Join me on a quick trip to fall 2007. The orange enV is the hot phone everyone wants. Regular paparazzi muses are still wearing cleavage-y dresses on top of jeans. The decision to wear one’s Uggs rolled or unrolled causes the occasional existential crises. And one fashion item reigns supreme: North Face’s zip-up fleece. Not
The U.K. Council of Music Makers (CMM) has called on the government for urgent, sector-specific support for individuals for an industry that is worth some £5.2 billion ($6.93 billion) to the economy. While lauding the U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent measures to support the work force, “these measures do not go far enough for
Roku is launching a redesigned version of its top-of-the-line Ultra player and announced plans to introduce a new standalone app for its free Roku Channel later this year. And here’s an interesting wrinkle: The company plans to add support for Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit for select 4K Roku models in the next few months
The 40th edition of the Hong Kong Film Awards will be postponed to the first quarter of 2022 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, organizers announced on Monday. The Hong Kong Film Awards Association explained that many scheduled theatrical releases have been delayed or canceled as cinemas are unable to operate normally. As a result,
In today’s Global Bulletin, Fremantle passes 130 territories sold for Samuel L. Jackson’s “Enslaved,” Lineup Industries is set to license NHK’s formats slate, Red Sea International awards more than $1 million in grants, and Walter Presents nabs five Nordic series. DISTRIBUTION Samuel L. Jackson’s Epix docuseries “Enslaved: The Lost History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade” will
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, a medication used in combination with misoprostol to safely and legally end an early pregnancy. The Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether people seeking an abortion can obtain mifepristone without visiting a doctor’s office or clinic. The recent death of Supreme
What will it take to get movie studios to start running TV ads again? Maybe the 2020 election. Big movie backers have in recent months largely stopped running their glitzy trailers on TV. Most significant releases have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the Hollywood advertisers see little reason to bombard a national
The producing debuts of two actors are among the 27 film projects selected for the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion. The project market is attached to the Golden Horse Film Festival, held annually in Taiwan. The selections comprise 22 efforts still at project stage and five which are works in progress. They include Taiwanese productions
“Rocky” and “Legally Blonde” are set to receive the “Films in Concert” treatment. Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM) and TCG Entertainment have announced the tour series is set to begin in July 2021. Audiences around the world will be able to experience the anthems of “Rocky” and songs such as “We Could Still Belong Together” by
The 28th edition of the Raindance Film Festival will close with the U.K. premiere of “Here Are The Young men,” directed by Eoin Macken (“Cold”). The film is based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Rob Doyle, who co-wrote the screenplay with Macken. It follows three Dublin teenagers who leave school to
In an unprecedented move, the U.K. television industry is uniting to hold quarterly discussions around working practices for freelancers. The TV Coalition for Change brings together broadcasters such as BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky, as well as union Bectu and producers’ body Pact, among other orgs, in a series of meetings that kick off
“Dive Club,” a 12-episode teen mystery drama will start filming in Queensland, Australia, from next month. The show will play on global streaming platform Netflix, and on a local Australian commercial broadcaster from 2021. “Dive Club” follows a group of skilled teenage divers as they strive to uncover a mysterious disappearance that will change their
Big Hit Entertainment, the agency behind K-pop sensation BTS, has set the price of its shares being sold in an IPO at a price which reflects massive fan interest. The company said on Monday in a regulatory filing that its shares would be sold at KRW135,000 apiece. That was at the top of a previously
The ever-moving targets of setting up film production in Europe during the pandemic was the focal point of a session at the Zurich Film Festival’s industry-focused Summit, where producers shared their concerns — and hopes — for the sector. Cecile Gaget, president of international production and distribution at Anton; Christophe Barral of SRAB Films; Tommaso
The Zurich Film Festival may have opted for a physical edition, but the future of festivals and markets, including Berlin, remain in question. Speaking at a Zurich Summit panel on Saturday, Carlo Chatrian, artistic director of Berlin, reiterated hopes to stage a February festival that takes place in theaters. “We don’t have any idea about
