol transformations. The goal is to create a chain reaction where the multiplier, the grid, and the symbols all evolve simultaneously, leading to exponential win potential. As a reviewer, I’m constantly on the lookout for the next breakthrough. The slots that will shape the next era are the ones that make me experience like the multiplier is alive, breathing, and reacting to my every spin. The future is promising, and I can’t wait to witness what the brilliant minds in this industry develop next. The chase for the ultimate multiplier is far from over.
Progressive multipliers are the core of the most memorable slot sessions I’ve ever had. They turn a simple spin into a story of escalating stakes, where every tumble, every collected token, and every step on the trail gets you nearer a payout that can redefine your session. From the transparent, unlimited cascades of Pragmatic Play to the volatile, edgy trails of Nolimit City, the mechanics are as different as they are captivating. I’ve learned to appreciate the math beneath the surface, value the ante bet as a strategic tool, and always watch for the pitfalls that can turn a promising feature into a hollow tease. The true magic of a great progressive multiplier isn’t just the number on the screen; it’s the journey, the suspense, and the explosive joy of watching it connect with a screen full of premium symbols. When you next spin the reels at Bof Casino, I hope you hold these insights with you. Seek the multipliers that grow without limits, welcome the trails that reward persistence, and never settle for a slot that doesn’t make your heart race. The perfect multiplier is out there, waiting to turn your next spin into a legend.
I still think back to the first
The Toronto International Film Festival has added a last minute special screening of Zack Snyder‘s The Last Photograph, which will make its world premiere at 6:30pm on Sunday, Sept. 13, in the John Bassett Theatre, TIFF’s new screening venue at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The project which Deadline first told you about stars Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves) and Fra Free
(Hawkeye) in a story about an ex-DEA agent who is seeking revenge in a South American jungle where dangerous terrain and inner demons intermingle. The production was shot in Colombia, Iceland and Los Angeles.
Snyder worked with both stars on sci-fi franchise Rebel Moon and obtained independent financing to shoot the pic.
“The idea of taking a camera in hand and simply making a movie in an intimate way is very appealing to me,” Snyder told Deadline when the project was announced. “The Last Photograph is a meditation of life and death, embodying some of the trials that I have experienced in my own life and the exploration of those ideas through image making.”
Snyder directed off a screenplay by Kurt Johnstad, with the filmmaker having a story-by credit. Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Wesley Coller produce through Stone Quarry and continue their creative partnership with Gianni Nunnari who is producing through Hollywood Gang Productions along with co-producer Alisha Stickney.
EPs are Mediaset España, through its film production arm Telecinco Cinema, William Doyle and Jaguar Bite. True North serves as the production service company in Iceland, while Jaguar Bite, run by Juan Pablo Solano and Simon Beltran, serves as the Colombian production service company.
The Toronto International Film Festival has added
This one looks easy until the crossover
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Alex Lamb and Max Well didn’t set out to make a documentary. Fans of tiki bars, their goal was a web series, one that looked at the colorfully decorative tropical bars in Southern California. What they discovered, however, was an only-in-Hollywood tale that not only cut to the heart of the scene’s roots, but foretold the modern cocktail movement, changed tourism and spawned a subculture.
Now available to rent or buy on most major streaming platforms, “The Donn of Tiki” looks at the life, much of it grounded in self-made myths, of Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, otherwise known as Donn Beach or Donn the Beachcomber. A bootlegger, World War II veteran and nightlife impresario, Beach, as he legally changed his name to, was a sort-of cocktail-focused answer to Walt Disney. He was a pioneer of an industry who trafficked in experimentation, big ideas and, eventually, heavily thematic environments that centered the guest experience.
“Donn and Walt Disney, they’re both hosts,” Lamb says, noting that many have referred to him as the “Walt Disney of rum.”
“They create this experience that people are going to come to and not just see, but they’re going to feel it and hear it,” Lamb says. “It’s for all their senses. They’re very similar in that way.”
Documentary “The Donn of Tiki” uses stop-motion animation to help tell the tale of Donn the Beachcomber.
(Surf Monkey Films / Beachcomber Productions)
“The Donn of Tiki,” first released in 2024, also portrays Beach as a bit of a schemer. Some of his bar inventions, for instance, were less grand thematic ideas and simply tricks to keep patrons indoors and ordering. The filmmakers credit Beach with helping to commercialize the luau, now a staple of many a Hawaiian vacation, and bring his story to life via stop-motion and 2D animation, historical footage, and fresh interviews, including with his widow and some of those who worked for his latter-day establishments.
Yet Lamb and Well are primarily interested in how a once tiny Hollywood bar on McCadden Place became ground zero for a movement that over the decades has regularly come in and out of popularity. Tiki bars have been celebrated, and criticized, but at least here in SoCal many have survived and defied trends. Today, the tiki scene is thriving, a hub for craft cocktails but also a reflection of our city’s penchant for dreaming and escapism.
A tiki bar, at its best, is often a mash-up of cultural ideas and myths — bits of the Caribbean, Polynesia and Asia, and less a reflection of any real place or heritage. It’s an imaginative environment, something that feels dreamed up for a movie.
That’s what drew Well, a cinematographer by trade, to the space.
“Some people are really into the music, the fashion or the cocktails,” Well says. “But the thing I was into was just the visuals. You go into one of these places, and it’s like walking into a film set. It’s been transformed into an experiential thing.”
As a filmmaker, says Lamb, it’s hard not to be transfixed by a well-done tiki bar.
An undated historical image of Donn Beach, credited as starting the tiki movement, from the film “The Donn of Tiki.”
(Surf Monkey Films / Beachcomber Productions)
“You walk in off the street, and it may be daylight outside, but you walk into a dark room, turn a corner and smell burning cinnamon or baking spices and it seems like it’s raining outside. It’s a story,” he says. “And Donn’s drinks were stories. Rum from all these different places, and spices and fruits. It opens up a world of locations.”
Beach’s origin story can differ based on who is doing the telling, but he was born in 1907 and spent his early youth in Texas. Instead of college, he traveled, thanks to a windfall of cash from his father. That would eventually dry up, and Beach found himself in Hollywood, pairing with his brother. When Prohibition hit, he found himself a makeshift career as a rum runner. When it ended, he opened his Hollywood bar that would eventually morph into Donn the Beachcomber.
As for why rum, the filmmakers note it was likely the easiest — and least diluted — liquor to acquire at the time. Beach took the formula behind, say, a Planter’s Punch, and essentially expanded it, increasing the level and mix of ingredients to create, the co-directors say, well over 60 cocktails, many that still today define the tiki bar menu.
“You can go back to a daiquiri, before Donn Beach, which is just rum, lime and sugar,” Well says. “But you go to a Donn Beach cocktail like the zombie, and it might have 10 ingredients. You take a blueprint, and completely blow it up.”
Beach had a significant impact on the craft cocktail movement, says Nick Oehlers, a former music manager turned nightlife maven, who recently opened the tiki pop-up Savage Seas at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, which will run at least through the end of the year. Just a few blocks from the original Beachcomber, Oehlers says he designed his bar as a modern ode to the McCadden Place locale. He even tried to copy the exact dimensions of Beach’s debut bar.
“It’s so complicated and complex,” Oehlers says of a tiki drink. “A lot of people don’t eyeball anything. All the drinks are jiggered. It’s precise, a very complex art form. Other bars seem easy once you work in a tiki bar.”
Beach was also a showman, a trait that perhaps developed as something of an accident. “The Donn of Tiki” documents how occasionally Beach would head to the roof of his bar and spray water down on its windows to create the effect of a rainstorm. An attempt to conjure a tropical vibe, or just a way to persuade patrons to run up a tab by avoiding a drenching? Many a tiki bar, such as Disneyland’s popular Trader Sam’s, today have rain effects.
Animation from the film “The Donn of Tiki,” which by telling the story of Donn the Beachcomber traces the beginnings of the tiki movement.
(Surf Monkey Films / Beachcomber Productions)
Tiki bars aren’t without criticism, having occasionally been attacked as escapist fantasy that appropriates Hawaiian or Polynesian iconography. Lamb and Well take a more biographical approach rather than dipping heavily into broader cultural conversations. They also make an effort to capture Beach’s genuine passion for travel and Hawaiian culture, especially in a Honolulu outpost that had a marketplace feel, complete with attempts to create a traditional luau. The excessive proliferation of totems and masks as decor is more closely associated with Beachcomber offshoots and descendants in the ’50s and ’60s.
“Some folks take a hard line that this is just flat-out cultural appropriation,” Well says. “I think it’s a little more nuanced than that…. But we should be talking about it, and we think it’s good to have that conversation. Hopefully the film can help with that. It gives people the history, the backstory.”
Directors Max Well, left, and Alex Lamb of “The Donn of Tiki” at Tustin’s Stowaway, a modern take on the tiki bar formula.
(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)
Today’s tiki scene is vast, encompassing everything from historical venues like Silver Lake’s Tiki-Ti, modern takes on the form such as Tustin’s Stowaway or Highland Park’s Lucky Tiki, or twists such as the seafaring tone of Anaheim’s Strong Water. It’s also worth noting that Beach’s initial bar flourished during the Great Depression.
“Most people were never going to go to Hawaii or Jamaica or the Caribbean. So Donn brought it to them. There was a need for that then, and there’s a need for that now,” Lamb says.
Fantasy, ultimately, never goes out of style, despite challenging economic times.
Alex Lamb and Max Well didn’t
Avengers: Doomsday will finally do justice to Marvel’s greatest supervillain, who hasn’t appeared on screen in over 11 years. The Marvel universe is home to many compelling supervillains, many of whom are already in the MCU, such as Thanos, Loki, Ultron, Kingpin, and Green Goblin. However, Marvel Studios has previously been unable to adapt some of the all-time greats, like X-Men foe Magneto and Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom, as their film rights were held up at 20th Century Fox, which Disney acquired in 2019.
Doom has been adapted before under 20th Century Fox in 2005’s Fantastic Four, 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer, and 2015’s Fant4stic. At one point, shortly before Disney acquired Fox, the studio was even cooking up a Doctor Doom solo flick from Alien: Earth and Legion creator Noah Hawley. It was described as a “Cold War, geopolitical movie” that saw a journalist visit Doom’s kingdom of Latveria, but the project was canceled due to the Fox acquisition.
Despite having two tries at Doctor Doom come to fruition – played by the late Julian McMahon and Toby Kebbell – Fox never got Marvel’s greatest villain right. As Hawley’s standalone movie never took off, Avengers: Doomsday will be the first time in 11 years that Doctor Doom has prominently appeared in live-action.
Doom’s costume should represent his status as an Eastern European monarch, highlighting his genius and blending sorcerer’s robes with medieval armor.
Those elements have been sorely lacking in the past, as Julian McMahon’s suit had all the right pieces but looked rather cheap, while Toby Kebbell’s took a strange body-horror route, with metal fused to his skin and a cyborg-esque design.
For the first time ever, Doom is finally appearing under Marvel Studios in Avengers: Doomsday, and there’s no denying that his suit has all of the aura, grandeur, and classic components to make an intimidating supervillain suit.
During both of Fox’s Fantastic Four iterations, Doctor Doom got his superpowers in space right alongside Marvel’s First Family. In 2005, Julian McMahon’s Doom became an Electro-like with electric powers, and, in 2015, Toby Kebbell’s iteration received telekinesis, neither of which is like the comics.
Marvel Studios already hyped up that its Doom will be a “master of cutting-edge science and powerful magic,” confirming that Downey Jr.’s take will be the Doctor Strange-level sorcerer that fans know from the comics, who has even traveled to hell to battle Mephisto for his mother’s soul in past comics.
Find out Doom’s six greatest superpowers that the MCU needs to adapt.
Beyond his immense magical expertise, Doctor Doom’s greatest superpower is arguably his intellect, which allows him to manipulate situations and people, though that talent was largely absent from previous movie adaptations. Victor von Doom has often been known to manipulate events from the shadows toward his endgame through deceptive alliances, false intentions, and betrayal.
All signs suggest that Doom’s calculated manipulation will be on full display in Doomsday, reportedly acting as a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” as he teams up with the heroes through “noble intentions” before betraying them. That could even make RDJ’s Doom the architect of the conflict between the Avengers and X-Men, perhaps to distract them from his own larger plan.
In Marvel Comics, Doctor Doom is famously the ruler of Latveria, a fictional Eastern European country where he was born to a Romani tribe and returned years later with his newfound intellect and mystical powers to seize control.
Latveria thrived under his rule as a secure technological utopia, free of problems like crime, poverty, and health care that plague the rest of the world. Ultimately, Doctor Doom rules because he believes he is the only one smart enough to forge such a perfect society with order and safety, albeit limited personal freedom.
2005’s Fantastic Four reduced Doom to a money-hungry billionaire CEO, and Fant4stic knocked him down to a computer technician. While both Dooms came from Latveria, they never got close to being a monarch, something which will be resolved in Doomsday as RDJ’s Variant takes the throne of Earth-828’s Latveria.
Doctor Doom’s origins in Marvel Comics lie in 1962’s Fantastic Four #2, and his greatest personal grudge has always been with Reed Richards and his team ever since, but the Latverian ruler has frequently threatened the entire Marvel universe.
Many consider Doctor Doom and his unique blend of magic and technology to be Marvel’s big bad, having also faced off against Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, and the Avengers due to his limitless ambition. Doom is capable of taking on much more than just the Fantastic Four, as fans will finally see this year.
The MCU is finally adapting Doom’s biggest story to date, as 2015’s Secret Wars will serve as the inspiration for Phase 6’s climactic Avengers movies, executing the villain’s grandest plan yet: “saving” the Multiverse by creating Battleworld.
That’s not to say that the MCU’s Doctor Doom will be completely comic-accurate, as Marvel Studios is also making some major changes to the mythos. The studio has reportedly thrown a deceased wife and child into the villain’s origin story, but that’s not the change that has the potential to unravel Avengers: Doomsday.
Despite Doom’s famous rivalry in Marvel Comics being with Reed Richards, his MCU Variant’s problem is supposedly with Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. Somehow, the former Captain America is believed to be at fault for Doom losing his family, sparking fears that his hatred for the Fantastic Four’s leaders will be brushed over.
Not only that, RDJ’s Doom is rumored to team up with Pedro Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic in Avengers 5, which isn’t exactly in character for him. While the scientific geniuses are usually lifelong rivals and mortal enemies, it seems their feud will only begin with Doomsday before continuing into Secret Wars and beyond.
There is also the issue of whether two movies will be ample enough time to flesh out Doom enough to the point that fans are satisfied with him. Doom has a lot of baggage and trying to play catch-up across two movies could still prove challenging.
Ultron is getting eight episodes to be properly explored, with the most recent trailer teasing a complicated family relationship with his son and grandson. Victor von Doom arguably has even more going on with him, considering his backstory and all the corners of the Marvel universe that he touches, so it will certainly be an uphill battle to convincingly do him justice with presumably less screentime.
Regardless of how well Marvel Studios depicts Doctor Doom, it’s safe to say the Robert Downey Jr. casting will always be controversial. Beyond the obvious echoes of Iron Man that will reverberate through Doomsday, many were hoping for a Romani actor to portray Doom in line with his heritage from the comics.
Ultimately, audiences will need to wait for Doomsday and Secret Wars to see how the MCU’s Doctor Doom lives up to the comics. Those eager for accuracy will need to hold out hope that Marvel Studios exercises restraint and avoids linking Doom back to Tony Stark, which could risk splitting the fanbase in a major way.
Without a doubt, Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has one of the most impressive and star-studded casts of all time. However, it’s also fun to look at all the actors in the Greek epic who’ve also starred in various superhero projects (there’s actually a lot more than some may realize).
Adapting Homer’s 3,000-year-old epic, The Odyssey is easily one of the biggest movies of 2026 and one of the most impressive of Christopher Nolan’s career. Featuring some of the most popular actors working in Hollywood right now, it’s no wonder that so many of The Odyssey’s cast have superhero acting credits as well.
Keeping that in mind, here is every superhero actor in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, what character they play in Nolan’s epic, and the superhero role (or roles) they’re best known for.
