ReportWire

Tag: Disney

  • Exclusive Interview: Abigail Barlow Is Mastering The Pop Music World And Crafting The Moana 2 Soundtrack All At Once

    Exclusive Interview: Abigail Barlow Is Mastering The Pop Music World And Crafting The Moana 2 Soundtrack All At Once

    [ad_1]

    If you’re having a conversation about the hardest-working and most talented people in the industry, Abigail Barlow simply has to be in that conversation! From making some of our favorite pop music, including her newest track, ‘Strike Out,’ to crafting the soundtrack for Moana 2, there is truly nothing Abigail can’t do! We simply had to pick her brain and get all the details about everything she is up to!

    Stream ‘Strike Out’ here!

    Hi Abigail! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us! To start us off, how would you describe the music you’re making to someone who is tuning in for the first time?
    Absurdly fun, flirty, fierce, and unserious!

    We have not been able to turn off ‘Please Me!’ What was the inspiration behind this song and the visuals behind it displayed in the lyric video?
    Aw, I’m glad you love it! ‘Please Me’ started as a verse and chorus I posted to TikTok in 2020 about nothing and no one in particular. Until this past year, the idea was sitting on a shelf. That is until I met a handsome stranger in NYC… We went on a date in the city, and the next day, I was baking sweets in his kitchen. Classic 50s housewife behavior! I tried to emulate that energy in the visuals for this song, as it’s secretly a fantasy of mine to time travel.

    One thing about ‘Please Me’ that immediately stuck out to us is that it sounded like you had taken all the best parts of tried and true pop music and combined them all into one song. When crafting the track, were you always planning for the track to be fun, upbeat, and reminiscent of the early 2000s pop songs? 
    Honestly, the production of this song started with me using any producer girl trick I had to make the demo sound somewhat fun and listenable. It wasn’t until I collaborated with Michael Dunaief that the production really came to life in that bubblegum 2000s way.

    We know you spend a lot of time creating with a partner as Barlow & Bear, so with that in mind, what do you find is the biggest advantage to working solo on your music, and on the same note, the biggest advantage to working with Emily on Barlow & Bear projects? 
    Being part of a collaboration is so incredibly sacred to my life these days. It grounds me, enlightens me, and fulfills me in ways working alone just doesn’t compare to. In the same breath, it’s so important that both of us have balance with personal endeavors. It keeps our partnership healthy and ever-evolving, together and separately. 

    Moana 2 is officially a go! What is it like jumping in on the soundtrack to a sequel of such a treasured movie? 
    Literally a DREAM. I can’t even put into words how honored I am to be a part of the world of Moana. She is my girl, and I can’t wait for everyone else to experience the masterpiece we’ve been working on for two years!

    Something that we can’t just glide over is that you have a Grammy! As a musician, we know what a huge accomplishment that is. What can you tell us about finding out you’d won? 
    We were at the ceremony, and it was surreal. Walking onstage and actually giving the speech we prepared *just in case* was an out-of-body experience. Best moment of my life so far!

    Songwriting is a huge part of you as an artist. When you’re writing a track, how do you know if it’s something you are going to work on for your catalog or offer to another artist? 
    Honestly, I’m not married to anything I write because I write a LOT of songs. A cut is a cut! If a big pop star wants it, I have no qualms with giving it away. My songs are like my children. I just want them to be heard. And loved. :’)

    We have to ask, with The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical soundtrack and the soon-to-be Moana 2 soundtrack in your back pocket, if you could go back in time and put ‘Please Me’ on any soundtrack, which one would it be? 
    LOL! I think it could be in some 2000s rom-com getting-ready montage for sure. 

    ‘Strike Out’ is the newest track! The song is a full-on pop dream. Where did the inspiration for the track come from? 
    ‘Strike Out’ is my bi-girl anthem. It’s inspired by my yearning for love and how I’m in search of it literally everywhere, from a club in Santa Monica to a bar in Hollywood. 

    ‘Strike Out’ follows ‘Please Me,’ do you think there is an invisible string connecting these two tracks? 
    Definitely! If ‘Please Me‘ is the fantasy of being a wife and mother, ‘Strike Out’ is my reality as a 25-year-old girl just doing her BEST to find love. Either way, I’m just having fun being a songwriter. It’s never too serious. 😉

    The cover art for ‘Strike Out’ dawns on the infamous Barbie font. If you could have had this track play during a scene in the Barbie movie, what scene would that have been? 
    I love this Q! I guess when they start deprogramming all the Barbies from the Kendom. Honestly one of my fav parts of the movie.

    Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! We like to end these interviews by asking what is on the horizon. What can fans look forward to as we venture into the last half of 2024?
    I’m doing my darndest to release *one more pop song* before the release of Moana 2 in theaters on November 27th! After that, who knows? A tour? An album? I guess you’ll have to follow me to find out 😉

    We would love to hear from you! What is your favorite Abigail Barlow release between ‘Please Me’ and ‘Strike Out?’ Let us know by commenting down below or by tweeting us @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!

    Check out more of our exclusive interviews here!

    TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ABIGAIL BARLOW:
    INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | TWITTER

    [ad_2]

    Hailey Hastings

    Source link

  • Disney and DirecTV Still Haven’t Made Up

    Disney and DirecTV Still Haven’t Made Up

    [ad_1]

    Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Disney, DirecTV

    What do Hudson Yards, Hooters, a gym, and a JetBlue flight have in common? People on social media have posted about seeing screens at all these locations go dark this week due to DirecTV’s ongoing spat with Disney. Since the two parties haven’t been able to negotiate a new carriage contract yet, September 4 marks the fourth day of a DirecTV blackout on Disney-owned channels including ESPN, ABC, Freeform, and more. For some frustrated fans, that means the U.S. Open was closed, LSU and USC’s college football game never kicked off, and The Bachelorette star Jenn Tran never had to relive that finale proposal (though to be fair, she might have preferred that).

    If you’re one of the satellite service’s estimated 11.3 million subscribers and have been affected by the outages, DirecTV is offering a $20 bill credit … as long as you fill out this form and request it yourself. But who’s responsible for this situation in the first place? Naturally, the corporations are blaming each other. DirecTV has claimed that it’s trying to push back against profit-driven, anti-consumer bundles stuffed with channels that people don’t want; Disney is suggesting that it has actually offered DirecTV some nice, flexible options that would be healthy for the market.

    Even as NFL season begins and the presidential debate approaches, DirecTV doesn’t seem ready to give in yet. Per The Wrap, DirecTV’s CFO told investors on Tuesday that the company is not playing a “short-term game,” further claiming that this dispute is about “changing the model in a way that gives everyone confidence that this industry can survive.” We get the feeling that when it comes to the lawsuit over Disney’s planned sports-streaming bundle with Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, DirecTV might be Team Fubo.

    [ad_2]

    Jennifer Zhan

    Source link

  • Landsea Homes Sells Out at Greenfield Village near Disney in Central Florida

    Landsea Homes Sells Out at Greenfield Village near Disney in Central Florida

    [ad_1]

    Landsea Homes Corporation announced it has sold all of its homes at Greenfield Village in Davenport near Disney in Central Florida.

    The Greenfield Village master-planned community is located just 12 miles from Walt Disney World and offers resort-style amenities like a zero-entry pool, splash pad, and playground.

    Greenfield Village is comprised of 136 single-family homes ranging from 1,517 square feet to 3,198 square feet.

    “Greenfield Village provided a vibrant lifestyle with vacation-like amenities while ensuring proximity to the region’s best entertainment, shopping, dining, and numerous golf courses,” said Megan Bakel, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Florida Division, Landsea Homes. “Homebuyers were naturally drawn to the chance to own in this outstanding community, and eager to embrace Greenfield Village’s unique lifestyle. There are still other opportunities for homebuyers to own in the thriving Davenport area, with three outstanding communities currently available.”

    Homes are currently available at other Davenport communities by Landsea Homes including Legacy Landings, Preservation Pointe, and Horse Creek at Crosswinds.

    For more information about communities in Florida, visit Landsea Homes.

    Landsea Homes Corporation is a publicly traded residential homebuilder based in Dallas, Texas that designs and builds best-in-class homes and sustainable master-planned communities in some of the nation’s most desirable markets. The company has developed homes and communities in New York, Boston, New Jersey, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Texas and throughout California in Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, and Orange County.

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Disney Networks Go Dark On DirecTV In Carriage Dispute

    Disney Networks Go Dark On DirecTV In Carriage Dispute

    [ad_1]

    Disney‘s networks have gone dark across DirecTV, beginning another major carriage impasse in the challenged pay-TV business.

    The dispute between the companies had been building an despite the parties being at the table talking leading up to today’s expiration of their current contract. DirecTV has shrunk in recent years, but it remains a leading operator, with about 11 million subscribers across traditional satellite, cable and the internet-delivered DirecTV Stream service.

    Disney provided Deadline with a joint statement from its entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman as well as ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro.

    “DirecTV chose to deny millions of subscribers access to our content just as we head into the final week of the U.S. Open and gear up for college football and the opening of the NFL season,” the execs said. “While we’re open to offering DirecTV flexibility and terms which we’ve extended to other distributors, we will not enter into an agreement that undervalues our portfolio of television channels and programs. We invest significantly to deliver the No. 1 brands in entertainment, news and sports because that’s what our viewers expect and deserve. We urge DirecTV to do what’s in the best interest of their customers and finalize a deal that would immediately restore our programming.”

    In its statement, DirecTV charged Disney will opting out of a potential renewal moments before a prime-time college football game between USC and LSU primetime game tonight. As the U.S. Open continues on ESPN, other marquee programming coming soon includes the presidential debate hosted by ABC and the kickoff of Monday Night Football on September 9.

    “The Walt Disney Co. is once again refusing any accountability to consumers, distribution partners, and now the American judicial system,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer at DirecTV. “Disney is in the business of creating alternate realities, but this is the real world where we believe you earn your way and must answer for your own actions. They want to continue to chase maximum profits and dominant control at the expense of consumers – making it harder for them to select the shows and sports they want at a reasonable price.”

    Thun continued, “Consumer frustration is at an all-time high as Disney shifts its best producers, most innovative shows, top teams, conferences, and entire leagues to their direct-to-consumer services while making customers pay more than once for the same programming on multiple Disney platforms.”

    Disney a year ago had a 10-day blackout on Charter’s Spectrum systems, which caught the attention of the entire industry given the precarious state of the pay-TV bundle. That fight was resolved with an agreement that did not include carriage for well-established Disney networks like Freeform and Nat Geo Wild, but it did ensure the integration of streaming services into Spectrum packages.

