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News & Updates
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February 15, 2017
Facebook takes aim at Youtube with new standalone TV app
<b>Facebook is to roll out an app that lets users watch the platform’s video content on television.</b><p>The move could allow it to eventually better compete with the likes of YouTube and traditional television channels for advertising revenue.<p>Users with Apple TV, Amazon’s Fire TV and Samsung’s Smart TVs …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed
February 14, 2017
Sony made a PSVR music video you can move around in
When it comes to the immersive visuals virtual reality offers, the audio needs to be equally as compelling. That includes having the sound adapt to your movements as you navigate a scene or event. To show off what its PlayStation VR setup is capable of, Sony enlisted violinist Joshua Bell to record …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed
February 14, 2017
YouTube Cancels PewDiePie After Disney’s Maker Studios Dropped the Star Over Anti-Semitic Stunt
Disney and its subsidiary Maker Studios have dropped Swedish YouTube star Felix Kjellberg, AKA PewDiePie, from its roster one month after the gamer posted a video showing two men laughing as they held up a sign reading: “Death to all Jews.”
In a video from January 11, since removed, Kjellberg filmed his shocked reaction as the two men unfurled the sign, which he had paid them to do. The following week, Kjellberg posted an apology, repeating the hateful rhetoric and criticizing the media for not understanding that he was joking. In a January 22 video, also since removed, he reacts to a video of a Jesus character saying a popular alt-right trolling phrase, “Hitler did nothing wrong.” The Wall Street Journal has segments of the videos.
READ MORE: John Oliver Will Air Educational Ads During Morning News Shows Aimed At Donald Trump
Maker Studios released the following statement yesterday: “Although Felix has created a following by being provocative and irreverent, he clearly went too far in this case and the resulting videos are inappropriate. Maker Studios has made the decision to end our affiliation with him going forward.”
Following the announcement by maker Studios, Google-owned YouTube canceled plans for a second season of the reality series “Scare PewDiePie.” It has also removed Kjellberg’s PewDiePie channel from Google Preferred, its premium advertising tier, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Since 2014, PewDiePie has been the most-viewed YouTube channel of all time. An early gaming channel, his 53 million subscribers tune in for his funny voices and provocative humor. Early in his career, he was criticized for making rape jokes in his videos. He signed with Maker Studios in 2012, one of the largest multi-channel networks, or MCNs. (An MCN manages channels for digital content creators in exchange for a share of the revenue.) The Walt Disney Company bought Maker Studios in 2014 for $500 million.
Kjellberg released a statement on Tumblr defending his recent actions: “I was trying to show how crazy the modern world is, specifically some of the services available online. I think it’s important to say something and I want to make one thing clear: I am in no way supporting any kind of hateful attitudes.”
With such a robust following, it’s difficult to predict how the separation will affect Kjellberg’s popularity or revenue stream. YouTubers make money through advertising and brand partnerships, which an MCN like Maker would help facilitate. However, PewDiePie will still be able to run his YouTube channel, he just lost his preferred status and his original show, as well as the contract with Maker Studios.
At a time when hate speech is seeping into media from the highest reaches of government, Disney’s decision to sever ties with such a mega-star speaks volumes. So does the fact that it took them a month to do it.
February 14, 11:19 am: Updated to include YouTube’s decision to cut ties with Kjellberg.
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Source: IndieWire Digital TV
February 12, 2017
Tim Cook sees augmented reality rivaling iPhone’s impact
Apple’s CEO says the technology is ‘huge,’ with the potential to improve people’s lives.<p>For Apple, augmented reality is the next big thing.<p>How big? How about as big as the iPhone?<p>Tim Cook has expressed his interest in AR before, but now the Apple CEO is likening the technology to the revolutionary …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed
February 12, 2017
How to Crop in After Effects
It’s super easy to crop in After Effects. This fast, helpful video tutorial will show you everything you need to know!<p><b>Cropping in After Effects</b> is …
Source: CW’s Flipboard Feed
February 12, 2017
Berlinale 2017: First Looks Released for Bel Powley–Starring Drama and Lucky McKee’s Latest
From the Berlin Film Festival comes the news that two young actors who made big splashes a few years back are set to star in new films: Bel Powley (“Diary of a Teenage Girl”) will headline Marius A. Markevicius’ “Ashes in the Snow,” while Ellar Coltrane of “Boyhood” is co-starring alongside John Cusack in Lucky McKee’s thriller “Misfortune.” Avail yourself of a photo from the latter below.
Here’s the synopsis for “Ashes in the Snow”: “Based on the internationally best-selling novel ‘Between Shades of Gray’ by Ruta Sepetys, ‘Ashes in the Snow’ introduces us to Lina, a sixteen-year-old budding artist in 1941 Lithuania, who along with her mother and young brother are deported by the Soviets to a Siberian work camp. Faced with years of hard labor in an unforgiving climate, Lina finds that her self-expression through art and newfound love with a fellow prisoner are her key to survival.”
And “Misfortune”: “Sharp, quick-witted businessman Miller (Cusack) left everything behind, including his family, to start a new life after embezzling a client’s money. All had been going according to plan until he becomes separated from his cash in the middle of the wilderness. Three young friends happen upon the lost fortune, and a desperate and violent Miller will do anything to get his money back.”