Tom Holland is a key lead in The Odyssey as Telemachus, son of the legendary king of Ithaca, seeking to learn more about his father during his absence fighting the Trojan War and his decade-long journey home, while also contending with all the suitors feasting in his father’s hall seeking to court his mother and gain the throne. Without a doubt, Holland’s performance is one of the movie’s best, particularly in the third act when father and son finally reunite and work together to retake Ithaca.
Easily having the biggest superhero role among The Odyssey’s cast, Holland famously plays the MCU’s Peter Parker, and his latest film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, was just released only a couple of weeks after The Odyssey, receiving just as much (if not more) praise and positive reception, both critically and commercially.
Arguably one of the most important roles in Nolan’s version of The Odyssey, Zendaya plays Athena in this new blockbuster adaptation, appearing as a crucial guide to Odysseus while also representing his own shame and guilt over the Trojan War and his role in creating the Trojan Horse.
Zendaya is, of course, Holland’s Spider-Man co-star (and real-life wife), playing Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson in the MCU. As seen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the romance between Peter and MJ was immensely complicated, with MJ no longer remembering Peter following the events of the prior Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Jon Bernthal plays Menelaus in The Odyssey, the king of Sparta who provides Holland’s Telemachus with a first-hand account of what it was like inside the Trojan Horse with his father Odysseus. In the MCU, Bernthal has played Frank Castle’s Punisher since 2016, though he just made his big-screen debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with The Punisher becoming a key ally to Holland’s Spider-Man.
Robert Pattinson plays Antinous in The Odyssey, having previously worked with Nolan on Tenet. The most cunning and cruel of Ithaca’s suitors, Pattinson’s performance has been cited as one of The Odyssey’s best, receiving an expanded role in Nolan’s version compared to Homer’s original epic.
In the superhero genre, Pattinson is DC’s most recent live-action Dark Knight, as seen in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, which was released in 2022. At present, Pattinson is currently filming the highly anticipated sequel in Glasgow. Depicted as a younger, darker, and more unrefined interpretation of The Dark Knight, it will be fascinating to see how Pattinson’s Batman has evolved in The Batman – Part II.
Of course, Matt Damon plays the lead role of Odysseus in Nolan’s The Odyssey, the king of Ithaca whose legendary journey home has now been depicted on-screen like it never has before.
However, Damon hilariously has a small role in the MCU playing an actor who has the role of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki in a stage production recounting the events of Thor: The Dark World in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok and later the events of Ragnarok itself in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder.
Anne Hathaway plays Lady Penelope in The Odyssey, wife of Odysseus who holds the throne of Ithaca during her husband’s absence while evading the suitors’ proposals for 20 years. Easily giving one of the most dynamic and Oscar-worthy performances in The Odyssey, Hathaway is also a Nolan veteran, having worked on past films including Interstellar and The Dark Knight Rises where she played Selina Kyle aka Catwoman. One of the most intriguing additions in the third and final Batman movie from Nolan, Hathaway’s Catwoman was a perfect romantic partner/foil for Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne.
John Leguizamo plays Eumaeus in The Odyssey, the blind swineherd and loyal friend of Odysseus who helps retake Ithaca from the suitors. However, Leguizamo also played the comic book villain known as The Violator in 1997’s Spawn movie from Image Comics, a grotesque shapeshifting demon resembling an overweight clown as his disguise on Earth.
Lupita Nyong’o plays Helen in The Odyssey, wife of Menelaus and “the face that launched 1,000 ships” during the Battle of Troy. However, Nyong’o also plays Helen’s sister Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon (whom she kills upon his return home from Troy).
In the MCU, Lupita Nyong’o plays Nakia in 2018’s Black Panther and 2023’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Originally introduced as a Wakanda spy, Nakia was also the key love interest of King T’Challa. In Wakanda Forever’s ending, it was revealed that Nakia is also the mother of T’Challa’s secret son, also named T’Challa.
Charlize Theron plays Calypso in The Odyssey, the sorceress who kept Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for years, eating lotus petals to dull his senses and fog his memory, having fallen in love with the king of Ithaca and wanting him to stay with her for eternity. However, she eventually chose to restore his memory, with Odysseus resolving to continue his journey home.
Ironically, Theron also plays a sorceress in the MCU, having debuted at the end of 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Clea, the Sorceress Supreme of the Dark Dimension and future wife of Stephen Strange himself in the comics. However, Theron has yet to make a second appearance in the MCU following her brief cameo post-credits role.
Elliot Page plays Sinon in The Odyssey, the young warrior who was sacrificed to convince the Trojans that the horse was a gift and that the Greeks had retreated. Sinon also receives an expanded role in Nolan’s Odyssey connected to Pattinson’s Antinous, resulting in one of the most fascinating changes from the original epic. Another Nolan veteran, Page previously starred in 2010’s Inception.
However, Page also played Kitty Pryde in Fox’s X-Men franchise, first appearing in X-Men: The Last Stand and later having a bigger role in X-Men: Days of Future Past. One of the most beloved X-Men with the ability to phase through solid objects, one can only hope that Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot will feature a brand-new version of Kitty Pryde as well.
Without a doubt, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey
The estimated length of Xbox’s upcoming Fable reboot has been confirmed by the game’s developer.
During a group Q&A that took place during Gamescom, Playground Games staff were reportedly asked about the length of the game.
As reported by Polygon, associate game director Will Kennedy stated that the main quest would take 15-20 hours to beat, with side-quests taking roughly the same amount of time.
“We have around 15-20 hours of mainline quest gameplay, we have around 15-20 of side and open-world exploration content gameplay,” Kennedy said. “And then, of course, the life systems are limitless, so you can play them for as long as you want.”
Another attendee at the group Q&A session then reportedly commented that this meant it was “not a huge game”, to which associate game director Craig Little replied: “As Will just said, you can literally play it forever if that’s what you want to do.”
Fable games have not traditionally been extremely long adventures when compared to other games in the action RPG genre. User-submitted estimates on How Long to Beat state that the first three games took an average of 12.5 hours, 13 hours and 13.5 hours respectively to beat the main story, suggesting the new Fable is in line with these.
The “life systems” mentioned by Kennedy refer to the interactions the player can have with the 1,000 NPCs which live in the game’s region of Albion – 400 of whom live in the capital city of Bowerstone – and the way the player can technically turn the game into a life sim purely by interacting with them.
Each of the 1,000 characters has their own homes, hobbies, traits and personalities, and all are fully voiced. The player can talk to each of them, and they will respond to the player’s actions in different ways, depending on their own characteristics.
Fable was originally set to release in late 2026, but in May it was announced that the game had been delayed until February 2027 (later confirmed to be February 23), to give its release some breathing space in a busy period for games.
“This is year is packed with incredible games for Xbox players to enjoy, from Halo: Campaign Evolved, Gears of War: E-Day and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 to Control Resonant, Star Wars: Galactic Racer and Grand Theft Auto VI,” it said at the time.
“In order to plan our game launches through the holidays, in a way that works best for players, we’re moving Fable to February 2027 so it can have the dedicated moment it deserves.”
The estimated length of Xbox’s upcoming Fable
New York-based Italian director Francesco Carrozzini is heading to the Venice Film Festival with “Be Brave” an 85-minute portrait of Renzo Rosso, founder of the Diesel fashion brand. The groundbreaking doc uses AI in a way that “can still live within a space of emotion and storytelling,” he says.
“Be Brave” portrays Rosso as a visionary underdog who went against the grain and rose from poverty to owning a fashion empire. Carrozzini did not shoot a single frame of his protagonist, instead recreating Rosso at different stages of his life using AI.
“I want to put this [film] forward as an invitation for everyone to think about how AI as a tool can open up new creative possibilities for filmmakers,” Venice chief Alberto Barbera stated when announcing its inclusion in the festival. “Be Brave” is among the first AI features to launch from a top-tier film festival.
Carrozzini was first in Venice with “Franca: Chaos and Creation,” the doc he made about his mother, the late, influential editor of Italian Vogue. The director was subsequently on the Lido in 2022 with his first feature “The Hanging Sun.”
In the year-and-a-half that Carrozzini spent making “Be Brave” “AI has changed to a point where what we were doing in the beginning had to be redone,” he says. “And the moment we will be in the theater it will probably be old already,” he adds. This makes it hard. But “Working with a medium that is transforming at this pace is also really exciting,” he notes.
“Be Brave” is produced by Lorenzo Mieli, Mario Gianani, and Gabriele Immirzi at Rome-based Our Films, a Mediawan company.
Carrozzini speaks to Variety ahead of Venice about the challenges of making “Be Brave” and his thoughts on how AI can best be utilized in the filmmaking space.
Why did you decide to use AI for this project?
Lorenzo Mieli approached me with the idea of making a film about Renzo Rosso. Initially, I was a bit reluctant because I had sort of taken a step back from the world of fashion that I grew up in to throw myself into narrative film and TV. But Lorenzo insisted, and when he wants to sell you an idea he’s pretty effective. The idea was to create something a bit innovative and to experiment with AI, though it wasn’t quite clear what we were going to do. So we started testing the idea. In the very beginning, it was really about necessity. There is a lot of archival like TV stuff of Renzo Rosso, but there’s no good interviews. There are no really good intimate moments in his archives. So the idea became: first of all, we can recreate those from scratch; though we were worried about them not being believable. From the seed of that idea, then came the idea of: Well, let’s take AI and make it sort of the theme of the film and also make it the challenge towards something bigger than ourselves.
What was the next step?
We wrote a script. This film is fully scripted. We started toying with the idea of me finding Renzo; a rather well-known device in documentary filmmaking. But at the same time putting together the puzzle of who he is, just as he was running away from me because he was trying to trick me. We used this device, but then it sort of became the theme of the film. This film is not a thesis on AI. The only thing that is said towards the end – which I think is really important – is that the human has to come first. This is a reflection on AI in storytelling and entertainment. It’s not a reflection on AI tout court.
Let’s drill down on the nuts and bolts of making this piece. It’s not all AI because there are some so-called talking heads in the doc that are real people. For the rest, you had a reservoir of archive material to draw on. Talk to me about your workflow.
It was a nightmare, especially in the beginning, until we found the workflow, as you say. Because it’s trial and error. As you know, AI will never give you exactly what you’re asking. It will always give you a version of what you’re asking.
How did this process apply to putting Renzo on screen?
We used pictures of Renzo from the time [in which his scenes and interviews are set]. And then you have to have him speak. And you have to have him say what you want. And do it in the voice that you want. He also has to be dressed the way you want. Just boiling things down to that, and to the voice and the lip sync is painstaking. Regarding Renzo’s voice in this film, it had to have different ages as well, so that it would really be as real as possible. The first task is getting what you want.
And beyond that?
Trying to capture not only his physical age, but his behavior. For people who don’t know this process, behavior is really, I would say, the hardest thing. You can get the voice perfect. You can get the image right. But it’s the behavior that was really challenging in creating quite a lot of footage of Renzo.
What was it like for you to be directing yourself (as you appear in the film) done in AI?
Well, it’s all based on my pictures, and because it’s me, it’s the part that scared me the most. With Renzo sometimes I would think I saw a tiny discrepancy. But with me, I was like: “Oh my god, that’s real!”
Back to the workflow. Can you describe it in detail?
All this becomes a workflow problem. labeling all this material as if it was footage, and making it accessible to the editor. Blackstone was one of the companies behind a big part of it. And then this genius, Roberto Beragnoli who was the AI artist, did the heavy lifting. It was really months and months of finding a way to get all that we wanted, in the order that we wanted it.
It looks like just a documentary. But the work that went into it is like the work of a big, heavy CGI feature film. The quality part was a big challenge, because there are so many different software tools that we used to create the material. In AI you work at very low quality, and you have to upscale it. It’s very technical. I don’t want to get too nerdy, but the whole process is quite nerdy.
You’ve talked to me about creating a person with AI. How do you create a place with people in it?
That was really a very exciting filmmaking endeavour because with anything I do that is scripted, I have to come up with you know, the same exact number of [visual] ideas. If the scene says: “Off Broadway theater. Morning. Ten people waiting in line.” I have to decide how do those ten people look? How are they dressed? Where exactly are they? In the beginning it was very frustrating because instead of casting and scouting and talking to a costume designer, you do it with AI.
Do you think it’s important for the viewer of this piece to know when they are watching AI and when they are not?
I want to say no. This film tells a story of a man who lived, who is real, and whose adventures are all quite true. And so, if we are able to entertain you, make you laugh and empathize with this character, then that’s what counts. What interests me is not whether they’re able to discern it or not, but whether the film has an effect.
One of the fears concerning AI in fiction filmmaking is that the medium of cinema could lose the value of the empathic connection people have with other humans. What are your thoughts about that?
That’s why I was interested in approaching AI through the medium of documentary, which is very different from fiction, although ours is a fictionalized documentary, because it’s written and created. It still has the form of the documentary, it has that filter that you put on when you watch it. If this was that beautiful documentary “Free Solo” [which captured rock climber Alex Honnold’s hair-raising ascent of Yosemite National Park’s 3,000-foot El Capitan rock formation] that would be a very different thing because we would be pretending that something that never happened had happened.
How would you feel about directing a fiction film in AI?
I think something similar is happening with scripted material in fiction. With TV shows and movies. We haven’t overcome that yet. And I’m not sure that we want to. The empathy you talk about, it’s generated by real people doing things that, despite being more or less made up, are still human. That emotion is human. That cry is human. That laughter is human. Once you know that it’s not human – and right now we can tell, even if we’re not told – the moment you start watching, after five minutes you know that you’re not going to get on board exactly because that empathy is lacking. Again, I’m not saying that we fully succeeded. People will tell us [whether we did or not]. But we tried to apply a form of AI that can still live within a space of emotion and storytelling, I think. Because you can’t discern it, it still works for its purpose. Right now I would not necessarily take on a project, such as a historic film or a fiction film made in the present day, where I don’t use actors.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Our Films
New York-based Italian director Francesco Carrozzini is
If you’re wondering how to get rid of dandruff, know that you’re not alone in the fight against flakes. Not only is the scalp condition incredibly common for all hair types, but it also has a variety of potential causes. That doesn’t make dealing with constant white flakes of dead skin cells all over your clothes any less frustrating, but at least you’re in good company.
What is dandruff actually? Also known as seborrheic dermatitis, it’s an inflammatory response to an imbalance in the scalp microbiome. “This causes the overgrowth of Malassezia, a normal yeast found on the scalp,” says Carmen Castilla, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in NYC. “This overgrowth causes an inflammatory reaction, which leads to scalp flaking and itching.” Fun!
While there is no known cure for dandruff, there are plenty of treatment options. Ahead, everything you need to know about how to get rid of dandruff.
According to Caroline Robinson, MD, FAAD, a board-certified medical and cosmetic dermatologist, there isn’t one clearly defined cause for the scalp condition. “While we do not completely understand all of the causes of dandruff, we do know that the oils on our skin [sebum], a friendly yeast that lives there [Malassezia], and our sensitivity to the interaction between the two can all play a role in how likely we are to get dandruff,” she says. “Areas of high sebum production such as the scalp, parts of the face, and the center of the chest are the most common areas where we see dandruff.”
If that wasn’t enough, there may be other contributing factors, such as medical conditions and environmental causes. “Flares are common when the weather turns cold and dry, and stress can also trigger a flare,” says Hadley King, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in NYC. This type of dermatitis can also affect other areas of the body, such as the ears, eyebrows, center of the face, eyelids, upper chest, upper back, armpits, and groin area.
There’s a common misconception that if you have dandruff, your scalp must be dry—when really, these are two different diagnoses, according to Pooja Rambhia, MD, a board-certified dermatologist at Union Derm. “Dandruff is primarily fungal in nature, caused by an overgrowth of Malassezia yeasts rather than bacteria. These lipophilic (lipid-loving) yeasts are part of the normal scalp microbiome but can proliferate excessively in certain individuals, leading to the inflammatory response that characterizes dandruff,” she says.
How to tell the difference? Dandruff typically causes thicker, oilier, and sometimes yellow flakes. Dry scalp, on the other hand, has thinner, smaller white flakes. Both are signals of a compromised skin barrier on the scalp, and a board-certified dermatologist can help you determine the best treatment path for you.
Scalp psoriasis and scalp eczema are other common skin disorders that cause skin cells to grow extremely fast and become patches of dry, itchy, flaky skin, according to Dr. Robinson. “Psoriasis (or eczema) often requires management with prescription therapy, which is why I recommend speaking to your dermatologist if you suspect that you might have this.”