    Cord-cutting by millions of Americans each year has continued to erode revenue, presenting significant challenges to media players trying to nurture linear networks while also investing in streaming. For decades, programmers benefited from the fat profit margins of the dual revenue stream of distribution and advertising revenue. Today, changing consumer habit and advances by Netflix and other streamers have made a serious dent in the media business, with Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery last month taking a combined $15 billion in write downs on their cable network assets.

    DirecTV has expressed interest in exploring smaller, more accessibly priced bundles, including one focused on sports. Disney last week contended that DirecTV had “never meaningfully engaged” with its proposals for more curated bundles. Execs also noted private equity firm TPG’s 30% stake in DirecTV, which they argued makes the distributor less inclined to make investments in its platform even as it loses subscribers along with its peers.

    [ad_2]

    Dade Hayes

    Source link

  • Disney Movie Insiders: 3 Months Free Disney Bundle Trio Basic (New & Returning Customers) – Doctor Of Credit

    Disney Movie Insiders: 3 Months Free Disney Bundle Trio Basic (New & Returning Customers) – Doctor Of Credit

    [ad_1]

    The Offer

    Direct link to offer

    • Disney Movie Insiders members can get three months of Disney Bundle Trio Basic (this includes Hulu, Disney+ & ESPN). Works for new & returning customers

    Our Verdict

    This enrolls you in auto renewal so make sure to cancel. Good deal

    [ad_2]

    William Charles

    Source link

  • Disney hosts school supply giveaway in Chelsea

    Disney hosts school supply giveaway in Chelsea

    [ad_1]

    CHELSEA, Manhattan (WABC) — The clock is ticking down to the first day of school – and the Disney VoluntEARS helped one organization get kids ready for the big day.

    Hudson Guild hosted the back-to-school bash at its main campus on West 26th Street in Chelsea.

    The VoluntEARS gave away supplies gathered by Disney employees, including right here at Channel 7.

    There were book bags, notebooks, and a variety of writing tools. All of the items came in countless colors to make sure the kids were happy with the takeaways. There were also activities just for fun, including a bounce house and face painting.

    Disney is the parent company of WABC-TV.

    ———-
    * Get Eyewitness News Delivered
    * More Manhattan news
    * Send us a news tip
    * Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
    * Follow us on YouTube

    Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News

    Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.

    Copyright © 2024 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.

    [ad_2]

    WABC

    Source link

  • ‘The Acolyte’s Lee Jung-jae Says He “Was Quite Surprised” By The Series Cancellation

    ‘The Acolyte’s Lee Jung-jae Says He “Was Quite Surprised” By The Series Cancellation

    [ad_1]

    Lee Jung-jae, who portrayed Master Sol, in Disney+’s The Acolyte, is speaking out about the recent cancellation of the series after one season.

    In an interview with EW, Lee says he had expected to see a Season 2 and was disappointed and “quite surprised personally” when he heard the news.

    “As you know, my character had died already in the first season,” Lee told the publication. “So I wouldn’t have appeared in the second season if there was one anyway. But personally speaking, I really loved Leslye’s [Headland] writing. I thought that she was a great writer and director who was very talented in the storytelling, as well as creating characters and creating meaningful structures within the story. So I was actually personally really looking forward to watching a season 2 with her at the helm.”

    Lee, however, is not giving up on seeing more of The Acolyte. “Honestly, I am hoping that maybe there could be changes in the future,” Lee says. “Because you never know what’s going to happen. So on a personal level, I really hope we could get to see further stories of Leslye’s second season.”

    Word on Monday, August 19, that Lucasfilm had opted not to proceed with a second season came more than a month after the eight-episode first season of the series from creator, director, executive producer and showrunner Headland wrapped its run on Disney+.

    The Star Wars offshoot, starring Amandla Stenberg, was a mystery-thriller that took viewers into a galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging dark-side powers in the final days of the High Republic era. A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.

    In addition to Stenberg and Lee, the cast included Manny Jacinto, Jodie Turner-Smith, Dafne Keen, Rebecca Henderson, Charlie Barnett, Dean-Charles Chapman and Carrie-Anne Moss.

    [ad_2]

    Denise Petski

    Source link

  • Robert Downey Jr. Explains Marvel Return as Doctor Doom

    Robert Downey Jr. Explains Marvel Return as Doctor Doom

    [ad_1]

    Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe—not as Iron Man/Tony Stark (RIP), but as Doctor Doom in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday—was one of the biggest bombshells to emerge from San Diego Comic-Con. And while money was certainly a factor in the reunion between studio and star, Downey recently explained there were other key reasons too: his deep ties with the bosses at Marvel and Disney, and his appreciation for Disney’s advancements in filmmaking technology.

    “[Kevin Feige] and I have kept in touch. We’re pals. [Jon] Favreau and Feige and I have kept in touch. I’m close with the Russo Brothers; we have other business we’re doing. So there’s this little kind of group of fellow travelers,” Downey explained on the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast. “And I had this instinct that I wanted to go to Bob Iger, and I had an idea outside of the [Marvel] Cinematic Universe for how I could be of service to what’s going on in the parks and all their location-based entertainment.”

