In one episode of the comedian’s Netflix series, Patriot Act, Minhaj let loose on the Saudi government’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Said government, unamused, demanded that Netflix block that episode from being streamed in the Kingdom, citing its law banning “production, preparation, transmission, or storage of material impinging on public order, religious values, public morals, and privacy.” — NPR
Category: media
The Coming Era Of Fake Video
In a paper presented at the SIGGRAPH conference on computer graphics in Vancouver this spring, university researchers unveiled “deep video portraits,” which can quickly and convincingly transpose head and mouth movements from an actor to a video of anyone. This means that before long, it will be possible for anyone to produce convincing fake video. – Maclean’s
The Highest-Box-Office-Earning Actor Of 2018
The highest-earning actor of 2018 (George Clooney) didn’t even release a movie this year. But can you name the actor who earned the most at the box office with her films? (and no, she wasn’t even close to being highest paid)
What’s It Like Being A Woman Movie Critic In The Era Of Online Harassment, And Also The MeToo Movement?
Manohla Dargis: It’s not that I’m noticing sexism more; I always noticed. It’s that I’m not gliding over the insults and insinuations, the snickering and unmotivated female nudity as easily — as resignedly — as I sometimes did. Years ago, I thought that accepting a certain amount of sexism in movies was the only way I was going to be able to continue loving them.” – The New York Times
The BBC’s Long-Running ‘Film’ Is Dead; What’s Up Next?
What with an explosion in podcasts – and a terrible lack of attention from the corporate overlords – what can the BBC possibly do? “The BBC has promised to replace Film with another show, but the challenge is how do you cover movies for a BBC One audience? The problem the BBC has is that movie broadcasting has been subject to a populist online revolution.” – The Guardian (UK)
Netflix’s New Movie Is Interactive, And That Took A Major Leap In Software
Everyone’s talking about the new Black Mirror movie, Bandersnatch, partly because it’s a choose your own adventure movie – but how does that work, with Netflix? Whew: The network created an entirely new software called Branch Manager. “The final product — which looks like islands of flowcharts that branch out to include series of if-then options — creates an infinite number of variations to the story because of the ‘state tracking’ technology that tracks viewer choices as the experience progresses.” – The Hollywood Reporter
The Re-Rise Of The Antenna
That’s right: Rabbit ears are back, baby. Or, well, people are turning to “over-the-air digital antennas — a one-time investment of as little as $20 — as a way to slash their monthly video subscription costs.” – Los Angeles Times
Hogwarts Fanfiction Is How To Turn College Students Into Screenwriters
One perhaps charmed USC student says, “The things that we’ve learned in this class are so universal, not just in regards to Harry Potter, but to becoming a good writer and understanding storytelling as a whole.” – Los Angeles Times
Netflix Churns Through Its Data To Create And Deliver Movies Like ‘Bird Box’
Truly, the movie isn’t that great. But it’s a great example of how Netflix uses all of that data we give it when we start, stop, walk away, return, and finish (or don’t) movies and TV shows. – Slate
Survey: Who’s Swayed By Social Media Influencers?
The survey of more than 1,000 shoppers was carried out for Radio 4’s You and Yours by consumer analysts Savvy Marketing. It found that 54% of 18-to-34-year-old beauty buyers were influenced by their suggestions. – BBC