“For dryness and flaking caused by seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff shampoos—which include ingredients such as ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, salicylic acid, or zinc pyrithione—can be a big help,” says Iris Rubin, MD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Seen Hair Care.
Dr. King adds that you’ll want to look for the following antifungal ingredients to fight overproduction of yeast.
If you’re wondering how to get rid
Now that brands have woken up to the value of sports, more are shaking up their creative playbooks to stand out on a crowded field.
One recent example is Always Discreet, the Procter & Gamble-owned adult incontinence brand. Ahead of football season kickoff, Always Discreet teamed up with the NFL to shine a light on bladder leaks. Its ad starred real moms of NFL players talking candidly about their experiences to erase the stigma around incontinence, which affects 60% of women ages 45 and older.
The campaign had a few elements that demonstrated a fresh approach to sports partnerships that’s playing out at brands across sectors.
Now that brands have woken up to
(Photo by: Christine Bartolucci/Peacock)
Love Island USA will return next summer. Peacock has announced the renewal of the dating reality series for season nine, ahead of the season eight reunion special airing tomorrow night. Ariana Madix (above) is returning to host the new season.
New seasons of Love Island: Beyond the Villa and Love Island Games will also air in 2027.
Peacock shared the following about the current season’s ratings, which earned the series its renewal:
“Since the season eight premiere on June 2, “Love Island USA” has garnered over 19 billion minutes viewed.
“Love Island USA” has reigned over the streaming landscape this summer, ranking as the #1 streaming title for summer 2026 to date and the #1 streaming reality title for six consecutive weeks.
This season, “Love Island USA” saw 35% of its audience as new to the series, further cementing the franchise’s status as a pop culture phenomenon.”
The premiere date for season nine will be announced later. The trailer for the season eight reunion special is below.
What do you think? Do you enjoy this Peacock series? Will you watch the new seasons of all three shows next year?
by Regina Avalos, August 30, 2026(Photo by:
The 32nd edition of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous TV content market in Le Havre kicks off Monday with a broad selection of more than 350 programs boasting strong international potential presented by France’s leading distributors.
The Rendez-Vous hosts some 50 exclusive screenings of hit scripted series, animated shows and acclaimed documentaries, including a special showcase of three of the year’s highlights.
Despite a new condensed program this year, the Rendez-Vous will still see a full lineup of industry panel discussions, events and soirées, including the presentation France’s TV programming export figures for 2025 by promotional org Unifrance and the National Film Board (CNC).
France’s premiere TV market, the Rendez-Vous last year brought together some 150 buyers from 40 countries and more than 50 local distribution companies.
The titles in the spotlight this year include:
Credit: AH! Production
“Beasts of the Colosseum,” directed by Nicolas Brénéol, produced by AH! Production for Novo 19 and sold internationally by Balanga.
It examines how ancient Rome, captivated by the “venationes” — spectacles featuring wild beasts rather than gladiators — organized with the help of legionaires the capture and transportation of lions, panthers, elephants and bears from the Empire’s frontiers to the Colosseum.
Credit: Caroline Dubois
“Swapped,” directed by Vania Leturcq and Savina Dellicour, produced by Lincoln TV for France 2 and distributed by France TV Distribution.
Set in 1889 Paris, the series follows Rose (Lula Cotton Frapier), a young mother and wet nurse who, when forced to give up her own child, secretly swaps her baby with that of Hélène de Gersande (Alexia Giordano), a mother grieving the sudden loss of her infant. It’s “in the vein of ‘Downton Abbey’ but in a French style,” says Julia Schulte, France TV Distribution’s senior VP of international sales.
Credit: Nicolas Velter/France Télévisions/Siècle Productions/Wild Bunch
“The Red and the Black,” adapted from Stendhal’s novel, written by Georges-Marc Benamou and Gilles Taurand, directed by Gaël Morel, produced by Siècle Productions for France Télévisions, and distributed by Wild Bunch Distribution.
The four-part series chronicles the efforts of young Julien Sorel (Victor Belmondo) to rise socially beyond his modest upbringing while entangled in a web of passion and power. Julien’s pursuit of greatness leads him down a path where love, pride and hypocrisy collide… with tragic consequences.
Credit: DMLS Films (Banijay Group)/TF1/About Premium Content
Other notable new shows with cross-border, if not local adaptation potential, include About Premium Content’s “Country Spy,” produced by Banijay Group’s DMLS Films, which follows French intelligence agent Marie-Line Maupain, who, after 30 years of service, ends up back in the rural region she once called home. Putting her spy instincts to good use, she begins investigating criminal cases behind the back of the local police captain.
Credit: Vivement Lundi!/Autour de Minuit/France Télévisions
Aimed at kids 10 and under, “Super-Lucha” follows 10-year-old Ennio, who comes from a long line of Super-Luchadores, masked vigilantes who fight the forces of evil in a small Mexican town. Sold by Autour de Minuit, directed by Goulwen Merret and produced by Vivement Lundi! and Nadasdy Film, the stop-motion animated show is inspired by Mexican pop culture and papier-mâché piñatas.
Credit: Nicolas Velter/Incognita TV/Tripode Productions/Arte
“The Nefertiti Case,” sold by Film & Picture and produced by Incognita Télévision and
Tripode Productions, chronicles the efforts of Andrea, head of the French Museums Directorate, to save a landmark exhibition after the priceless bust of Nefertiti, on loan from Berlin, falls to the ground and breaks. Desperate, she seeks the help of a legendary forger recently released from prison, who also happens to be her estranged younger sister.
Credit: Bande à Part Films/Les Films Pelléas/Gaumont Télévision
In Gaumont’s “The Deal,” set in 2015, Swiss diplomat Alexandra Weiss leads a mission hosting last-chance nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran, with Europe, Russia and China. As tensions rise and delegates’ hidden agendas jeopardize fragile diplomacy, Alexandra’s former love Payam, a threatened Iranian engineer, appears, forcing her to cross lines to protect him. Bande à Part Films, Les Films Pelléas and Gaumont produce.
Credit: Elda Productions
Andana Films offers Tamara Erde’s timely two-part documentary “Gaza, a People’s History,” from Elda Productions and Kwassa Films, which explores the history of the 400 square-kilometer stretch of Palestinian land, wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, once home to 2.23 million people. The production revisits key moments in the region’s history.
The 32nd edition of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous
Country legend interred next to late husband Carl Dean at Nashville’s Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum following private ceremony attended by immediate family
Dolly Parton was laid to rest after a private funeral in Nashville, the country legend’s family said, days after her death at the age of 80.
The singer’s great-niece Lainey Parton — who referred to Dolly as “Aunt Granny” — posted on social media Saturday, “I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough. She never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something. She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.”
People reports that only immediate family attended the private funeral — “at Dolly’s request, a small, private service,” her reps previously said — at Nashville’s Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum, the same cemetery where Parton’s late husband Carl Dean was interred in a mausoleum in March 2025; the large plaque mounted on the mausoleum also had Parton’s name engraved on it before she died, as well as an engraving of her Sevier County, Tennessee home.
“A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family,” Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum’s obituary said.
“Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, kindness, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.”
Country legend interred next to late husband
Well fiddle-dee-dee, they are getting something to talk about back in Dixie in the spiffy Southern rebellion romance The Legend Of Van Dorn, directed by Shane Stanley from a script by Lee Wilson. Inspired by a true story, it follows Major General Earl Van Dorn (Lee Wilson), one of the South’s most brilliant military strategists against the Yankees. Lincoln has put out a bounty on his head, claiming him for being a pirate over an instance where he commandeered two Union boats. It was a bloodless takeover, as Van Dorn dislikes slaying other Americans, and the Union sailors agreed with that idea. He is primarily a lover, as well as a painter, yet he rose to fame as a killer of white men. His friend, General Nathan Bedford Forrest (David B. Meadows), is in awe of Van Dorn’s battle plans, but disapproves of his personal habits.
A couple dances at a candlelit Southern ball in The Legend of Van Dorn.
“Lincoln has put out a bounty on his head, claiming him for being a pirate over an instance where he commandeered two Union boats.”
Despite his battlefield prowess, Van Dorn’s thirst for whiskey and lady juice had thoroughly stained his sterling war record by the time he arrived in Spring Hill, Tennessee. With the assistance of Major Kimmel (Andrew Reid), he makes himself at home in his new command post. A vivacious young woman from town, Anna Daniels (Darby Cappillino), lets Van Dorn know she is available to help in any way at all, even in his bed chamber. Van Dorn resists lifting Anna’s hoop skirt, as he is smitten with Jesse Peters (Ellie Patrikios) in the house across the street. Mrs. Peters follows Van Dorn’s exploits in the papers, while he husband, Dr. George R. Peters (Joe Lando), disapproves of the destruction of human bodies. Van Dorn and Mrs. Peters start a secret affair, one that will be hard to keep quiet, as the hills of Tennessee have a thousand wagging tongues.
To paraphrase Repo Man: some men spend their lives avoiding sensational poppycock. I’ve spent my life looking for sensational poppycock to get into. Thanks to the devil in the details, The Legend Of Van Dorn looks completely sensational right down to the seams. The amazing costumes designed by Christian Michael are some of the most imaginatively authentic I have seen of that period. The dresses for Patrikios alone are worthy of their own 19th century runway show. Combine the dynamite outfits with the pitch-perfect art direction by Ruby Guidara and set decoration by Carmel Roman, and you have a full-on time travel experience on your hands. I haven’t had this level of Dixie immersion since Jacopetti & Prosperi’s Goodbye Uncle Tom. You can almost smell the candlewicks burning as the wardrobe comes to celluloid life. When film historians celebrate costume dramas, this one will rank high in 21st century examples.
Well fiddle-dee-dee, they are getting something to
British star Naomi Watts will receive the San Sebastián Film Festival’s prestigious Donostia Award during its 74th edition in September.
She joins legendary German director Werner Herzog whose Donostia Award was announced early August.
Watts will pick up her Award on Saturday, Sept. 19 and screen “The Housewife, directorial debut of Canadian Ben Shirinian.”
“Watts combines independent films with big productions on both the big and the small screen,” the San Sebastián Film Festival said in a statement, calling her “one of her generation’s most talented and award-winning actresses.
Born in England, but achieving a career in the U.S. and beyond, Watts broke out in David Lynch’s “Mullholland Drive, where her performance is “ranked among the finest in contemporary cinema,” said the San Sebastián Festival.
She scored Academy Award nomination for best Aactress for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “21 Grams,” and a Academy Award nomination for J.A. Bayona’s “The Impossible.”
Watts has also worked with filmmakers including Peter Jackson, David Cronenberg, Clint Eastwood, Michael Haneke, Audrey Diwan, Noah Baumbach and Rodrigo García, with whom she came to San Sebastián in 2009 to close the Official Selection out of competition with “Mother & Child.”
She earned a first Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Babe Paley in Ryan Murphy’s “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.”
“The Housewife,” the Donostia Award Screening, stars Naomi Watts, Tye Sheridan, Luke Evans, Michael Imperioli and Lena Olin. Set in 1964 and based on a true story, the film tells the tale of a young journalist who tracks down a potential Nazi officer living secretly in New York and befriends the suspect’s charming wife
The San Sebastián Film Festival runs Sept. 18 to 26.
British star Naomi Watts will receive the
Two-factor authentication (2FA) introduces a second verification stage to the standard BigLucky Casino login process. Rather than relying on a password alone, a player verifies identity with a one-time code, a push approval, or another trusted notification from a separate device. This second layer diminishes the chance that a stolen, guessed, or reused password gives an unauthorised party access to a casino account. For Czech players who handle deposits, withdrawals, bonuses, and personal documents in one place, 2FA secures both funds and identity data. BigLucky Casino provides several 2FA choices, enabling each user to choose the way that best fits daily habits, device availability, and comfort with technology. This article describes how these options operate, how to establish them during registration, and how they connect to account verification. It also includes recovery steps if a second factor is lost or replaced. The objective is to make login security understandable without creating unnecessary friction.
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Two-factor authentication (2FA) introduces a second verification
Love Is the Monster (Amor es el Monstruo). Costa Rican writer-director Neto Villalobos Brenes (All About the Feathers, Helmet Heads) has picked a title for his latest film that will make you sit up straight, deal with questions swirling through your head, or both. The chilling dystopian thriller, starring Paulina García (Gloria) and teeming with fear and inequality, will world premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Centerpiece strand on Sept. 15.
Filmed in Costa Rica’s South Pacific region, Love Is a Monster features Chilean star García as a grandmother determined to make the most of the time she has left with her six-year-old granddaughter. After her daughter cuts off all contact, she has to earn her trust back, only for tragedy to strike: the girl gets kidnapped for ransom. What is the grandmother willing to do to protect the ones she loves?
“She is forced to make choices she never imagined, pushing love, loyalty and survival into increasingly tense territory,” notes a synopsis of the movie that explores family, love, age and class inequality.
Love Is the Monster sees Villalobos Brenes return to Toronto, where his two previous features also debuted.
“A few years ago, I lost the person I loved most, my mother,” says Villalobos Brenes in explaining his sharp turn from two comedies to a dark, genre-infused cinematic ride. “As everyday life became more difficult for her, she found in her granddaughter the strength to keep fighting. That experience sparked the question at the heart of this film: how far would you go to protect the person you love most?”
‘Love Is the Monster,’ courtesy of Bendita Film Sales
Love Is the Monster also stars Natalia Regidor, Gloriana Vargas and Ericka Reikendorf. Written by Villalobos Brenes and Diego van der Laat, the film features cinematography by Nicolás Wong Díaz and editing by Yibrán Asuad and Villalobos Brenes. Bendita Film Sales is handling world sales.
García, who won the Silver Bear for best actress at the Berlin International Film Festival for her performance in Gloria, shares: “I don’t think love really has limits. You only discover that when you’re put to the test and find yourself doing things you never imagined you were capable of. When a child is involved, that feeling becomes even stronger. You’re willing to do absolutely anything to protect them.”
THR can now exclusively premiere the poster for the film right here.
Now, if you finally want to see a video teaser, we got you covered, too. Here is the exclusive premiere of the trailer for Love Is the Monster. Whenever you are ready, buckle up and take a deep breath!
Love Is the Monster (Amor es el
The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has unveiled a 13-film Japanese Animation Special program, marking the first Korea visit in 17 years for animation master Rintaro alongside four next-generation directors.
Billed as a Special Program in Focus, the lineup puts a spotlight on Japan’s animation history across a full century, mixing formative classics with buzzed-about new releases and one European work that shaped generations of Japanese animators. Most of the lineup has rarely played Korean theaters, and several titles will have their Korean premieres at the festival.
Rintaro will travel to Busan alongside directors Kadowaki Kohei, Katanosaka Ryo, Natsume Shingo and Shinomiya Yoshitoshi, who represent the medium’s newer generation. It is Rintaro’s first trip to Korea in 17 years.
The lineup’s classics section opens with Yabushita Taiji’s “The White Snake Enchantress” (1958), an adaptation of a Chinese folk tale about a young man who falls for a serpent capable of taking human form. It was the first Japanese animated feature made in full color, and it left a lasting impression on a teenage Miyazaki Hayao, who wrote in “Starting Point 1979-1996” that watching it left him in tears until dawn. The film stands as a landmark work from Toei Animation.
Yamamoto Eiichi’s “Belladonna of Sadness” (1973) was produced by Mushi Production as an experimental work aimed at adult viewers. Adapted from Jules Michelet’s “La Sorcière,” the story centers on Jeanne, a woman who strikes a bargain with the Devil and emerges transformed into a witch. The film was invited to screen at the 1973 Berlin Film Festival, shortly after its debut, and it later became a global cult title following a 2016 4K restoration. Actor Nakadai Tatsuya provides the Devil’s voice, while the camera drifts across static watercolor paintings under Fukai Kuni’s art direction.
“Phoenix 2772 (Space Firebird)” (1980) draws on Tezuka Osamu’s “Phoenix” manga saga, with Tezuka serving as writer and director on the project. Its 12-minute opening, which traces the protagonist’s growth using only music and imagery and no spoken dialogue, stands as one of the film’s most discussed passages.
Oshii Mamoru’s “Angel’s Egg” (1985), made with illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, unfolds with almost no dialogue, relying instead on biblical symbolism and imagery. The film laid the groundwork for a visual approach Oshii carried forward into “Ghost in the Shell” (1995).