    But before that meeting, Downey recalled, he and his wife and producing partner Susan Downey were chatting with Feige, and the Marvel boss brought up the idea of Downey returning to the MCU. “Susan was like, ‘Wait, come back as what?’ And I was like [speechless confusion]? And then we both realized over time that it was another thing that just disproves any doubt anyone could ever have about that guy—a very sophisticated creative thinker—about how can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations? And he brought up Victor Von Doom.”

    Intrigued, Downey took a look at Victor Von Doom as a character. “I was like, ‘wow.’” he recalled. “Later on, [Feige] goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right. Let’s get that right.’ So then I said to Kevin, ‘Can I go talk to Bob Iger?’ He goes, ‘About [what]?’ I go, ‘About everything.’ And I [went] to Bob’s house, which—I don’t know how to describe that experience. I’ve had a lot of really cool experiences. We go to Iger’s pad and we sit down and start saying, ‘I just really want to be…’ He goes, ‘I like it.’ He likes it,” Downey said. Then, Iger invited Feige and Downey to visit Disney’s Imagineering Campus, Disney’s research and development hub.

    “[We] go to the imagineering campus, and you want to talk about two guys that they’re not easy to have their minds blown, let alone at the same time—I can’t say too much about [it], but what is going on there right now is so beyond my expectation of what was possible,” he teased. “It’s also the only way that I felt like I can give a certain entertainment-seeking audience something that they may have a hankering to have an experience of, in a way where I can continue to develop my interest in the future of entertainment … so it’s this crazy, weird thing that’s going on.”

    Mysterious—but also intriguing! Perhaps we’ll realize what he’s hinting at here when the Russo Brothers-directed Avengers: Doomsday arrives May 1, 2026.

    Listen to the Hollywood Reporter’s full Downey interview, in which he also shares memories of being cast as Iron Man nearly two decades ago, right here.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

    [ad_2]

    Cheryl Eddy

    Source link

  • Judge temporarily blocks launch of new Venu Sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery

    Judge temporarily blocks launch of new Venu Sports streaming service from ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery

    [ad_1]

    The launch of Venu Sports will be delayed after a federal judge granted FuboTV’s motion for a preliminary injunction against the planned sports streaming venture by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery.

    U.S. District Judge Margaret M. Garnett in the Southern District of New York said in her 69-page ruling that Fubo was likely to be successful in proving that the joint venture would violate antitrust laws, and Fubo and consumers would “face irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction.”

    ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery said they would appeal the ruling.

    FuboTV filed the lawsuit two weeks after ESPN, Fox, Warner Bros. Discovery and Hulu announced their plan to offer a sports streaming service on Feb. 6.

    FuboTV said in its filing that it has tried for years to offer a sports-only streaming service but has been prevented from doing so because of ESPN. Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have imposed bundling requirements on FuboTV which it says forces “Fubo to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to license and broadcast content that its customers do not want or need.”

    “Today’s ruling is a victory not only for Fubo but also for consumers. This decision will help ensure that consumers have access to a more competitive marketplace with multiple sports streaming options,” Fubo co-founder and CEO David Gandler said in a statement. “But our fight continues. Fubo has said all along that we seek equal treatment from these media giants, and a level playing field in our industry.”

    “A fair and competitive marketplace is necessary to provide consumers with multiple, robust and more affordable sports streaming options,” Gandler continued. “We will continue to fight for fairness and for what’s best for consumers.”

    Venu Sports announced on Aug. 1 it would be available for $42.99 per month with its planned launch in the fall.

    The platform would include offerings from 14 linear networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV — as well as ESPN+.

    Subscribers would have the ability to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.

    ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery said in a joint statement: “We believe that Fubo’s arguments are wrong on the facts and the law, and that Fubo has failed to prove it is legally entitled to a preliminary injunction. Venu Sports is a pro-competitive option that aims to enhance consumer choice by reaching a segment of viewers who currently are not served by existing subscription options.”

    ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery will each share one-third ownership in the joint venture.

    The ruling also drew reaction from cable and satellite companies, who are watching with interest due to their bundling requirements and what companies generally charge in subscriber fees. 

    In a statement provided to CBS News Friday evening, a spokesperson for DirectTV said, “We are pleased with the court decision and believe that it appropriately recognizes the potential harms of allowing major programmers to license their content to an affiliated distributor on more favorable terms than they license their content to third parties.”

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Disney wants wrongful death suit thrown out because widower bought an Epcot ticket and had Disney+

    Disney wants wrongful death suit thrown out because widower bought an Epcot ticket and had Disney+

    [ad_1]

    A man suing Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for the wrongful death of his wife is facing a new legal hurdle: Disney (DIS) is trying to get it dismissed and sent to arbitration — because he signed up for Disney+ years earlier.

    Court documents show that the company is trying to get the $50,000 lawsuit dismissed because the plaintiff, Jeffrey Piccolo, signed up for a one-month trial of the streaming service Disney+ in 2019, which requires trial users to arbitrate all disputes with the company. Company lawyers also claim that because Piccolo used the Walt Disney Parks’ website to buy Epcot Center tickets, Disney is shielded from a lawsuit from the estate of Piccolo’s deceased wife, Kanokporn Tangsuan, who died of a reaction to severe food allergies.