The death of Japanese actress Takeuchi Yuko by an apparent suicide on Sunday has prompted an outpouring of grief and reflection from both ordinary fans and industry insiders. Age 40 at the time of her death, Takeuchi had been the top of her profession for two decades, appearing in a steady stream of films, TV
A U.S. government order banning TikTok from app stores imposed by the Trump administration — which had been set to kick in Sunday, Sept. 27, at midnight ET — was temporarily halted by a federal judge. Judge Carl Nichols of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued the ruling Sunday night, granting
In a new investigative report published on Sunday, The New York Times has uncovered more than two decades’ worth of President Donald Trump’s tax records. Every president since the 1970s has released his tax information, but Trump broke that tradition as he was running for president in the 2016 election. The call for his tax
One of the ballistics reports used to determine who shot who in the moments leading up to Breonna Taylor‘s death appears to contradict the Kentucky AG’s version of events — or at the very least, offer a more complete view … which is mired in uncertainty. Reports say that the first ballistics report conducted by
Peter Chan’s volleyball drama “Leap” has jumped above its competition in China this weekend with a $24.6 million three-day debut, highlighting Chinese audiences’ continued preference for well-crafted local titles, according to data from the Maoyan industry tracker. The score is higher than the $23 million opening of Disney’s “Mulan” the weekend of Sept. 11, but
Details of the still-unexplained incident on July 12 in which rapper Tory Lanez allegedly shot Megan Thee Stallion in the foot have unspooled gradually over the past few weeks. While initial reports of the incident — in which Lanez was arrested for possessing a concealed weapon and released on $35,000 bail — said that Megan
California Governor Gavin Newsom just signed a new law allowing transgender prisoners in the State to be housed based on their gender identity rather than their biological sex. Newsom signed SB 132 Saturday — among other LGBTQ+-friendly legislation — which will require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s officers to privately ask inmates during
Anita Hill garnered national attention in the early ’90s when she accused Clarence Thomas, then the U.S. Supreme Court nominee, of sexual harassment. Nearly three decades later, Thomas is the most senior member of the Supreme Court, which will soon have an official replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice and trailblazer for women’s
Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” has topped $280 million worldwide, dominating a mild U.S. box office with $3.4 million at 2,850 locations in its fourth weekend to go past $41 million domestically in four weeks. The Warner Bros. tentpole, which carries a hefty $200 million price tag, took in a weekend total of $19.2 million worldwide in
K-pop titans BTS have announced the release of their new album “BE (Deluxe Edition)” slated for November 20. According to the announcement, “The new album imparts a message of healing to the world by declaring, ‘Even in the face of this new normality, our life goes on.’” It also notes that “For this album in
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has officially endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris ahead of this year’s presidential election. In a seven-minute video posted to his Instagram, Johnson publicly endorses the candidates and shares a clip of himself having a conversation with Biden and Harris about how they will earn the respect
Currently shooting her new film and unable to travel to Switzerland due to new COVID-19 restrictions, British actress Olivia Colman tuned in live on Saturday to accept her Golden Eye Award at the Zurich Film Festival, taking place physically and celebrating its 16th edition. One of the festival’s most prestigious recognitions, counting the likes of
During the live-streamed case study “Seven Grams: Solution Journalism and Augmented Reality,” presented on Thursday at the NewImages Festival, director Karim Ben Khelifa explained the origins of his next VR project – once again made with the help of executive producer Chloé Jarry of Lucid Realities. As mentioned also in the short trailer, shown to
It was all about the “Independent Creation in Times of COVID-19. The Impact of Pandemic on XR Artists” on Thursday, courtesy of the NewImages Festival – partnering up with French Immersion and Kaleidoscope. Moderated by Ana Brzezińska, the online discussion saw Olivier Fontenay of CNC [National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image], Novelab’s Amaury
Speaking at a virtual panel organized by the NewImages Festival Thursday, leaders from the tech world shared a common message: The future durability of the VR market requires cultivating a user-base still in need of considerable development. Panelists Deborah Papiernik (Ubisoft), Colum Slevin (Facebook), Ethan Stearns (MWM Interactive), and Sarah Steele (YouTube VR) all more