“Memories” (1995), overseen by Otomo Katsuhiro of “Akira” (1988), comes back to Busan three decades after it screened at the festival’s first edition. The program will show a 2025 remaster marking the film’s 30th anniversary, presenting all three episodes of the omnibus.
“Metropolis” (2001) draws its story from a 1949 manga by Tezuka Osamu. Rintaro, whose credits include “Galaxy Express 999” (1979), directed the film, and Otomo Katsuhiro wrote the screenplay. Production took five years, with a budget among the largest in Japanese animation history at that point.
Yuasa Masaaki made his feature directorial debut with “Mind Game” (2004), adapting a manga of the same name by Robin Nishi. Yuasa, known for his work on “Crayon Shin-chan” and “Chibi Maruko-chan,” saw the film take the Animation Division’s Grand Prize at the 2005 Japan Media Arts Festival, plus the Mainichi Film Awards’ 2004 Ofuji Noburo Award for Animation.
“Kakurenbo” (2004) is where Morita Shuhei made his directorial debut. He later picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film for “Possessions” (2013) and went on to direct “Tokyo Ghoul” (2014). The 24-minute short built a cult following for pairing 3D CG with cel-style rendering, an unusual combination for its era.
Four new titles round out the lineup, with all four directors attending BIFF. “Ghost – End of Night” comes from director Natsume Shingo, who also made “One-Punch Man” (2015), with production handled by Madhouse Inc. The film heads to BIFF ahead of a planned 2027 theatrical bow in Japan.
“Shiranui” is a 36-minute theatrical short produced by CoMix Wave Films, the company known for many of Shinkai Makoto’s biggest titles. The studio found first-time filmmaker Katanosaka Ryo and backed him in making an original work for cinemas. He personally hand-drew close to two-thirds of the picture’s 325 rough cuts.
Kadowaki Kohei directs “We Are Aliens,” a rotoscoped feature with a distinctly realistic look. The film played in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar during this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and it also screened in Competition at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Director Shinomiya Yoshitoshi’s “A New Dawn” holds the distinction of being the first Japanese animated feature directed by a first-time feature filmmaker to compete at the Berlin International Film Festival. After its Berlinale premiere, the film went on to win the Jury Award, given in Annecy’s Contrechamp section. The 76-minute feature is built around a distinctive green palette inspired by ‘Paris Green,’ a pigment once outlawed for its toxicity. Shinomiya, who earlier worked on Shinkai Makoto’s “Your Name.” (2016) and created the poster art for “The Garden of Words” (2013), handled the story, screenplay and direction on “A New Dawn,” in addition to its character design and art direction.
The program closes with Paul Grimault’s “The King and the Mockingbird” (1952, 1980). Grimault finished an initial cut in 1952, which took a prize at the Venice Film Festival, but he later pulled the film from circulation, scrapped that version and spent decades reworking it into a new cut. Miyazaki Hayao paid tribute to it in his directorial debut, “Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro” (1979), and Studio Ghibli co-founder Takahata Isao once said he might never have gotten into animation had he not seen it. The film also numbers Bong Joon-ho among its admirers.
BIFF festival director Jung Hanseok said, “Animation has recently become one of the most dynamic forms in global cinema, bridging East and West. That is why, for this year’s major Special Programs in Focus, we wanted to take a closer look at the world of Japanese animation, long one of the great traditions and powerhouses of the medium.”
Jung said organizers set a handful of firm criteria for the lineup: the films needed, whenever feasible, to be original works made for theatrical release, and to represent either bold precedents from their era or a forward-looking vision for the medium, with preference given to titles that have seldom, if at all, played Korean cinemas. He added that the program deliberately left out Miyazaki Hayao and Takahata Isao, choosing instead works that had shaped both directors’ own filmmaking.
“Some films can only be fully experienced in a theater. I hope audiences in Busan will not miss this rare opportunity to experience these works on the big screen. I am also deeply honored to welcome Rintaro, a living legend of Japanese animation, and four directors representing its next generation to BIFF,” Jung added.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival runs Oct. 6-15, with venues centered on the Busan Cinema Center. The 21st Asian Contents & Film Market takes place alongside it, from Oct. 10-13.
The 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)
Ben Affleck's Ana de Armas cutout, you
Dirty Monkeys’ war comedy-drama “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” held onto the top spot at the mainland China box office for the third consecutive weekend, grossing RMB174.4 million ($25.6 million) over the Aug. 28–30 frame, according to data from Artisan Gateway.
Directed by Wen Muye (“Dying to Survive”) and produced by Ning Hao, the summer breakout has pushed its cumulative haul to $283.7 million since its August 11 launch. Starring Shen Teng, Jiang Qiming, Aarif Rahman, and Omar Sherif, the story follows a debt-ridden Chinese chef in a fictional Middle Eastern city who transforms his restaurant into a sanctuary for local orphans and civilians after armed conflict breaks out.
Pearl River Film Group’s crime drama “V” maintained second place in its sophomore weekend, generating $14.4 million to push its cumulative Chinese earnings to $59.6 million. Directed by Han Yan (“Love Never Ends”), the feature stars Tony Leung Ka Fai, Zhu Yilong, Tan Jianci, and Kara Wai in a narrative chronicling an ambitious man’s rapid rise to power and the dark fallout that threatens his success.
Universal’s epic “The Odyssey” held third position, collecting $10 million in its third weekend. The film has amassed a cumulative gross of $87.4 million across mainland theaters.
Pearl Studio’s animated fantasy feature “All Wishes Come True!” placed fourth in its seventh weekend of release, taking in $7.9 million. Directed by Mu Zhengyang, the film has generated $270.3 million since its July 18 premiere.
Sony’s superhero tentpole “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” rounded out the top five, adding $2.9 million in its fifth frame. The film has lifted its cumulative total to $225.7 million, remaining the year’s top-earning Hollywood import in China.
Mainland China’s overall weekend grosses reached $69.8 million, while the 2026 year-to-date revenue stands at $4.13 billion, down 28.1% from the same period in 2025.
Dirty Monkeys’ war comedy-drama “Once Upon a
Meet the X-Men.
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige capped off an electric showcase presentation during D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, unveiling the stars of the upcoming X-Men movie. Director Jake Schreier was joined onstage by star Sadie Sink, who made her debut as Jean Grey in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
“It is so wonderful to be here and to finally be able to talk about this character after months of speculation,” Sink told the crowd. “We’re here to talk about the X-Men. Should we meet some more of the cast?”
The trio then welcomed Sink’s new costars to the stage: Kit Connor as Scott Summers, Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, and Maya Boyd as Storm.
Finally, Adam Driver crashed the panel with one final video surprise, where he revealed that he will be playing a very sinister figure named Nathaniel Milbury.
“When Kevin told me to show up for X-Men, I assumed he meant on set,” Driver said. “So instead of being there in California, I’m here at Pinewood [Studios] on this very lonely soundstage. Kevin and I have been talking for years about maybe joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And I think we finally found the perfect film at the perfect time. So I’m very excited to be playing Mag…. Nope. Even better. Nathaniel Milbury. So I’ll be right here, waiting for everybody to show up.”
Meet the X-Men.Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige
James Gunn’s DC just debuted a new Joker, and he looks more menacing than ever. The Clown Prince of Crime is one of the most iconic villains in Batman lore and, naturally, he’s been adapted into various DC media over the years. Now, almost four years after Gunn and Peter Safran took over DC Studios in late 2022, the studio is finally adapting its own take on the Ace of Knaves.
Joker appears in Bruce Timm and J.J. Abrams’ Batman: Caped Crusader Season 2, an Elseworlds-style production from Warner Bros. Animation, Amazon MGM Studios, and Bad Robot, branded and distributed under James Gunn’s DC Studios label, although it doesn’t belong in the main DC Universe continuity.
The Prime Video series, which premiered on July 31, takes place in a gritty 1940s noir version of Gotham City where crime runs rampant, and the only man capable of protecting it is Batman. The season is packed with some of the most iconic villains in Batman lore, with a few getting an unconventional twist, like the Mad Hatter, who has been gender-swapped, taking on the name Hattie Tettch instead.
This continuity’s Joker, who was first teased in a cameo in the final episode of Season 1, has been reimagined too. Voiced by House of the Dragon star Matthew Needham, Caped Crusader‘s Clown Prince isn’t like any that has been adapted on screen before. He’s a stoic, no-nonsense European criminal who doesn’t crack jokes like the typical Joker iterations seen in modern media.
Caped Crusader‘s take is inspired by the villain’s earliest comic book appearances and German Expressionist cinema, an era where he didn’t laugh nearly as much as later versions do. Joker stays in the shadows for the majority of Season 2 but finally makes a proper appearance in the final two episodes, revealing himself as Gotham’s greatest threat, the mastermind behind a toxin that has infected Gotham’s citizens and threatens to consume the entire city, turning everyone into laughing lunatics.
He infects Hattie Tettch during her live broadcast and announces his plan to murder Mayor Jessop, a promise he eventually delivers on.
The season ends with a brutal fight between Joker and Batman in the finale on a building’s rooftop. The battle ends with Joker being impaled by a steel pole and seemingly falling to his death while cracking a rare laugh. Needham described his version of the Joker to The Direct as “very serious, very cold, not fun, but absolutely evil.”
DC Studios will definitely bring another Joker to the screen, and the most likely destination is Matt Reeves’ The Batman Epic Crime Saga, which has already teased its version of the Clown Prince. Barry Keoghan, who plays Joker in this corner of DC, made a cameo appearance in the final scenes of The Batman, laughing alongside Paul Dano’s Riddler at Arkham Asylum.
Keoghan will reprise the role in the sequel, The Batman Part II, which arrives on February 18, 2028, but it’s unclear how big his role will be this time. Reeves’ take on the Joker is also very unique, as this Clown Prince suffers from a congenital disease that leaves his face disfigured, a choice Reeves has said was inspired by The Elephant Man.
James Gunn’s main continuity, the DC Universe, is still lacking its own Batman, with The Brave and the Bold not looking like it will arrive anytime soon. The film centers on an older Bruce Wayne and involves the Bat-Family, a direction rarely seen in other live-action Batman adaptations. That being said, a Joker as a major antagonist in this continuity isn’t far-fetched at all.
Although Batman has yet to arrive in the DCU, Gotham is gradually being established, and the Clayface teaser trailer already made key references to the Joker, most notably a sign for Amusement Mile, the abandoned amusement park the villain frequently calls home in the comics.
If Gunn does bring Joker to the DCU, his iteration of the villain will likely stand out from the rest as well. There’s also a Deathstroke vs. Bane film in the works, which could give the Clown Prince his debut in this universe if not in The Brave and the Bold.
DC Studios and Warner Bros. Animation announced an adult animated Absolute Batman series at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June, with comic writer Scott Snyder serving as showrunner and artist Nick Dragotta serving as producer. The Absolute universe has become a favorite among comic fans, flipping the script on Batman’s lore by reinventing Bruce as a working-class civil engineer rather than a billionaire heir.
In this world, the Joker is completely different as well, portrayed as an immortal billionaire named Jack Grimm V who has secretly lived for over a century, posing as his own descendants, and who has never once been heard to laugh. Snyder has also said the show won’t be a 1:1 adaptation but an expansion of the comic, so there’s a good chance it features the Joker.
At Annecy, another DC Studios project set in Batman’s world was announced, and this one is built on Joker himself. Joker: Laugh Riot, DC Studios’ first anime series, from Sola Entertainment with director Yasuhiro Aoki and executive producer Jim Krieg, is set in a Gotham where the Dark Knight is murdered, a move that deeply angers Joker. The Clown Prince goes on a ruthless crusade through Gotham’s underworld, looking for who is responsible, but his violent quest pushes him closer to vigilante than villain, forcing him to confront the truth that without Batman, he doesn’t know who he is.
Microsoft’s new Fable game was supposed to launch this year, but it was delayed to February 2027. The game’s director, Ralph Fulton, said in an interview that he feels “great” about the launch timing for Fable, adding that shifting to 2027 helps the game avoid the “chaotic window” of its original timeframe of late 2026.
Speaking to IGN, Fulton said the reason for the delay “is pretty apparent to everybody.” He said he was “really looking forward to” launching Fable in 2026, saying he wasn’t happy about having another all-hands meeting with the team in January to tell them, “This is the year we ship Fable.” But alas, that’s what happened.
“The rationale for it is absolutely sound. I’m glad that we’re avoiding that chaotic window,” he said. In getting pushed to February 2027, Fable avoids launching near Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 (October 23) and GTA 6 (November 19).
Fulton did not mention GTA 6 by name in this interview, but he did previously. In June, Fulton said Fable being delayed to 2027 helps Fable avoid a “really congested period” for game releases and “obviously avoiding Grand Theft Auto.”
“Having a much less contested window allows us the opportunity to go out and really make a moment for ourselves, and I think the attention this game deserves,” he said.
Gameplay combat footage from Fable emerged online this week from Gamescom, and it looked rough, but GameSpot’s own hands-on time with the game told a different story.
Fable launches February 23, 2027 for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and PC.
Microsoft's new Fable game was supposed to
For players of online casino games, discovering slots with decent odds is a wise choice. That’s what attracted me to Cowboy Spin Casino. Its library puts a clear emphasis on high Return to Player (RTP) games. Let’s discuss why RTP is worth your attention, how to identify the top games, and if this platform is a great choice for Canadian players who desire greater returns.
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Selecting games with higher RTP percentages is a key aspect of smart bankroll management. It makes your bankroll go further, which means more playtime and entertainment. Volatility—the size and frequency of wins—also influences your experience. But RTP is the basic metric I look at before anything else. At casinos like Cowboy Spin, where this info is often easy to find, you can base your choices on math instead of luck.
Wanting a high RTP game is straightforward. Locating it in a crowded lobby is the challenge. I use a clear checklist to cut through the noise and locate the best options quickly.
High RTP games provide a solid advantage for anyone, but they make extra sense for Canadian players. Our gaming community tends to value fairness and getting good value. Games with better theoretical returns convert a casual pastime into something more strategic. You experience you’ve got a bit more control. This effect intensifies the longer you play, as the statistical advantage has more time to emerge.
In a crowded market, a casino that takes the time to list high RTP games signals intent. It implies they value their players’ intelligence and strive to deliver a fair experience. To me, a platform that highlights these games prominently is one that’s confident in its product. It builds a more trusting and rewarding environment for players.
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In my observation, Cowboy Spin Casino groups its games in ways that make high RTP titles prominent. Standard slots and table games are known for good returns, but don’t ignore modern video slots. Rivalry among developers has boosted RTP across the board, including games packed with features. Here’s where you should focus your search.
Finding high RTP slots can be surprisingly rewarding. The majority of top software providers now disclose their games’ RTP upfront. You’ll notice that simpler, low-volatility games frequently have higher percentages, but that’s not always the case. Numerous feature-heavy video slots with engaging narratives also offer RTPs of 96.5% or more. You don’t need to choose between excitement and good odds.
If you’re focused on the best mathematical odds, digital table games are your starting point. Blackjack, using perfect basic strategy, delivers an effective RTP that can exceed 99.5%. European Roulette, with its single zero, also gives you a much better return than the American double-zero version. The same principles apply in the Live Casino section, offering you authentic play with a strong statistical foundation.
The wisest move is to combine a casino’s welcome bonus with your high RTP game options. That extra bonus money goes further when utilized on a game with a good theoretical return. This combination stretches your playtime and can increase your enjoyment. Just don’t forget to examine the promotion’s fine print first. The terms will inform you which games count most to the wagering requirements.
For example, selecting a high RTP slot that counts 100% to the wagering is effective. Every spin fully counts toward meeting the bonus, all while you’re on a game with a favorable edge. It’s a way to convert Cowboy Spin Casino’s promotional offer into a tool for a longer, more significant session. That’s planning in action.
High RTP games have a subtle advantage for responsible play. Because they give back more to the user over time, they may assist your funds stretch further. This reinforces the main concepts behind safe play: setting limits, managing your bankroll, and seeing gambling as paid leisure. I see selecting a high return game as the initial smart choice you can make.