    In a legal filing responding to Disney’s claims, Piccolo’s lawyer Brian Denney called Disney’s argument “preposterous” and said that the notion that signing up for a Disney+ free trial would bar a customer’s right to a jury trial “with any Disney affiliate or subsidiary, is so outrageously unreasonable and unfair as to shock the judicial conscience.”

    Walt Disney Parks and Resort is “explicitly seeking to bar its 150 million Disney+ subscribers from ever prosecuting a wrongful death case against it in front of a jury even if the case facts have nothing to with Disney+,” Denney wrote in court papers as a response.

    Piccolo is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 pursuant to Florida’s Wrongful Death Act, as well as damages for mental pain and suffering, loss of companionship and protection, loss of income and medical and funeral expenses.

    Disney didn’t immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

    In October 2023, Kanokporn Tangsuan, her husband Jeffrey Piccolo and Piccolo’s mother dined at Raglan Road Irish Pub in Disney Springs, which is part of the Walt Disney World resort in Florida. They chose to eat at the restaurant, the lawsuit states, because they believed it would have proper safeguards against serving dairy and nuts to Tangsuan due to her allergies.

    Signing up for Disney+ should shield the company from court trials, Disney said. - Gabby Jones/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File

    Signing up for Disney+ should shield the company from court trials, Disney said. – Gabby Jones/Bloomberg/Getty Images/File

    The waiter guaranteed the couple that certain foods could be made allergen-free, which the two confirmed “several more times,” according to the lawsuit. She also ordered a vegan fritter, scallops, onion rings and a vegan shepherd’s pie.

    Although some of the food delivered lacked allergen-free flags, the waiter again assured them it was allergen free, but after dinner, Tangsuan, 42, went shopping in the Disney Springs area and began “suffering from a severe acute allergic reaction,” according to the lawsuit.

    Despite self-administering an Epi-Pen, Tangsuan died from “anaphylaxis due to elevated levels of dairy and nut in her system,” the lawsuit said, attributing the information to a medical examiner’s investigation.

    –CNN’s Ramishah Maruf and Maria Sole Campinoti contributed to this report.

    For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • He Made a Movie About Humans Rising Up Against AI. Now He’s Doing the Real Thing

    He Made a Movie About Humans Rising Up Against AI. Now He’s Doing the Real Thing

    [ad_1]

    When I interviewed writers and actors at the picket lines of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, there was a mix of sentiment around AI, which, while largely negative, encompassed anxiety, uncertainty, equivocation, and anger.

    The crowd in Burbank was the most uniformly and passionately anti-AI I’ve ever witnessed. Asked for his thoughts on how AI was impacting his industry, one animator said, “AI can fuck right off.” I asked the storyboard artists Lindsey Castro and Brittany McCarthy for their thoughts on AI, and both simply booed.

    A year after the WGA strikes, AI was not, to the animation workers I spoke with, something to be questioned or experimented with—it was something to be opposed. An animation worker walked by with a sign referencing the master animator Hayao Miyazaki’s comment that using AI in the arts is “an insult to life itself.”

    It was sweltering, even at 5 pm, as Rianda took the stage to emcee. He introduced a series of writers, directors, and animation legends like Rebecca Sugar, Genndy Tartakovsky, and James Baxter, as well as union leadership, politicians, and rank-and-file workers. “We’re not going to let your job be taken away by some computer, some soulless program,” said California assemblymember Laura Friedman. The mayor of Burbank, the president of IATSE, and the actor and podcaster Adam Conover took turns at the mic.

    Organizers and speakers remarked on the size—“I’ve never seen so many animation people in one place before; we like to stay in our dark caves,” one remarked—and halfway through Rianda declared it the largest rally in the history of the animation industry. Rianda kept the energy level high throughout the afternoon, belting out jokes and chants, his pale skin turning pink under the sun and the strain.

    Hundreds of animators cheered along; it was easy to see these “indoor kids,” as a number of different animation workers there referred to themselves, as the lovable underdogs, up against bosses who wanted to use a cutting-edge technology to erase them. They really were, in a comparison Rianda encouraged at the rally, not unlike his Mitchells, who were at first caught unawares by the cartoonish robot apocalypse, but were then able to stop it.

    “I’m trying to do this stuff because I’m so concerned that if people aren’t educated about what could happen, just the worst thing is going to happen,” Rianda told me. “I see it starting and it’ll be really soft at first like it is with kiosks at supermarkets. All of a sudden everyone in town can’t work. They’re like, ‘What the fuck is going on? Why can’t I get a job?’ I literally do think thousands of jobs will be lost.”

    Like so many of his fellow artists and creative workers, Rianda has come to see artificial intelligence as a technology that’s not intrinsically without merit—but is being used for the wrong reasons, by the wrong people. That, ultimately, is why he fights, he says. To try to ensure that AI stays in the right hands.

    “The concept of AI is great: Use it to solve climate change and fix cancer, and fucking do a bunch of other weird shit,” he says. “But in the hands of a corporation it is like a buzzsaw that will destroy us all.”