It boils down to being knowledgeable. Gambling sites that provide clear RTP data offer you the power to make those smart picks. Keep this in mind: no RTP percentage, no matter how lofty, guarantees a short-term win. It’s a extended average. Utilize this data to extend your enjoyment and set realistic goals, not to attempt to defeat the establishment in a one go.
If you’re curious to try their selection of high RTP games, starting at Cowboy Spin Casino is easy. The method is uncomplicated, moving you from sign-up to the game lobby effortlessly. Here’s what that usually involves.
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For those looking to unlock new ways to run-and-gun for video, photography, and other hybrid content projects, there have been plenty of innovations in camera and audio gear over the years, but not too much in file storage and access.
This new portable memory card case and reader from Ulanzi looks like a clever way to speed up shooters’ workflows by letting them store multiple memory cards at once, read files directly from them, and connect via USB-C to smartphones or other devices for quick access.
Here’s what you need to know.
This looks like a pretty cool, clever innovation that’s quite affordable, making it appealing to many run-and-gun videographers looking for a simple way to streamline their productions.
The Ulanzi DC01 Portable Memory Card Case & Reader is a 2-in-1 portable memory card case that helps users keep their memory cards organized and protected during transport while unlocking new data-transfer options.
The case and card reader will feature a UHS-II SDXC card slot and a UHS-II microSDXC card slot, plus storage for up to four SD cards and four microSD cards. The portable combo storage and reader also includes an integrated USB-C cable that supports transfer speeds up to 312 MB/s.
Credit: B&H
Overall, this is a nice little option that unlocks not only the ability to store multiple memory cards, read files directly, and connect via USB-C, but also the ability to quickly access, back up, and transfer footage from these cards whenever and wherever your shoot takes you.
If you’re curious to learn more, here are the full specs and purchase options.
Keep memory cards organized and protected during transport and transfer data using this DC01 2-in-1 Portable Memory Card Case from Ulanzi. It has a UHS-II SDXC card slot and a UHS-II microSDXC card slot as well as storage for up to four SD cards and four microSD cards. An integrated USB-C cable allows transfers speeds up to 312 MB/s.
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Per longstanding annual tradition, The Hollywood Reporter granted anonymity to a member of the TV Academy — this year a male Emmy-winning member of the organization’s producers peer group — in return for candor about why he made the choices that he did on his Emmys ballot.
We share “Brutally Honest Ballots” not because the views of any single member are representative of the views of all 27,000 members; obviously, they are not. Rather, we believe that they can offer interesting and valuable insight into the sorts of things that are on voters’ minds as they decide what and whom to support.
Unlike many of the other outlets that have shamelessly ripped off this feature without acknowledgment, THR waits until voting has closed before sharing any ballots and views.
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place on Sept. 14, and will be preceded by the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 5 and 6. Follow THR.com for complete coverage.
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BEST DRAMA SERIES
I skipped The Gilded Age — I’d rather prep for a colonoscopy than watch another period drama. I also did not watch A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — I’m completely Throne’d out. Your Friends and Neighbors, a dumb show about entitled people who I don’t care about, got nominated over Industry — what the fuck? I’m a fan of Vince Gilligan, but there’s a sort of arrogance to Apple TV shows, including Pluribus, where they’re like, “We don’t really care if you watch. We don’t need to grab you in the first episode.” For a couple of episodes I was like, “Is this show ever going to fucking get going?” And then I bailed. Slow Horses has had better seasons. Task is in the wrong category [more on this later]. I really liked Paradise — I could watch Sterling K. Brown read the phone book, and Shailene Woodley was a great addition. I loved this season of The Diplomat, and as a West Wing fan it was pretty great seeing Allison [Janney] and Brad [Whitford] back together. But The Pitt is the best show on television, made by people who have been working at such a high level for so long that they’ve forgotten more about how to make great TV than most people will ever know. There isn’t a bad piece of casting, or acting, or writing, or directing. And the fact that the show comes back after six months? Some shows go away for years between seasons and when they come back they’ve lost all of their momentum — The Old Man, for instance — but these guys are already well into season three. Just please don’t kill off Noah Wyle!
My vote: The Pitt (HBO Max)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
I’ve had it with The Bear. It’s not a comedy, it’s never been a comedy, it’s a terrific drama — although I didn’t love the way it ended — and it should be in the drama category. Only Murders in the Building is a big yawn for me. Margo’s Got Money Troubles? I watched one-and-a-half episodes, didn’t get it. I don’t love the stereotypes of Nobody Wants This — it leans into a bit of caricature for both Jews and Gentiles, and that makes me uncomfortable in the world that we’re living in now. I’ve loved Abbott Elementary and Shrinking, but these weren’t their best seasons. Enough of Hacks. This was an easy decision: Widow’s Bay is far and away the best. It came out of nowhere, and it had me from the first episode — it’s funny and clever, and I loved that, like The Pitt, it was put out in the old style of one episode a week, with everyone talking about it the next day and looking forward to the next one. Hiro Murai is probably the best director in television right now.
My vote Widow’s Bay (Apple TV)
BEST LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES
Two shows should’ve been nominated in this category that weren’t: I don’t understand how Death by Lightning got overlooked, and I think Task [nominated for best drama series] belongs in this category — it was created as a limited series, it aired as a limited series, and then they decided, “Well, maybe we’ll do another season and have it overlap with Mare of Easttown,” but the reality is that this show ended. If Beef is a limited series — and it is, with a mediocre installment this season — then Task is a limited series. I had a problem with Love Story, just as I did with Winning Time: if you take living people, turn them into characters, and then disparage them, you should be sent to an island and never allowed to make television again. I hated what they did to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jerry West with Winning Time, and what Love Story did to Daryl Hannah was inexcusable. DTF St. Louis should’ve been called WTF St. Louis — Jason Bateman is lovely, but the show is terrible. Who are you supposed to be rooting for? Sarah Snook was great in All Her Fault, but I grew bored with the way the story was told. I voted for The Beast in Me because the performances were all strong and there were some good scares and twists in it.
My vote The Beast in Me (Netflix)
BEST MOVIE
This category is not “television movie” anymore, just “movie,” which is as close as we’re going to get to them acknowledging that it’s no longer about MOWs [Movies of the Week] and, for the most part, is now just filled with movies that weren’t good enough to get a theatrical release — what a fucking joke. I never heard anything about Miss You, Love You or People We Meet on Vacation, so I didn’t watch them. I refused to watch Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan — first of all, enough of Jack Ryan, and second, I hate Amazon, I don’t buy Amazon products and Jeff Bezos should stay the fuck out of our business. I could only get through half of Heads of State. But Remarkably Bright Creatures is the kind of television movie — not movie — that used to win: a small, quiet story, told beautifully, with wonderful actors. Sally Field is amazing in it, Lewis Pullman is a star, and the melding of puppetry, live and visual effects with that octopus was pretty amazing.
My vote Remarkably Bright Creatures (Netflix)
BEST VARIETY SERIES
I think it’s a stupid rule change [to now ask voters to select “yes” or “no” beside each nominee in this category to indicate if it is worthy of a win, and then award statuettes to any/all nominees that garner 90 percent “yes” votes; if none do, then the single highest-tallying nominee will be declared the winner]. Colbert and Kimmel are both an easy “yes” for me because I think our industry needs to speak up and defend First Amendment rights — what happened to Colbert and Kimmel is inexcusable. “Yes” also to Oliver — it’s a great show and I always vote for him. “Yes” to The Daily Show because of Jon Stewart, whose night [Stewart hosts Monday nights] is appointment television. And I’m sorry, but “no” for Saturday Night Live — it wasn’t a good season, the new people weren’t great, and the old people are getting a bit stale.
My vote “Yes” for The Daily Show (Comedy Central), The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS), Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)
Per longstanding annual tradition, The Hollywood Reporter
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I recall the first time I walked
Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey’s son is set to make his feature film debut.
Josey Dorsey, 10, has landed a role in writer-director Evan Coury’s The Burning Valley, according to IMDB.com. Ryan Dorsey also is listed among the cast, meaning the father-son duo could share some screen time in the younger Dorsey’s film debut.
Coury told Pittsburgh’s Tribune Review that the movie “is about a steelworker who loses his job when the mill announces a shutdown. It sets him on a journey as he wanders through his Rust Belt town.”
The movie also mark’s Coury’s directorial debut. He has a couple of acting credits, according to IMDB, including the 2015 short film Adopted and the 2022 film Dear Zoe, which stars Sadie Sink.
The Burning Valley began filming in August in locations around the Pennsylvania area where Coury grew up, including Brackenridge and Arnold. “My hope is to encapsulate the history of our region through one guy’s personal experience,” Coury said.
Other cast listed includes Tyler Miles, J.B. Brown, Joseph Ducar, Whip Hubley, Patrick Jordan, Sam Lothard, Joseph Mazza and Sheila McKenna.
The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to a rep listed for Josey for additional information.
According to KTVB, Josey landed a role in a local theater production of Seussical Jr. in West Virginia in 2024, when he was 8. According to People, Josey and his dad moved from Los Angeles to West Virginia in 2023.
Ryan Dorsey’s credits include Yellowstone, Ray Donovan, Justified and Palm Royale.
Josey’s mom, Naya Rivera, was known for her role in Glee. She died in a drowning accident in 2020 on a boating outing with Josey, who was then 4-years-old, in Lake Piru in Ventura County, California.
She and Ryan wed in 2014 and were married for two years before divorcing.
Naya Rivera and Ryan Dorsey’s son is
As Maggie and Negan walk the streets of New York, he tells her she’d be a great mom, and he knows “because I’m a s**t dad.” He has a son, but he never sees him, thinking “the kid’s better off without me.” Maggie starts to leave for the airport, but Negan tries to convince her to stay — and admits he intended to kill Alan today, showing her a gun. He gives her the gun to hold “for safety” — why isn’t she running for her life at this point? — and she decides, “I’ve tried being good for so long. I think I want to try being happy.” And in that spirit, she decides to blow off the flight to see Beth sing. Negan takes her to a Christmas market where she finds a Statue of Liberty snow globe… and also a tarot card reader who promises to foretell her future.
Maggie sits down, and the reader pulls The World card, declaring that Maggie has been to New York in another life. After a few more cards, Negan joins her, and the reader pulls the Wheel of Fortune, telling them they’re “in the midst of some major karmic cycle.” She examines their hands and finds evidence of “karmic bonds” between them: “You’ve had several lives together.” Negan jokes that this all means they should do some “hanky-panky” — way to spoil the vibe, Negan — and they head to the bar to see Beth sing the Christmas classic “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” which she and Maggie used to sing as kids. But Negan’s face falls when he spots Alan in the crowd.
Negan takes the gun out of Maggie’s purse and follows Alan outside, shoving him into an alley and pointing the gun at his head, yelling at him to admit what he did. Maggie runs out to stop Negan, and he relents at first, but then Alan calls her a “little b***h” — and before Negan can shoot him, Maggie punches his lights out. After he runs off, Maggie and Negan share a laugh (“We had something to learn from one another”), and she heads back into the bar while he walks off to call his son.
Maggie and Beth walk home singing together, and Maggie tells her she’s ready to sell the farm. They go home to Beth’s apartment — and Luis lives in her building, too! But then Maggie gets a call from a loan officer approving her business plan, and she changes her mind: “Maybe what I want can wait a little longer. I mean, it’s not like the world is ending tomorrow.” (Oof, about that…) Meanwhile, Negan spots Alan on the street and cocks his gun… and we hear a gunshot.
Back in the zombie reality, Maggie’s son Hershel runs in to tell her that Negan killed Fabian and sliced Dillard’s face in half. Oh man… can’t we just keep living in that alternate reality, please?
What’d you think of this very special “Walking Dead: Dead City” episode? Hit the comments to give us your take!
[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Lanterns” Episode 3, “OutKast,” including the ending. Find last week’s review here, or for a spoiler-free analysis, read our full season review.]
“How do you make a Green Lantern?”
The third episode of “Lanterns” provides an answer to this unlikely question. After all, Green Lanterns are supposed to be chosen by rings. The implicit neutrality of letting an inanimate object guided by a mysterious, principled force make the decision — rather than a living, breathing, fallible entity — is meant to elevate the honor. The ring recognizes that whatever wearer it selects is worthy of the greatest power in the universe. So it’s safe to assume that says something pretty important about the one who’s chosen.
Safe-ish. In Episode 3, “Lanterns” turns that idea on its head, as the Guardians take matters into their own hands. Their trust in Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), the first human to serve as a Green Lantern, is broken. Their confidence in the system (as it applies to people of Earth) is compromised. So they interviewed replacement candidates and now believe they’ve found a perfect successor in John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), a man who’s been raised (or programmed) since birth to be hired for the job (in part, at least, because of the Guardians’ interference with his family).
The Guardians are bending their own system to their will. John is doing the same for himself. But whether they share a vision of what that system should be, exactly, remains to be seen.
Episode 3, “OutKast,” is told entirely in flashback. There’s no mention of the case in Nebraska or the presence of Manhunters. Hal Jordan only appears at the very end to ruin John’s day. Instead, the story is devoted to illustrating what it takes for a young Black man in America to earn the same position as an old white guy, how race affects people’s lives at a core, emotional level, and how its impact permeates everything from personal relationships to career opportunities.
Ultimately, the exceptional, engrossing third entry of “Lanterns” paints a striking portrait of what separates our two heroes, while putting a spotlight on the one whose perspective goes historically overlooked — on Earth and, it turns out, in space.
So, to accommodate the departure episode’s unique narrative (don’t you dare call it a bottle episode), the format below is getting a slight tweak. This week, John is the case — his origin story is the mystery we’re slowly solving. The Guardian will be our suspect, since Laura Linney’s evasive alien invites ample suspicion, and the co(r)ps will dig into how our perception of John and Hal as Green Lanterns has changed — starting with the big reveal that John is there to replace Hal, not back him up.
OK, just pop an apple on top of your head, and let’s get to it.
John Stewart wasn’t born to be a Green Lantern, but he is in the room with his parents when his father is tested by the Green Lantern’s ring. After failing honestly, John Sr. (J. Alphonse Nicholson) spirals. People think he’s crazy. His own wife orders him out of the house. However bad it gets for the former Marine, it’s bad enough that his fellow officers still remember his trouble by the time John Jr. gets deployed.
At home, at least, things change after the Guardians pay a visit to Bernadette (Jasmine Cephas Jones), and she vows to turn her youngest son into the next Green Lantern. He’s raised to be fearless — the one quality the ring requires of its wearer, and the one quality that’s hard to come by when you’re “terrified daily of persecution,” as Bernadette explains to the Guardian (Linney). “Do you understand how unfair it is to ask a Black man in America if he’s afraid?” The Guardian doesn’t, but the Stewarts sure do, and they take extreme measures to ensure John grows up with only the right kind of fear (like, say, fear of losing a loved one).
Their methods are… questionable, to say the least. John’s training takes precedence over everything. He’s forced to find his way home, alone, when he’s just a boy. He’s forced to become an expert marksman even though he just wants to draw. He’s often isolated from his brothers, and — most notably — he lets his parents fire a gun at him, over and over, until the only way he can process the trauma is by rejecting the reward. (His dad always gets him a hamburger afterward, so John becomes a vegan.)
For his parents, it’s all worth it, as long as John becomes a Green Lantern. “He’s going to hate us,” John Sr. says. “So be it,” Bernadette replies. But for John, there is no choice. He’s on a “path,” and that path leads from graduation, to the Marines, to art school, to an interview with the Guardians. For as much as he’s willing to sacrifice in order to live out his parents’ dreams (one that passed over his father), it doesn’t seem like a sacrifice to him. It’s just what he has to do. If that means spending nine months of his life in the dirt, subsisting on bugs and wild fruit, waiting for his target to emerge, so be it. Until he’s a Green Lantern, it’s all waiting anyway.
The allegory surely resonates: In order to succeed in a system that doesn’t consider you, certain sacrifices have to be made. John is a Black man trying to shape himself around the expectations of the Guardians, all-powerful beings that don’t know the first thing about his culture. So the parts of John that are inherently his own are (nearly) drilled out of him, like when his brothers claim he doesn’t know the lyrics to OutKast’s “Gasoline Dreams” because “he’s not even Black.” There’s even a servile quality to John’s actions, in that he’s always doing what he’s told (be it by his parents or his superior officers, including the Guardians).
But now that he’s reached his goal — now that he’s in line to be the next Green Lantern of Earth — what will he do next? John says there’s a difference between being raised and being programmed. The Guardians don’t, and they’re hoping for their next Green Lantern to act more like the latter than the former. He says he will. His actions back up his words. But will he continue following orders, or will his time with Hal shake something loose in him — something that’s been waiting his whole life to get out?
(The bird imagery seems telling here. Last week, we saw how important birds were to John, and this week, we found out he grew up believing birds were the Guardians watching over him, tracking his progress — before finding out his mom made that up. Maybe no one is watching, maybe they’re always watching. Either he acts like they are, or he flies his own course, like a certain pilot we know…)
While far from the forefront of the episode, the Guardians’ presence looms large in Episode 3 — and not only because we get to see Laura Linney morph from “some unfortunate white lady” into a giant blue alien (from behind).
When John’s interview finally begins, the Guardian tees up the requisite exposition by asking him what he knows about her kind. He says the Guardians are the ruling body of the cosmos who founded the Green Lantern corps. There used to be 12 of them, but one recently died. Later, we learn Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen) killed a Guardian, and Hal was the one who had to bring him in — despite Sinestro being a “father figure” to Hal. Linney’s Guardian also says it’s because of that Guardian’s death that she’s choosing the next Green Lantern, rather than leaving it up to the ring.
Her perpetual composure notwithstanding, the Guardian’s whole attitude screams, “I don’t trust Hal Jordan.” She mentions having told him not to interfere with domestic disputes, like he did when he spoiled John’s sniper mission, and she also seems exasperated by his continued closeness with a mentor who murdered their boss. Given the limited grasp of human relations she exhibits with John’s mom, her lack of compassion isn’t surprising. But it is a flaw in a character who acts like a god, and it’s a flaw that she (or it) doesn’t see as a flaw.
Her blind spots already screwed up John Senior’s life. Might it lead to the end of Hal’s?
Also of note regarding Earth’s Guardian representative: Sinestro was right about her plans. At the end of Episode 2, he and Hal agreed that John isn’t there to be the backup; he’s there to replace Hal, and that’s exactly what the Guardian asked John to do at the end of their interview.
Confirming as much adds to the tension in an already tense relationship, just as it complicates our rooting interest going forward. On the one hand, “Lanterns” Episode 3 makes clear that John has put in the work and then some. He’s earned the right to be a Green Lantern. The series has also gone out of its way to make clear that Hal didn’t earn anything. He’s only there because he was able to honestly and correctly answer a question that wasn’t designed with humans in mind.
“The only reason why he has that ring is because he’s been privileged enough in this life that he didn’t have to know fear,” Bernadette tells John. “And we are giving you that same gift. I can see it for you. I can see you wearing that uniform, making us all proud.”
“But I wasn’t chosen,” John says.
“Sometimes a Black man has to raise his own hand,” she says. “Doesn’t mean he’s not good enough, doesn’t mean you’re not better, it just means they don’t see us. So we make ourselves seen.”
Blunt messaging aside, there’s no disputing what she says. But at the same time, there’s also reason to doubt the motivation behind Hal’s ouster. It’s not about John’s abilities and readiness. If it were, they could’ve called on him a lot sooner. It’s about the Guardians’ loss of faith in Hal after one of their own was killed by his mentor, Sinestro.
John sees that. For now, he seems to be OK with it because he’s lived his life following orders. But now that he’s paired with a Green Lantern who’s everything John isn’t (wild, impulsive, rebellious), will it change him? In a typical cop show, it’s not just the case that affects the detectives; it’s their partners, too.
Once again, John wasn’t chosen. Once again, John has to make himself seen. What happens next, well, he’ll have to make that decision on his own.
“Lanterns” releases new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
“Good Luck or Oh Fuck” (Points of Clarity)
• Which is the better illustration of John’s superhuman patience: spending nine months outside, hiding in the wilderness, before failing to take out his target — or sitting in a chair for 12-15 hours without moving or sleeping and then acing his job interview?
• It’s been a while since a needle drop hit as hard as “Gasoline Dreams,” but that’s just what happens when a) you play any Outkast song, b) the song is the only diegetic music played at full volume throughout a steely serious episode. (I also like it because it’s such a banger, even John Stewart would have to dance a little, or at least bob his head.)
• Hal calling the Stewart family “the Midwest Huxtables” — in 2016 — is as perfect as it is upsetting. Well done, Vanessa Baden Kelly (the episode’s credited screenwriter).
• Speaking of episode credits, “OutKast” was directed by Stephen Williams, who previously collaborated with “Lanterns” co-creator Damon Lindelof on “Lost” and “Watchmen.” On the latter series, Williams helmed the landmark sixth episode, “This Extraordinary Being,” and took home an Emmy Award for his trouble. I’m not sure I’d predict a second win for this effort, but clearly some of the duo’s magic came through once again.
[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers
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It’s time to catch ’em all because Pokémon is heading back to the big screen.
The popular trading card and video game franchise is returning with “Pokémon: Wild Card,” a new movie releasing worldwide in 2027. The film was announced during the closing ceremony of the 2026 Pokémon World Championships, held in San Francisco. A short teaser also gave a brief look at the upcoming movie, which stars a trading card game player and a ghostly Pokémon named Mimikyu.
The mysterious teaser reveals the trading card game player, who’s dressed in a yellow hoodie like Mimikyu. The ghost and fairy type Pokémon was introduced in “Sun” and “Moon,” the seventh generation games in the “Pokémon” franchise. It crudely disguises itself as a Pikachu, the mascot of the “Pokémon” series, but its true form is hidden below the yellow rag that it wears.
Katsuhiko Kitada, who previously worked on anime films and shows like “The First Slam Dunk,” “Attack on Titan,” “Naruto: Shippuden” and more, will direct “Pokémon: Wild Card.” Character design is being handled by Akemi Hayashi, who has worked on “Banana Fish,” “Lazarus” and other anime. CloverWorks, the Japanese animation studio behind titles like “Spy X Family,” “Bocchi the Rock” and others, will produce the film.
“Wild Card” is the first “Pokémon” movie made since 2020’s “Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle,” which was released theatrically in Japan and worldwide on Netflix in 2021. The last “Pokémon” film to hit theaters worldwide was 2018’s “Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us,” which received a limited release by Fathom Events outside of Japan.
Next year will also see the release of “Winds” and “Waves,” the 10th generation of “Pokémon” titles. The franchise celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2026.
Watch the teaser below.
It’s time to catch ’em all because
OTTAWA – Zander Horvath doesn’t like talking about himself a whole lot, even when his performance gives him good reason to articulate.
Horvath was unstoppable Sunday night, rushing for 164 yards and four touchdowns to help lead the surging B.C. Lions to a 45-24 victory over the winless Ottawa Redblacks.
The Lions have won five in a row and improved to 6-5.
“It’s never a one-man show, it’s about everyone doing their job out there,” said Horvath, who also had four catches for 30 yards. “I think we executed on offence, defence, special teams and just locked in toward the end of the game.”
Horvath leads the league with 13 TDs and his 625 rushing yards ranks fifth.
Lions head coach Buck Pierce says he’s seen steady improvement from the 27-year-old Horvath since the season kicked off.
“I think him and (running back) James Butler make each other better,” said Pierce. “We’re able to mix it up a little bit to keep those guys fresh and you’ve got to credit the O-line too, and the receivers for doing a great job on some of those runs.”
Butler had 45 yards on seven carries.
Having their run game going was in complete contrast to the struggling Redblacks who finished with minus-three net rushing yards. The run-game has been a challenge all year for Ottawa which sits last with 548 rushing yards.
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Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie knows it’s been an issue and would love nothing more than to find a way to get it going but circumstances often make it difficult.
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“I mean, if we can just get to second and six, if we just get four yards and then we can still have a run game available on second down,” said Dinwiddie. “It’s been a problem all year.”
The numbers in general aren’t good for Ottawa right now.
The Redblacks are 0-11 on the season and will go more than a calendar year without a victory. Ottawa last won Sept. 5, 2025 and with a bye next week won’t play again until Sept. 12. Ottawa’s 17-game losing streak is now the longest of the CFL’s modern era.
The loss also put Jake Maier in a unique position as he became the first quarterback in league history to start a season with 11 straight losses.
“This is obviously challenging, you know, to the spirit of a man,” said Maier. “I think everybody is in that boat right now in terms of like this is our reality.
“But we’re not gonna lay down and we’re not gonna quit and we’re not gonna be a bunch of quitters and we’re not gonna go down that route. We’re just gonna continue to show up every day because that’s what a man is supposed to do and we believe in that.”
Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke had a rough start getting picked off twice, but settled in and finished 22-for-25 for 355 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m so grateful for the other phases and other people on offence picking me up because I made some mistakes, made some bad decisions,” said Rourke. “What happened in the first half is on me and I think we just played cleaner football in the second half.”
The Redblacks capitalized on Alonzo Addae’s two interceptions in the first half.
After picking off Rourke, Ottawa took advantage with Maier connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Ayden Eberhardt for a 7-3 lead.
Addae then picked off Rourke at the Lions’ 35 and returned it to the nine. A horse-collar penalty moved Ottawa to the goal line, where Bryson Barnes ran it in for a 14-3 lead.
But the Lions rallied with a pair of touchdowns, Rourke connected with Butler from 10 yards out before Horvath’s two-yard run gave B.C. a 17-14 lead.
A 43-yard Brett Lauther field goal tied the game 17-17 at the half.
B.C. started the second half strong when a major Grade 2 unnecessary roughness penalty for 25 yards put them on Ottawa’s 18-yard line. Three plays later Horvath scored his second touchdown.
Maier found Eberhardt, who spun out of a tackle and raced 49 yards for a touchdown to tie the game 24-24.
Horvath would go on to add two more touchdowns and receiver Jevon Cottoy had a 14-yard catch for a major.
UP NEXT
Lions: Visit the Montreal Alouettes on Friday.
Redblacks: Visit the Toronto Argonauts on Saturday, Sept. 12.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 30, 2026.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
OTTAWA – Zander Horvath doesn’t like talking
Dolly Parton was laid to rest Friday in a small, private service, per the singer’s wishes. The ceremony was confirmed by her great-niece, Lainey Parton, who posted a remembrance on social media.
“This is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words,” her great niece wrote. “Because she couldn’t have kids of her own, she always made us feel like we were hers. She loved us that way, and I’ll forever be grateful for that.”
She continued, “I feel incredibly lucky that I got to call her my granny. Thank you for always believing in me, loving me, and making me feel like I could do anything.”
She ended with, “I love you, Granny. Always.”
Parton, who died on August 25, was interred at Woodlawn Memorial Park. It’s one of the largest cemeteries in Nashville and the final resting place of country music royalty such as Porter Wagoner, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Eddy Arnold and Marty Robbins.
While Parton certainly belongs in that company, it was likely more important to her that she be close to husband of nearly 60 years Carl Dean, who was laid to rest there in 2025.
According to People, Dean was interred in a mausoleum at the cemetery. On it, a large plaque is mounted that also has Dolly’s name and their wedding date. She was likely laid to rest beside him, according to the publication.
Dolly Parton was laid to rest Friday
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Naast de directe kanalen beschikt de site over een uitgebreide helpomgeving met artikelen over accountbeheer, stortingen, opnames en technische vereisten. Voor ik de chat activeerde, vond ik daar vaak al het antwoord op mijn vraag, wat aangeeft dat de kennisbank goed is onderhouden. Wat mij betreft is de combinatie van zelfhulp en persoonlijk contact ideaal: je kunt eerst zelf snel iets opzoeken en als het complexer wordt, stap je zonder drempel over naar een medewerker. De telefonische ondersteuning is beperkt tot kantooruren, maar voor dringende zaken buiten die uren is de livechat zeven dagen per week beschikbaar tot middernacht. Die beschikbaarheid sluit goed aan bij het speelritme van de meeste Belgische gebruikers.
In België is het aanbod van online kansspelen strikt gereguleerd, en dat is maar fijn ook. Winner Island Casino bezit over een vergunning van de Kansspelcommissie, wat betekent dat het platform voldoet aan zware eisen op het terrein van spelerbescherming, correct spel en monetaire betrouwbaarheid. Tijdens mijn evaluatie heb ik het licentienummer nagekeken in het openbare register van de commissie en bevestigd dat de vergunning werkzaam en geldig is. Die transparantie is voor mij een absolute fundamentele voorwaarde. Daarnaast maakt de site gebruik van SSL-encryptie om alle gegevensoverdracht te beveiligen, en worden privé gegevens opgeslagen op servers binnen de Europese Economische Ruimte, wat extra waarborgen biedt onder de AVG-wetgeving.
Naast de officiële vergunning let ik ook op de daadwerkelijke invulling van veiligheid. Zo biedt Winner Island Casino tweestapsverificatie aan voor het inloggen, een functie die je zelf kunt activeren in je accountinstellingen. Ook wordt elke overboeking gelogd en kun je op elk tijdstip je volledige speelgeschiedenis raadplegen. Die mate van controle geeft mij als speler het vertrouwen dat er geen ondoorzichtige processen plaatsvinden. Verder werkt het casino in samenwerking met onafhankelijke testbureaus die de rendementen van de spellen periodiek controleren en certificeren. Doordat je die certificaten vaak direct bij het spel kunt inzien, weet je gegarandeerd dat de resultaten niet manipuleerbaar zijn. Dat hoogte van openheid zie ik lang niet overal.
Hoewel veel casino’s hun energie besteden aan het binnenhalen van nieuwe spelers en bestaande klanten daarna over het hoofd zien, gaat voor Winner Island Casino voor een aanpak die trouw waardeert. Het loyaliteitsprogramma is gestructureerd uit verschillende niveaus die je doorloopt door met echt geld te spelen. Elke inzet brengt punten op, en hoe hoger je klimt, hoe gunstiger de omruilverhouding wordt. In mijn analyse bleek dat de beloningen niet alleen bestaan uit bonusgeld, maar ook uit gratis spins, vlottere opnames en persoonlijke aanbiedingen die per e-mail worden gestuurd. Die samenstelling van directe en indirecte voordelen zorgt ervoor dat het programma ook op de lange termijn aantrekkelijk blijft, zonder dat het aanvoelt als een verplicht nummer.
Naast het vaste loyaliteitssysteem bestaan er wekelijkse promoties die passen bij het speelgedrag van de gemiddelde Belgische gokker. Zoals cashbackacties op live casinoverliezen, toernooien met prijzenpotten voor de beste slotresultaten en reloadbonussen op specifieke dagen. Wat ik praktisch vind, is dat de voorwaarden van elke actie overzichtelijk worden samengevat in een opvouwbaar venster op de promotiepagina, zodat je niet hoeft te zoeken naar de kleine lettertjes. Mijn tip is om de communicatievoorkeuren in je account zo in te stellen dat je deze aanbiedingen per e-mail of pushmelding krijgt, want de beste deals zijn soms maar kortstondig geldig. Zo behaal je meer waarde uit je speeltijd zonder dat je er actief naar op zoek hoeft te gaan.
Na alle onderdelen individueel te hebben beoordeeld, is het duidelijk dat de kracht van Winner Island Casino niet in één spectaculaire feature zit, maar in de gelijkmatige kwaliteit op alle fronten. De website combineert een uitgebreide slotcollectie met een volwassen live casino, Belgische betaalmethoden zonder problemen, een licentie van de Kansspelcommissie en een klantendienst die je in het Nederlands helpt. Wat ik als recensent zeer op prijs stel, is dat het platform geen loze beloftes doet: de laadtijden zijn snel, de bonusvoorwaarden zijn duidelijk en de tools voor verantwoord spelen werken zoals beschreven. Daardoor voelt de ervaring niet als een onzekere gok, maar als een bewuste keuze waar je zonder zorgen tijd en geld aan spendeert.
Voor Belgische spelers die uitkijken naar een centrale locatie waar gokkasten, tafelspelen en live casino bij elkaar komen zonder dat de gebruikservaring rommelig wordt, is Winner Island Casino een zeer goede keuze. De aandacht voor slots blijft voelbaar in de manier waarop nieuwe titels worden uitgelicht en competities worden georganiseerd, maar de andere onderdelen hebben daar geen last van. Mijn advies is om eerst de demoversies van enkele gokkasten te testen, de stortingsmogelijkheden te bekijken en de huidige promoties te lezen voordat je een account aanmaakt. Zo vorm je je eigen mening op basis van feiten, niet op basis van marketingpraat. En juist die mogelijkheid tot een geïnformeerde start maakt van dit platform meer dan een gewoon casino.