    [ad_2]

    Brian Merchant

    Source link

  • Set Sail for Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2

    Set Sail for Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2

    [ad_1]

    Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage

    Luke Castellan is cruising for a bruising in Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2. The upcoming season, which is about a week into production, will premiere on Disney+ in 2025. At D23 Expo, the cast and crew teased what could be coming. “I think we’re just to the point of getting over how tall everyone has gotten,” EP Craig Silverstein said. Based on book 2 of Rick Riordan’s series, The Sea of Monsters, this new saga will introduce Percy’s half brother, Tyson. “I’m looking forward to my two beautiful sons meeting each other, said Toby Stephens, who plays Aquadaddy Poseidon. Daniel Diemer, the actor playing Tyson in the show, took the stage and hugged his bro Walker Scobell. Diemer said he was a “huge fan” of the books. “Like ‘waiting for the books to be written’ fan.” Diemer is slightly older than the rest of his castmates, which means he probably has more vivid memories (nightmares?) of the Logan Lerman movies.

    Still unknown: how the show will handle the death of Lance Reddick, who played Zeus. In February, the showrunners said they were still “in a little bit of denial” about having to recast or change the story. “He was a such an exceptional colleague and friend,” executive producer Dan Shotz said. “We miss him terribly. Every time I get to see him on screen it just makes me feel so proud that he was a part of this, and it meant so much to him to be a part of this.”

    [ad_2]

    Bethy Squires

    Source link

  • Hugh Jackman Passion Project ‘The Greatest Showman’ Will be Transformed into a Live Theater Event

    Hugh Jackman Passion Project ‘The Greatest Showman’ Will be Transformed into a Live Theater Event

    [ad_1]

    Hugh Jackman-led movie musical The Greatest Showman demonstrated an unexpected level of persistence following its 2017 debut, bucking lukewarm reviews to become ubiquitous through 2018, spurring plans for a sequel that were only boosted by Jackman’s Showman-song-heavy arena tour. It’s unclear if the sequel—which, like the original, would likely star the Deadpool & Wolverine frontman as an extremely soft-pedaled P.T. Barnum—is still in play, but now there’s another Showman plan afoot. The movie will be adapted into a live theater spectacle, Disney announced Friday, a staged musical that is likely Broadway-bound.

    The news came at D23, a three-day event for fans of everything Disney (which includes the universes of Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and more). At a Friday panel on the entertainment monolith’s musical theater plans, after announcements of new Frozen stage show dates and a West End adaptation of the company’s animated Hercules film, “the iconic howl from the 2017 movie musical sounded across the arena,” Variety reports.

    That howl, “Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for,” kicked off a surprise rendition of “The Greatest Show,” performed by singers led by Ryan Vasquez in the Hugh Jackman role. Under a sign that reads “The Greatest Showman: The New Musical,” the cast of five teased the upcoming show, a video posted to social media reveals.

    The staged adaption of the film will be produced by the Disney Theatrical division, the Hollywood Reporter notes. Typically, stage shows produced by that division end up on Broadway: past productions include the currently running Aladdin and The Lion King adaptations, as well as 2018’s Frozen show.

    Dates or a destination for the Showman show were not revealed on Friday, but Page Six appears to have a clue, reporting Saturday that the production will land first in the southwest England town of Bristol “in early 2026” and then will “play the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London.”

    The show’s director will reportedly be director-choreographer Casey Nicholaw, who helmed the stage version of Aladdin, the musical film The Prom, and many others. Jackman, who has abundant Broadway cred of his own, does not appear to be involved with the production thus far—but then again, we never expected him to come back as Wolverine, either.

    [ad_2]

    Eve Batey

    Source link

  • ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Trailer Shows Different Side Of Relationship Between Mufasa & Scar; Lin-Manuel Miranda Teases Original Song At D23

    ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Trailer Shows Different Side Of Relationship Between Mufasa & Scar; Lin-Manuel Miranda Teases Original Song At D23

    [ad_1]

    Disney showed off more from its upcoming photorealistic prequel Mufasa: The Lion King.

    A trailer that debuted Friday during the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23 showcases a different, more innocent side of the young “brotherhood” that Mufasa and Scar develop before their relationship is ultimately fractured.

    Watch the trailer, which served as the finale to the three-hour Disney presentation, above.

    Audiences at D23 were also treated to a scene from the film that even featured a new song, penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

    The song, titled “I Always Wanted A Brother,” depicts appears in a scene where Mufasa and Scar are young cubs. They quickly become friends and, eventually, more like siblings as the song progresses and they grow into young adults.

    “That’s the first voice you will hear in Mufasa,” Miranda said, adding that he was in the middle of writing Encanto when he received a screenplay. But, upon reading it, the music began to form in his head in a way that compelled him to take on the project.

    A prequel trailer already dropped back in April. The movie will be the centerpiece year-end holiday film, releasing on December 20. See the new poster below.

    Pic is helmed by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and kicks off with the baboon Rafiki relaying the legend of Mufasa to his granddaughter Kiara. According to the trailer description, the story will be told in flashbacks and follows Mufasa (meaning “king” in Swahili) as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka — the heir to a royal bloodline. 

    Aaron Pierre will voice the titular Mufasa. Kelvin Harrison Jr., Mads Mikkelsen, and Thandiwe Newton will also voice key characters. In an addition, Blue Ivy Carter will voice Kiara, while her mom Beyoncé will return to play her onscreen mother Nala. Tiffany Boone will voice Sarabi.

    Other returning voice cast members from the 2019 The Lion King include Donald Glover as Simba, and Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as Timon and Pumbaa, respectively.