Als ik door het hedendaagse online casinolandschap
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The new Epson LifeStudio Grand UST projector may not ring any bells. But its rebranding hides the fact that it’s little more than a minor update to the Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS650. That was a decent projector when it came out, but not an amazing one.
With the LifeStudio Grand, Epson has made some improvements. The Google TV operating system works well, and there’s an extra HDMI port where its predecessor offered just two. It also doesn’t have whiny fans. But the image is still a little soft and not as dazzlingly colorful as RGB laser projection. The projector’s motion interpolation also needs a lot of work. And Epson’s switch from Yamaha to Bose for sound tuning hasn’t made the audio better.
With competitors improving considerably over the past year, the LifeStudio Grand is in troubled waters. If you can’t see the DLP rainbow effect and don’t mind drawing the curtains from time to time, you can get a much better projector for your money by shopping elsewhere.
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The LifeStudio Grand launched in late 2025 with global rollout in Spring 2026. The project has a retail price of $2,699 / £1,749.99 / AU$4,399.
Given its newness and the fact that it’s coming from a big player like Epson, I wouldn’t expect any major discounts on the projector too soon, though Black Friday could roll around and see at least a minor deal.
|
Screen sizes supported |
60 to 120 inches |
|
Brightness (specified) |
3,600 Lumens |
|
Optical technology |
3-Chip 3LCD |
|
Smart TV |
Google TV |
|
Connections |
3x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio out, 1x Optical audio out, 3x HDMI 2.0 (1x eARC, 1x USB-B (Service port) |
|
Dimensions |
18.4 x 15.7 x 6.2 inches |
|
Weight |
16.6 pounds |
As soon as I took out the LifeStudio Grand, I thought it looked familiar. Sure enough, down to the inch and pound, it’s just the Epson EpiqVision Ultra LS650 back again. There are just a few changes.
Epson added a third HDMI port on the back: nice. Epson swapped to Google TV and it actually runs quickly: nice. Epson included Wi-Fi 6E: nice. And Epson added some gaming features, like ALLM and a 1080p/120Hz mode: nice. But these are more making up for fumbles from that earlier model, rather than actually keeping pace with competitors like the Hisense PX3 Pro and its 1080p240Hz mode.
The LifeStudio Grand is a little plain to look at with its white plastic construction and gray-ish front grille — the result of a white grille dotted with black holes. Even the Epson branding looks unfortunate, like it was pasted on after having been forgotten in an earlier prototype (except we know it wasn’t because it was there on the predecessor).
One thing giving the LifeStudio Grand a bit of style is its little silver legs. These also play a crucial role in the projection, as they can adjust the tilt of the projector to ensure it lines up square with a wall or projection screen. The projector supports digital keystone adjustments, but those are best avoided when possible. The right side of the projector hides a hardware focus dial behind a small panel, which allows for quick focus adjustments while also protecting the setting once you’ve got it in place. Auto-focus would have been nice though.
While the LifeStudio Grand isn’t a large UST projector, it ends up feeling a little large because of its 15.7-inch depth. For comparison, the Hisense L9Q is just 12.5 inches deep and the PX3-Pro is just 11.7 inches. That sees the LifeStudio Grand stick out pretty far forward on a media console, and because of its 0.25:1 throw ratio, the console might have to stick out too if you want to get a huge picture. All of this also makes for tough placement for a soundbar.
The LifeStudio Grand’s remote is a cheap little plastic unit that doesn’t feel a good match for the price of the projector. It has typical Google TV controls, a dedicated input-selection button, four streaming app shortcuts (one for Free TV, which fires up Google TV Freeplay), and a dedicated brightness control and a shortcut to projection settings. While there are also volume controls on the remote, there’s no mute button — enjoy the sound of advertisements that you can’t quickly mute. The remote also lacks any illumination, which would be helpful in a dark home theater.
Just like its predecessor, the star of the show for the LifeStudio Grand is its brightness. The projector offers a very respectable 3,600 lumens. This doesn’t make up for bright sunlight coming into the room and ruining dark scenes, but for bright content it can look decent. And the fans don’t overdo while running at full brightness either — an improvement over its prior model.
That’s about where the LifeStudio Grand’s benefits compared to its competitors end. The LifeStudio Grand uses Epson’s own 3LCD projection, which doesn’t prove as colorful compared to the crop of RGB laser projectors on the market. It does avoid issues with DLP rainbow effect, but if you’re not susceptible to that, it may be a non-issue. Contrast is decent, but not astounding. And though this is a 4K projector, Epson’s pixel shifting on this model doesn’t produce as stunningly sharp an image as its rivals.
Right out of the box, the projector’s Standard picture profile has some motion issues, and it’s not better on its other profiles. It smoothes out camera panning motion, but it introduces issues in just about all other types of motions. People moving around on screen look poor, especially with hand motions, which look almost AI generated and occasionally cause weird stuttering for the whole frame.
Animation looks even worse as motions are smeared chaotically. And even panning shots can suffer when the camera motion changes speed or slows to a stop, with the projector seeming to reduce the frame rate instead of interpolating. Although the interpolation can be turned off, when it is some camera pans stutter.
The speakers on the LifeStudio Grand are fine, but not dazzling — so much for that Bose collab. They don’t create a very wide soundstage, so they’re no replacement for a proper sound system. And while they can pump out enough volume for a 200-square-foot room, that’s about their limit. I find I’m regularly dialing them up above 60% just to listen in a quiet room. With guests over, it all but requires max volume, and has a slightly harsh quality when cranked.
Even with the projector’s new gaming features, it doesn’t prove a stunning option for gamers either. At a pinch, it’ll be good enough for most games, but I could still feel slight latency that made combat hard in fast-reflex action games.
The LifeStudio Grand isn’t a terribly high-priced UST projector, undercutting the Hisense PX3-Pro by a good amount. And for the money, you’re getting a very bright projector. But that’s about the only specification that stands out.
The picture quality, sound, and design all leave plenty to be desired. That’s a bit too much disappointment for a product that’s still edging up toward $3,000 / £2,000 / AU$4,500.
Having seen the Hisense C2 Ultra — a 3,000 lumen triple laser projector — going for $2,000 (around £1,500 / AU$2,800) recently, it’s hard to see the LifeStudio Grand as a good option when you can grab the Hisense and a solid sound system for the same price.
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Design and features |
A bland and bulky design that hasn’t changed much holds the LifeStudio Grand back, though it’s nice to see Wi-Fi 6E and an upgrade to a functional Google TV operating system. |
3/5 |
|
Picture quality and performance |
The LifeStudio Grand is bright and avoids the DLP rainbow effect, but that’s about the only thing it has going for it against its rivals. It’s not dazzlingly colorful, offers just decent contrast, can look a little soft, and doesn’t have impressive speakers or gaming performance. |
3/5 |
|
Value |
With just a couple of strong points and some big areas it lags behind, the LifeStudio Grand doesn’t offer wonderful value at $2,699 / £1,749.99 / AU$4,399, especially when some competitors have come down in price. |
3/5 |
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Epson LifeStudio Grand |
Hisense PX3-Pro |
Xgimi Aura 2 |
Hisense C2 Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Price: |
$2,699 / £1,749.99 / AU$4,399 |
$3,499 / £2,499 / AU$3,999 |
$2,699 / £2,459 / AU$6,399 |
$2,999 / £2,499 / AU$4,499 |
|
Screen sizes supported: |
60 to 120 inches |
80 to 150 inches |
80 to 150 inches |
65 to 300 inches |
|
Brightness (specified): |
3,600 lumens |
3,000 lumens |
2,300 lumens |
3,000 lumens |
|
HDR support |
HDR10, HLG |
HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision |
HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision |
Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HLG |
|
Optical technology: |
3LCD, Laser |
3 Laser DLP |
Dual Light 2.0 (Laser + LED) |
RGB Laser DLP |
|
Smart TV: |
Google TV |
Google TV |
Android TV |
Vidaa OS |
|
Connections: |
3x HDMI 2.0 (1 with ARC), optical, 3.5mm |
2x HDMI 2.1, 1x HDMI 2.0 (1 with eARC), 1x optical, 1x 3.5mm |
2x HDMI, 1x HDMI eARC, optical digital audio out, 3.5mm audio out, 3x USB-A, Ethernet |
2x HDMI 2.1 (1 with eARC), 2x USB-A, 1x S/PDIF, Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm, Bluetooth 5.3 |
I tested the Epson LifeStudio Grand at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and PC gameplay.
My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models colleagues at TechRadar and I have tested.
I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours
A Mississippi mayor was at the center of controversy after saying he thought it was inappropriate to lower the American flag to half-staff for Dolly Parton following her death, as a number of people pushed back at the statement.
Following Parton’s passing last week at the age of 80, President Donald Trump ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff until September 1 in her memory.
On Friday, Olive Branch Mayor Ken Adams posted a statement on the town’s Facebook page saying that while he respected Parton and thought she was ‘a great person,’ he believed that the decision to lower the flag in memory of the beloved entertainer was misguided.
‘I believe lowering the American flag to half-staff should mean something very significant,’ Adams said. ‘In my opinion, it should be reserved for our military heroes, fallen first responders, presidents and other major national leaders, or events that have had a tremendous impact on our country.’
‘If we lower the flag every time a well-known or beloved person passes away, I believe we eventually lessen the meaning of the gesture.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for the city of Olive Branch for further comment on the story.
Ken Adam, a mayor of a small city in Mississippi, has sparked backlash after arguing against lowering the flag to honor the late Dolly Parton; (L) Parton pictured in 2022
Adams (pictured) faced significant pushback from commenters who disagreed with his assessment on the merits of lowering the flag for Parton
Adams said he feels that local officials should have ‘the ability to use our own judgment when appropriate.’
The mayor said that the issue ‘isn’t about disrespecting Dolly Parton … and it certainly isn’t about saying she wasn’t a great American.’
‘It’s simply my belief that the American flag at half-staff is one of the highest honors we can give, and I believe that honor should be reserved for truly extraordinary circumstances.’
He wrapped up the statement in saying that ‘sometimes preserving the meaning of an honor means being selective about when we use it.’
It was not immediately clear whether or not Adams had the town’s flag lowered amid his statement.
Adams faced significant pushback from commenters who disagreed with his assessment on the merits of lowering the flag for Parton.
‘I’d lower it for Dolly before any politician,’ one user said, while another said that Parton ‘did more for children than any politician ever has,’ adding that raises her status ‘from “just a celebrity.”‘
One commenter noted how Adams said that the honor should be ‘reserved for people who made a tremendous impact?’
Adams posted a statement on the town’s Facebook page saying that while he respected Parton and thought she was ‘a great person,’ he believed that the decision to lower the flag in memory of the beloved entertainer was misguided
Adams faced heavy criticism from a number of commenters on the social media platform
Numerous users cited Parton’s achievements in justifying their support for the decision, comparing her with others who have had the flag lowered in their memory
Some users said they agreed with what Adams had stated
One dubbed Parton ‘the most unifying figure of the past 40 years … [who] she donated 325 million books to kids,’ adding, ‘Sounds like an impact … what have you done?’
Said one user: ‘As a veteran and first responder I’m 100% ok with lowering the flags for Dolly. She gave her time and money to the military and multiply organizations. She earned this.’
A number of commenters insinuated that Adams hadn’t done himself any favors politically with the stance on Parton.
‘This post just made my choice for next election, if he is in the running,’ one user said, while another added, ‘I think elected officials tend to forget they are ELECTED.’
One user suggested to ‘remember this when elections come back around.’
Multiple users listed off decades of efforts Parton had made toward the U.S. military and charitable organizations, while one noted that a precedent had been set in the same vein.
‘Flags were lowered to half staff when Bob Hope died,’ the user said. ‘So this action is not unique for Dolly. It’s a sign of respect for someone who represents the best of America.’
Some marveled at Adams’ decision-making in putting the post up in the first place.
President Donald Trump called Parton’s death a profound loss for millions; Parton pictured 2009
Trump ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff until September 1 in honor of the singer, who died aged 80
Parton, the legendary queen of country music, leaves behind a towering musical legacy and legions of grieving fans
Said one commenter: ‘There are certain times when it’s best to just say nothing. This is one of those occasions.’
Another said, ‘At anytime while you were writing this, did you think to yourself, “this might be a bad idea?”
A small fraction of users said they agreed with what Adams had stated.
One person noted, ‘If we start lowering the flags for everybody that’s done wonderful things then we might as well Keep them half staff every day.’
Another commenter said it was pivotal to ‘keep some of our traditions as they were originally intended instead of having selective relativism apply to everything.’
A Mississippi mayor was at the center
Garret Grant toe curl*View Entire Post › Source
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For South Africans living in the United Kingdom, home could sometimes be found in the simplest things, the smell of meat cooking over a fire, a plate of pap and stew, or even a bottle of green Cream Soda.
These familiar sights, tastes and sounds took centre stage when Zambezi Fest returned to Northampton.
The Southern African cultural festival was held at Overstone Event Field from 27 to 30 August, bringing together food vendors, musicians, storytellers and families.
Some visitors camped for the full four days, while others attended for an afternoon.
Zambezi Fest director Joe Waggott described the event as a celebration of “Southern African music, food, culture, sport, families and friendship”.
Now in its second edition, the festival brought together South Africans and the wider community from across the UK for what Waggott described as a “home away from home”.
Food was a major drawcard, with stalls offering favourites including boerewors, biltong, braai meat, bunny chow and pap.
Even Cream Soda became a nostalgic attraction, reminding many South Africans of childhood birthday parties and family gatherings.
“For someone who’s back home, it may just be a bottle of cream soda, but here in the UK, the sight of it takes you back to childhood birthday parties and family gatherings,” said Bheki Dlamini, who grew up in Soweto and had lived in the UK for seven years.
For families raising children in Britain, the festival also offered an opportunity for younger generations to experience the culture they had inherited from their parents.
Dlamini said his child was two when the family moved to the UK and was now nine, meaning much of their connection to home came through family stories and food.
“At the festival, they will be able to experience it for themselves, to taste the food, hear the music and be surrounded by people who share our culture,” he said.
The festival marketplace featured handmade crafts, clothing and products inspired by Southern Africa, while the entertainment programme included music, comedy, storytelling and children’s activities.
South African presenter and entertainer MC Crazy Werrie guided parts of the programme. Musical acts included Helen Kendall, Castella and Third Wheel, alongside Hashtags, Black Mamba Man, Alex Cavan, Josh Ansley and Nathan Smith.
Storytelling featured through Heads and Tails, with Andy Copps and John Kirk drawing on Southern African storytelling traditions. A story hunt, summer games, fire-lighting activities, face painting and a family parade were also part of the programme.
Sport provided another major connection to home, with the Springboks’ second Test against the All Blacks screened on a giant screen on Saturday, 29 August.
The watch party, sponsored by Mukuru, was scheduled for the 5.10pm South African time kick-off.
Mukuru country manager Victor Moyo said the Springboks could be a powerful connection to home for South Africans living abroad.
The festival ultimately offered more than headline acts, with everyday moments, from sharing familiar food to hearing a long-forgotten song or watching the Springboks with fellow South Africans, helping to bridge the distance from home.
IOL
For South Africans living in the United
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Last year, Marvel Studios announced that Avengers: Endgame would be re-released in theaters to help set the stage for Avengers: Doomsday.
As production on the upcoming Avengers adventure has progressed, Kevin Feige and his team have made it clear that Doomsday will serve as both the penultimate chapter of the Multiverse Saga and a direct sequel to Endgame.
Photo: BBC
Originally, the fifth Avengers film was expected to center on Jonathan Majors’ Kang, continuing storylines introduced in projects such as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Loki.
Source: Marvel Studios
That direction ultimately changed. Following Majors’ legal issues and conviction, Marvel shifted its plans for the film.
With Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans returning, the focus of Avengers: Doomsday evolved into a story more directly tied to Endgame.
Source: Marvel Studios
During last week’s CinemaCon presentation, directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo revealed that Avengers: Endgame will include new footage when it returns to theaters.