    [ad_2]

    anthonypauldalessandro

    Source link

  • Agatha All Along Trailer Brings Witchcraft to MCU

    Agatha All Along Trailer Brings Witchcraft to MCU

    [ad_1]

    Marvel fans got their first tease of witchy WandaVision spin-off Agatha All Along in July, and now there’s an even better look at Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and her chaotic coven. Now that Halloween season is starting in the summer, it feels like the perfect moment to learn more about the spooky show, and of course, there’s no better place than D23’s Disney Entertainment Showcase.

    Alongside Hahn as Harkness, Agatha All Along—part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s current Phase Five—stars Joe Locke, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Patti LuPone, Debra Jo Rupp, Emma Caulfield Ford, and Aubrey Plaza. The series was created by Jac Schaeffer, whose previous Marvel credits include WandaVision and Black Widow.

    Agatha All Along will run a total of nine episodes; it’ll have a two-episode premiere September 18 on Disney+.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

    [ad_2]

    Cheryl Eddy

    Source link

  • How Amazon Prime Video Beat Disney+, Hulu, Netflix in Ads | Entrepreneur

    How Amazon Prime Video Beat Disney+, Hulu, Netflix in Ads | Entrepreneur

    [ad_1]

    Amazon Prime Video is more than a side benefit of a Prime membership — Amazon is building out the streaming service to stand on its own.

    Jeff Bezos saw Prime Video “as an opportunity to build a media company,” not just as an offshoot of Prime, Prime Video head Mike Hopkins told Reuters on Wednesday.

    Amazon has worked towards that vision for four years. Prime Video became the largest ad-supported streaming service in the U.S. in January after it started peppering movies and shows with ads by default for its 115 million U.S. subscribers. Prime Video comes with Amazon’s $14.99 per month Prime membership; as of January, opting for no ads costs $2.99 extra per month.

    Related: Sales Could Top $14 Billion on Amazon Prime Day, Hitting an All-Time High — Here’s Why

    Most subscribers chose not to pay more per month for ad-free viewing — only 15% opted to pay extra. The switch to ads had no impact on Amazon’s overall subscriber count, according to a Hub survey, and could bring in $1.3 billion in ad revenue this year and $2.3 billion next year, according to Wall Street research firm MoffettNathanson.

    “Virtually overnight, Amazon Prime Video dramatically transformed the video advertising ecosystem,” said Mark Loughney, a Hub senior consultant. Jeff Bezos. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

    Amazon framed the shift to ads as a way to keep investing in Prime Video. Amazon MGM Studios had its biggest year in 2023 with 68 Emmy nominations for original content like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

    Nielsen’s June TV and streaming report found that though Prime Video was not as popular as Netflix and YouTube, it came out ahead of Hulu, Disney+, and Peacock. The Prime Video original series The Boys drew 4 billion viewing minutes in June.

    Related: Prime Day Is Reportedly a ‘Major’ Source of Injury for Amazon Warehouse Workers

    [ad_2]

    Sherin Shibu

    Source link

  • A Disney+ Password-Sharing Crackdown Is Coming

    A Disney+ Password-Sharing Crackdown Is Coming

    [ad_1]

    The House of Mouse is getting a renovation. In an earnings call on Wednesday, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors that the company will begin a new password-sharing crackdown “in earnest” starting in September. Iger didn’t divulge how the company plans to limit password-sharing, but presumably this will mean the company will be on the lookout for logins outside of the subscriber’s home and prompt those suspected of sharing their accounts to pay a fee to do so. The announcement comes months before the company intends to increase monthly prices on Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+—and their respective bundles—in October.

    What this means for most folks is higher bills and tougher decisions. As more and more streaming services enter the fray—and as many of those services also raise prices and/or introduce ad-supported tiers—people who love to watch things are increasingly left to figure out which two or three services they’re willing to pay 10 to 20 bucks a month for. Considering Disney has a pretty strong back catalog (Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars), as well as Hulu shows like The Bear and tons of sports on ESPN+, it’s likely many subscribers will shell out to keep the service—and cough up more to share their passwords.

    “The password-sharing crackdown has worked favorably for other streamers,” says Sarah Henschel, a principal analyst at Omdia who watches the streaming market closely. “It is a strategy that works well to grow revenue. However, it drives a lot of consumer frustration with streaming.” Put another way, subscribers are likely to stick around and perhaps even pay the extra fees to share their accounts, but it may mean they ultimately don’t keep every service.

    And hell, it worked for Netflix. Late last year, after a few shaky quarters and amid the streaming giant’s rollout of both ad-supported tiers and a paid sharing program, Netflix added 9 million new subscribers worldwide. It hasn’t really seen any major dents in subscriber numbers since. So far, it’s the only test case—Max seems poised to roll out its crackdown later this year or early next, and others have yet to test the waters—but it does indicate that paying to share a streaming account doesn’t always send people running for the hills. Or, at least, it hasn’t yet.

    “The password crackdown for Netflix—combined with its ad tier—has been a massive boon to subscriber growth,” says Wade Payson-Denney, an analyst at streaming industry tracker Parrot Analytics. In the year before the streamer started cracking down, Netflix’s global subscriber base grew by 11.8 million; in the four quarters after, that base grew by 39.3 million, according to Parrot. It could lead to similar growth for Disney.

    All Things Must Pass

    This isn’t the first time Disney has warned of such a crackdown. Last year, Iger hinted that the company was looking into limiting the practice; in February, the company said it planned to begin a paid sharing program, but then launched it in only a few markets, in June.

    Disney has been hustling to build up its subscriber base and turn a profit from streaming since it launched Disney+ in 2019. During the past three months, Disney+ netted only about 200,000 new subscribers, for a total of 153.8 million—small potatoes compared to the more than 270 million subscribers Netflix claims, but not bad, and a marked increase over last year. Meanwhile, Max is still looking to break 100 million.

    As part of Wednesday’s earnings announcements, Disney revealed its combined streaming offerings made money for the first time ever during the last quarter, bringing in an operating profit of $47 million. This is a sharp upturn; Disney’s streaming business lost $512 million in the third quarter last year. The recent profits largely came thanks to ESPN+.

    [ad_2]

    Angela Watercutter

    Source link

  • It’s Tough to Hand Off the Mickey Ears

    It’s Tough to Hand Off the Mickey Ears

    [ad_1]

    Illustration: Zohar Lazar; Photo Getty Images

    While eight men have taken turns guiding The Walt Disney Company over the course of its roughly 100 years of existence, arguably only three have managed to make a real and lasting impact: current CEO Bob Iger, Michael Eisner, and of course, the icon for whom the company is named, Walt Disney himself. All three ruled the Magic Kingdom for at least two decades, oversaw creative and commercial renaissances at the company, and to varying degrees became celebrities in their own right. And yet for all their positive attributes, Disney, Eisner, and Iger had one other thing in common: They were really bad at figuring out who would succeed them as CEO.

    We saw this play out recently with Iger, who had to return as CEO of the company barely a year after formally departing it because his own handpicked successor turned out to be a disaster. But Disney’s succession curse actually stretches back to the mid-1960s, when Walt’s untimely death left Disney wandering the cultural wilderness for decades. And while Eisner’s handoff to Iger in 2005 turned out brilliantly for the company, it came only after many years of dawdling and delays and only after a very public shareholder revolt forced Eisner’s hand.

    So why have Disney’s best CEOs done such a lousy job with such a critical task? “Being the head of Disney is a very strong drug and it’s very hard to let go,” as The Hollywood Reporter’s Kim Masters tells us in the episode. “Leaving Disney — it’s a big deal. It’s a very identity-defining thing.” In the fifth episode of Land of the Giants: The Disney Dilemma, hosted by Vulture TV reporter and Buffering columnist Joe Adalian, we explore why it is that Disney’s most successful leaders have done such a bad job making sure the company would be able to survive — and thrive — without them.

    [ad_2]

    Josef Adalian

    Source link

  • Ex-CSU Rams coach Steve Addazio joins ESPN as analyst

    Ex-CSU Rams coach Steve Addazio joins ESPN as analyst

    [ad_1]

    The Daz is joining the Disney family.

    Former CSU Rams football coach Steve Addazio, whose Fort Collins tenure was short and tempestuous, is transitioning to television. ESPN announced that Addazio has joined the network as a college football analyst and will start calling games later this month.

    Addazio posted a 4-12 record at CSU from 2020-21 and had a 61-67 career record as a head coach with the Rams, Boston College (2013-19) and Temple (2011-12). He was fired at CSU in December 2021, a few days after completing a 3-9 season and after being ejected from a 52-10 home loss to Nevada, then coached by Jay Norvell.

    [ad_2]

    Sean Keeler

    Source link

  • Disneyland’s Best Star Wars Ride Is Now a Very Cool Toy

    Disneyland’s Best Star Wars Ride Is Now a Very Cool Toy

    [ad_1]

    No matter what we might find at Galaxy’s Edge, Star Tours will always be the ultimate crossover between Disney’s parks and Star Wars. Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance may offer higher-tech glitz and glamor, but there’s something about the endless evolution of Disney and Lucasfilm’s first major collaboration at the parks that still has it enduring all these years later. And now, that endurance is being celebrated with maybe one of the coolest toys Disney’s ever made out of its parks offerings.

    Announced for next weekend’s D23 event (via Jedi News), today Disney revealed a limited-edition playset of the Starspeeder 3000–in its original colors before it got a makeover for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. Complete with two 3.75″ scaled figures of R2-D2 and RX-24 (aka Captain Rex before the other Captain Rex) from the “Droid Factory” line Disney sells at the parks, the massive vehicle can actually seat 25 figures inside once you remove the top section of the speeder, in seats that actually include elasticated, clip-in seat belts.

    But that’s not all! The Starspeeder 3000 also comes with a wild host of electronic features, including opening doors on either side that play the Star Tours chime, a light-up display stand, as well as light features for the headlights, thrusters, and cannons on the exterior of the ship. Inside meanwhile, the front of the speeder has a 4.75″ LCD screen that can be activated by buttons to play authentic footage from various sequences of the ride itself, as well as phrases from Captain Rex.

    At $300, it’s got quite a price tag on it, but honestly, the amount of features and functions the playset has is enough to justify the price, rivaling the scope and scale of some of the lavish vehicles from Hasbro’s HasLab crowdfunding campaigns. Plus, with actual Star Tours footage in it, it’s cheaper than a vacation to a Disney park to grab one and just experience the best Star Wars ride from the comfort of your own home!

    Just 3,000 (you see what they did there) Starspeeders will be available when it releases first at D23 on August 9, and then online at the Disney Store starting August 12.

    Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

    [ad_2]

    James Whitbrook

    Source link