Source: Variety
“It’s an opportunity to create a bridge from Endgame to Doomsday in a very unique way,” Joe Russo explained.
While details about the added content have not yet been revealed, the prevailing notion has been that Steve Rogers’ decision to remain in the past with Peggy Carter will somehow catalyze a multiversal incursion and set the stage for Doomsday.
Photo: Marvel
Perhaps, then, the extended version of Endgame will further explore Steve’s decision and its broader impact on the MCU.
Avengers: Endgame will return to theaters on September 25.
Photo: Marvel
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Sobald die Wetten in die Höhen klettern, wird die Angelegenheit nach der Redlichkeit und Ehrlichkeit der Software absolut zentral. Kein rationaler Zocker würde Zehntausende von Euro auf ein Game setzen, dessen Zufallsgenerator nicht unabhängig kontrolliert ist. Daher unterliegen die High Limit Spiele, die Sie bei uns finden, identischen strengen Testverfahren wie alle anderen Titel auch, jedoch mit einem noch kritischeren Fokus der Kontrollinstanzen. Die Zufallsgeneratoren werden von akkreditierten Testlaboren wie iTech Labs oder GLI regelmäßig auf ihre Zufälligkeit und statistische Ausgeglichenheit kontrolliert. Diese Tests simulieren Milliarden von Durchgängen, um zu garantieren, dass keine Regelmäßigkeiten oder Abweichungen vorkommen, die einem Teilnehmer oder dem Casino einen unfairen Nutzen bieten könnten. Die Zertifikate dieser Prüfungen sind in der Regel im unteren Bereich der Internetseite einsehbar.
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Roulette im High-Limit Bereich hebt sich ab massiv vom schnellen Dreh am Automaten. Hier befindet sich das Spiel mit den sogenannten Annoncen oder Kesselspielen im Vordergrund, bei denen Sie nicht allein auf bestimmte Nummern, sondern auf aufwändige Bereiche des Kessels setzen. Das berühmteste Beispiel ist das “Zero-Spiel” oder die “Große Serie”, bei der Sie mit einem einmaligen Satz eine gesamte Gruppe von auf dem Kessel angrenzenden Zahlen bespielen. Diese Wetten sind an Standardtischen oft nur schwierig oder keinesfalls platzierbar, an High Limit Tischen sind sie zum festen Bestandteil. Die Limits sind dabei abgestuft: Während das Maximum auf eine Plein bei 100 Euro liegen kann, kann das Maximum auf eine einfache Chance wie Rot/Schwarz bei 5.000 Euro oder mehr liegen. Diese Abstufung ist wesentlich, um das maximale Risiko pro Drehung für das Casino einschätzbar zu gestalten.
Wir bei Mad Casino sorgen dafür, dass die visuelle Darstellung dieser Wetten am Bildschirm eindeutig und verständlich ist. Ein Klick auf die Rennbahn, die ein grafisches Spiegelbild des Roulettekessels ist, setzt die Chips selbsttätig auf den passenden Zahlen. Die Auszahlungsquoten bleiben dabei identisch, aber die Volatilität nimmt zu beträchtlich. Ein Treffer auf eine Plein bringt das 35-fache des Einsatzes, und wenn Sie mit dem Maximum auf einer Zahl liegen, sprechen wir schnell von erheblichen Summen. Daher ist die technische Basis hinter einem High Limit Roulette-Tisch auf maximale Echtzeitfähigkeit optimiert. Jede Millisekunde Verzögerung bei der Annahme eines Satzes kann zu einem Streitfall resultieren. Die Kugel wird in Live von mehreren Kameras verfolgt, und die Bestimmung der Gewinner erfolgt selbstständig, sobald die Kugel im Fach ist, ohne dass ein menschlicher Croupier erst umständlich auszahlen.
Es kursieren viele Mythen zum Thema des Spiels mit hohen Einsätzen, und es ist unser Ziel, diese mit Fakten zu widerlegen. Das beständigste Missverständnis ist, dass die Auszahlungsquoten an High Limit Tischen günstiger seien, um die hohen Einsätze zu belohnen. Das ist in dieser Pauschalität falsch. Der Hausvorteil bei einem bestimmten Spiel ist eine mathematische Konstante, die durch die Regeln, nicht durch die Einsatzhöhe festgelegt wird. Ein High Limit Spielautomat hat denselben RTP wie sein Pendant mit niedrigeren Einsätzen, sofern es sich um dasselbe Spiel handelt. Was sich ändern kann, sind die Regeln bei Tischspielen, wie wir es bei Blackjack beschrieben haben, aber das ist eine Frage der Spielvariante, nicht der Einsatzhöhe an sich. Ein hoher Einsatz bringt sich nicht automatisch bessere Gewinnchancen.
Ein zusätzlicher Irrglaube besteht darin, dass das Casino einen großen Gewinn an einem High-Limit-Tisch nicht ausbezahlen würde oder die Auszahlung vorsätzlich verzögert. In einem kontrollierten Markt wie dem hiesigen ist dies schlichtweg unmöglich. Eine jede Lizenz, auch die von Mad Casino, bindet uns zur unverzüglichen Auszahlung rechtmäßig erzielter Gewinne, ungeachtet von der Höhe. Die zuvor angeführten erweiterten Prüfungen dienen der Geldwäscheprävention dar und sind einen regulatorischen Standardprozess , welcher für alle hohen Transaktionen gilt, nicht ein Trick, um die Auszahlung zu verhindern. Auch die Annahme, dass High Limit Tische “gezinkt” wären, um High Rollern das Geld wegzunehmen, ist absurd. Das Geschäftsmodell eines reputablen Casinos beruht auf dem mathematischen Hausvorteil über eine äußerst hohe Anzahl von Spielen, nicht auf der Manipulation einzelner Runden. Ein glücklicher High Roller, der fair betreut wird, ist ein wesentlich wertvollerer Kunde als einer, der einmal um einen beträchtlichen Betrag betrogen wird.
Zahlreiche Spieler überlegen, ob sie für High Limit Tische eine eigene Software herunterladen sollen. Die Antwort ist ein deutliches Nein. Alle Spiele, ob mit 1 Euro oder 1.000 Euro Einsatz, funktionieren über dieselbe, browserbasierte Plattform oder App, die Sie bereits verwenden. Die Freischaltung geschieht kontobasiert. Eine weitere häufige Frage bezieht sich auf die Geschwindigkeit der Wettannahme. Im Live-Casino tickt die Uhr für die Wettzeit für alle Spieler gleich, aber die Software ist so abgestimmt, dass auch anspruchsvolle Satzbilder in Sekundenbruchteilen verarbeitet werden. Sollte es einmal zu einer Zeitüberschreitung gelangen, wird der Einsatz nicht angenommen, und Sie haben auf die nächste Runde warten. Dies ist ein reiner Mechanismus der Spielintegrität und keine Schikane.
Häufig werden wir auch gefragt, ob Trinkgelder für die Dealer im Live-Casino möglich sind. An vielen unserer Live High Limit Tische ist diese Funktion integriert, und Sie können dem Croupier direkt über das Interface ein Trinkgeld überreichen. Dies hat keinerlei Einfluss auf den Spielverlauf, ist aber eine freundliche Geste der Wertschätzung. Abschließend noch zur Frage der Strategie: Gibt es Spiele, die für High Limit passender sind als andere? Spiele mit einem sehr niedrigen Hausvorteil und einem großen Strategieanteil, wie Blackjack oder Baccarat, sind bei High Rollern traditionell beliebter, weil hier die Varianz im Verhältnis zum Einsatz besser kalkulierbar ist. Spielautomaten mit progressiven Jackpots können ebenfalls extrem hohe Einsätze ermöglichen, da der potenzielle Gewinn den Einsatz um ein Vielfaches übersteigen kann. Die Wahl des richtigen Spiels hängt letztendlich von Ihrer eigenen Risikopräferenz und Ihrem Verständnis der Spielmechanik ab.
Das Problem, ab wann ein Tisch tatsächlich als “High Limit” gilt, lässt sich nicht pauschal mit einer einzigen Zahl klären, da die Schwellen je nach Spieltyp und Anbieter stark differieren. In der Regel nennen wir Tische als High Limit, wenn der minimale Einsatz das Zehn- bis Hundertfache des Standardminimums beträgt. Wohingegen ein normaler Blackjack-Tisch bei 1 oder 5 Euro starten kann, beginnt ein High Limit Blackjack-Tisch oft erst bei 100, 250 oder sogar 1.000 Euro pro Hand. Bei Roulette beobachten wir ähnliche Steigerungen, wobei die Limits für einzelne Zahlenwetten oft niedriger angesetzt sind als für einfache Chancen, um das Risiko für den Anbieter zu verteilen. Diese Limits sind nicht willkürlich bestimmt, sondern basieren auf komplexen mathematischen Modellen, die den maximalen Verlust pro Runde berechnen, den ein Casino zu tragen bereit ist, ohne dass ein einzelner Gewinn die Liquidität des Spiels beeinträchtigt.
Bei uns bei casino mad ist die Transparenz dieser Limits ausschlaggebend. Ein High Limit Tisch bestimmt sich nicht nur über das Maximum, das Sie setzen können, sondern auch über das Minimum, das eine natürliche Zugangsbarriere darstellt. Diese Barriere dient dem Schutz von Spielern, deren Bankroll nicht für die erhöhte Volatilität ausgelegt ist. Die Software ist so programmiert, dass sie Einsätze außerhalb dieser vordefinierten Korridore automatisch ablehnt. Bemerkenswert ist, dass sich die Definition auch auf die Geschwindigkeit auswirkt: High Limit Tische haben oft mehr Bedenkzeit, da die Einsätze wohlüberlegt sein müssen. Sie sehen diese Informationen in der Regel direkt im Spielinterface, wo die min/max-Werte klar auf dem virtuellen Filz angezeigt werden, bevor Sie Ihren Platz einnehmen. Die exakten Schwellen können zudem je nach Tageszeit und Serverauslastung dynamisch verändert werden, was wir stets in Echtzeit abbilden. hier besuchen
Der Zutritt zu den maximalen Einsatzstufen ist in der digitalen Welt abweichend gestaltet als in einem physischen Casino, wo oft eine persönliche Einladung oder ein bestimmter Kleidungsstil erwartet wird. Online setzen wir auf ein hierarchisches System, das auf Ihrem Kontostatus und Ihrer Verifikation basiert. Um an einem High Limit Tisch Platz zu nehmen, müssen Sie in der Regel ein umfassend geprüftes Konto besitzen, was die Vorlage von Identitätsnachweis und Adressbestätigung einschließt. Dies ist nicht nur eine rechtliche Anforderung der deutschen Glücksspielbehörde, sondern dient auch Ihrer Sicherheit, da hohe Geldbewegungen automatisch intensivere Prüfungen nach sich ziehen. Bei Mad Casino ist der Prozess klar strukturiert: Sobald Ihr Konto den Status “vollständig verifiziert” hat, werden die High Limit Bereiche in der Lobby automatisch freigeschaltet, sofern sie nicht durch individuelle Spielerschutzmaßnahmen wie das monatliche Einzahlungslimit blockiert werden.
Ein weiterer Aspekt der Exklusivität ist die Anzahl von Plätzen. High Limit Tische sind oft nicht in unbegrenzter Anzahl vorhanden, da das Risiko für den Anbieter gebündelt wird. Es kann daher vorkommen, dass alle Plätze an einem bestimmten Tisch belegt sind, insbesondere bei Live-Dealer-Spielen, wo ein echter Croupier die Karten mischt. In solchen Fällen bieten wir oft die Möglichkeit, sich auf eine Warteliste zu setzen oder auf einen gleichen Tisch mit gleichen Limits auszuweichen. Die Exklusivität zeigt sich auch in der Kommunikation: Spieler, die regelmäßig im High Limit Segment aktiv sind, erhalten oft vorgezogenen Support und werden über neue Spiele oder spezielle Turniere früher informiert. Es geht hier um eine langfristige Beziehung, die auf Vertrauen und einem gehobenen Servicelevel basiert, ohne dabei die Prinzipien des verantwortungsvollen Spielens außer Acht zu lassen.
Hinter den Kulissen eines High Limit Tisches arbeitet ein Team, das für das die einwandfreie Durchführung Ihres Spielerlebnisses verantwortlich ist. Wenn Sie kontinuierlich im High Limit Bereich spielen, wird Ihnen üblicherweise ein eigener Account-Manager zugeordnet. Diese Person ist Ihr persönlicher Draht zu uns und betreut alle organisatorischen und fachlichen Fragen, die über den Standard-Support hinauslaufen. Das kann die rasche Freigabe einer beträchtlichen Auszahlung sein, die Aufklärung einer Wettanomalie oder einfach die Bereitstellung eines Bonus, der auf Ihr individuelles Spielverhalten zugeschnitten ist. Dieser Service ist kein garantierter Anspruch, sondern entwickelt sich aus Ihrer Aktivität und Loyalität. Er ist das menschliche Element in einem sonst hochtechnologischen Umfeld und gewährleistet, dass Sie sich nicht als Nummer, sondern als wertgeschätzter Gast fühlen.
Das VIP-Management hat auch eine aktive Komponente. Wenn das System eine ungewöhnlich lange Verlustserie oder ein stark abweichendes Einsatzmuster registriert, kann der Manager diskret Kontakt aufnehmen, nicht um Sie zu gängeln, sondern um zu gewährleisten, dass alles in Ordnung ist und Sie nicht Opfer eines technischen Problems oder eines psychischen Ausnahmezustands sind. Diese Art der Betreuung ist ein entscheidendes Qualitätsmerkmal, das ein solides von einem erstklassigen High Limit Anbieter abgrenzt. Es geht um die Etablierung einer nachhaltigen, vertrauensvollen Partnerschaft. Ihr Account-Manager kennt Ihren liebsten Spielen, Ihre gewohnten Einsatzhöhen und Ihre Zahlungspräferenzen und kann so ein absolut personalisiertes Spielerlebnis gestalten, das weit über das hinausläuft, was ein anonymer Standard-Account bieten kann. Diese persönliche Beziehung ist der echte Luxus des High Limit Spiels.
Blackjack ist das Paradebeispiel dafür, wie sich die Regeln an einem High Limit Tisch fein, aber effektiv ändern können. Während ein Standardtisch oft mit sechs oder acht Decks gespielt wird und der Dealer bei einer Soft 17 ziehen muss, finden Sie an unseren High Limit Tischen regelmäßig spielerfreundlichere Bedingungen. Dazu gehört, dass der Dealer bei Soft 17 stehen bleibt, was den Hausvorteil signifikant reduziert. Auch die Möglichkeit, nach einem Split zu verdoppeln oder eine frühe Aufgabe zu wählen, ist an diesen Tischen eher üblich als die Ausnahme. Diese Anpassungen sind kein Zufall, sondern ein strategisches Kalkül: Ein Spieler, der bereit ist, 500 Euro pro Hand zu setzen, erwartet im Gegenzug ideale Bedingungen, die seine Gewinnchancen maximieren. Wir als Anbieter wissen, dass ein hoher Hausvorteil bei hohen Einsätzen kontraproduktiv wäre, da erfahrene Spieler solche Tische meiden würden.
Für Sie bedeutet das, dass Sie Ihre Basisstrategie überprüfen müssen. Eine Strategiekarte, die für ein 8-Deck-Spiel mit Dealer-Hit-on-Soft-17 entwickelt wurde, ist an einem High Limit Tisch mit 6 Decks und Stand-on-Soft-17 nicht mehr optimal. Sie müssen Ihre Entscheidungen für weiche Hände gegen niedrige Dealer-Karten anpassen. Zudem ist das Kartenzählen, obwohl online durch kontinuierliche Mischmaschinen erschwert, ein Thema, das bei hohen Einsätzen stärker überwacht wird. Die Software analysiert Ihr Setzverhalten in Echtzeit auf auffällige Korrelationen mit dem Spielverlauf. Wir empfehlen, sich streng an die perfekte Basisstrategie zu halten und nicht zu versuchen, durch progressive Setzsysteme das System zu schlagen. Die Ruhe und Präzision, die ein High Limit Tisch erfordert, ist die wahre strategische Herausforderung, da jeder Fehler sofort einen dreistelligen oder vierstelligen Betrag kosten kann.
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