READ MORE: ‘Barrage’ Review: Isabelle Huppert Acts Against Her Daughter In Laura Schroeder’s Movingly Delicate Family Drama — Berlinale 2017
Lisa Loven Kongsli (“Wonder Woman,” “Force Majeure”) and Tom Sweet (“The Childhood of a Leader”) co-star in “Ashes in the Snow,” while Willa Fitzgerald (“Scream: The TV Series”) and “Jacob Artist (“American Horror Story”) are featured in “Misfortune.” Both films are currently in post-production.
Ellar Coltrane and John Cusack in “Misfortune”
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Source: IndieWire film
February 12, 2017
‘Hidden Figures’ and ‘black-ish’ Win Big at 48th NAACP Image Awards
Taraji P. Henson took home two prizes from the 48th NAACP Image Awards, which took place in Los Angeles night: Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series (“Empire”) and Outstanding Actress in in a Motion Picture (“,” which also won Outstanding Motion Picture).
READ MORE: Why ‘Hidden Figures’ Is the Inspiring Awards Season Contender We Need Now — Consider This
Anthony Anderson, who hosted the ceremony at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, earned a prize of his own for starring in “black-ish”; his co-star Tracee Ellis Ross repeated her Golden Globes victory, and the show itself won Outstanding Comedy Series. Full list of winners below.
Tracee Ellis Ross in “Black-ish.”
ABC/Kelsey McNeal
Outstanding Comedy Series: “`black-ish”
Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series: Anthony Anderson, “`black-ish”
Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series: Tracee Ellis Ross, “`black-ish”
Outstanding Drama Series: “Queen Sugar”
Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series: Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series: Taraji P. Henson, “Empire”
Denzel Washington in “Fences”
David Lee/Paramount Pictures/REX/Shutterstock
Outstanding Motion Picture: “Hidden Figures”
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture: Denzel Washington, “Fences”
Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Taraji P. Henson, “Hidden Figures”
Entertainer of the Year: Dwayne Johnson
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Source: IndieWire film
February 12, 2017
Amma Asante Responds to Backlash Against Interracial World War II Love Story ‘Where Hands Touch’ — Exclusive
Late last week, Variety debuted a first look picture (see below) from “A United Kingdom” and “Belle” filmmaker Amma Asante’s latest feature, a World War II-set interracial romance titled “Where Hands Touch.” The film follows the romance between pair of German teenagers — Amandla Stenberg as the biracial Leyna and George MacKay as Lutz, the son of a prominent SS officer and a member of the Hitler Youth — and it unfolds against the backdrop of the war and the Holocaust.
The first look image was met with backlash across social media platforms, and various commenters loudly voiced their displeasure that, in crafting a story around a persecuted person and a Hitler Youth, Asante was “romanticizing” Nazis and otherwise diminishing the experience of those that suffered during World War II and the Holocaust.
I didn’t realize until @mixedtck told me a second ago that “When Hands Touch” is a Nazi romance. This is gross: https://t.co/3DPnCzbWMK
— Lakshmi Gandhi (@LakshmiGandhi) February 10, 2017
Coming from the romance novel world, where Nazi romantic heroes is suddenly A Huge Fucking Problem, Where Hands Touch greatly concerns me.
— Kayleigh Anne (@Ceilidhann) February 12, 2017
In debuting this first look at the feature, Asante also addressed the difficult nature of the film’s subject matter. She told Variety: “It has been a passion of mine to tell this story for many years — to shine a light on the existence of German children of color who were forced to grow up under Hitler’s rule, labelled as ‘Rhineland bastards.’ Against this historical backdrop, Leyna and Lutz enter a rite of passage negotiating the path to true identity in a society that has turned in on itself and is eating its own tail. Completing this film brings together everything I am as filmmaker.”
Asante was soon compelled to respond on her own Instagram account, where the filmmaker emphasized her desire to shine a light on the atrocities committed against children during the war — not just young biracial and black Germans, but also the German youth who were forced to join Nazi groups — and how she hopes that story will be reflected in her newest film.
In an updated statement to IndieWire, Asante again emphasized her intentions and hopes for the film, and she also provided another exclusive image from the film (see above):
“This week, a First Look image of the film I have made starring Amandla Stenberg was released, and it revealed all sorts of concerns, questions and worries with fears on what this film will be about. My passion has been to shine a light on the existence of the children of colour who were born and raised under Hitler. These children were also persecuted and my wish has been to explore how Black and Bi-racial identity was perceived and experienced under Nazi facist rule. The young girl’s experience in ‘Where Hands Touch,’ sits alongside the Jewish experience and the experience of others who were persecuted. It looks at how Germany became Nazi Germany and ‘slept walked’ itself into a disgusting and murderous state that resulted in it killing its own people and those of other countries.
Leyna’s story (Amandla Stenberg) is told in this sad and terrifying context. My reasons for making this film sit around my concerns of the current climate but also a continued and growing intolerance of racial and religious difference, that we all have sensed for many years and which is becoming even worse now. As a filmmaker, my wish is to center on bringing attention to this through my work.
Amandla and I teamed together to shine a light on the hatred that Nazi Germany visited on Europe and to make a film that might contribute to the dialogue of how we fight this horrific racial and religious ignorance today, along with the intolerances visited on the many other marginalized groups and intersections.
“Where Hands Touch”
Tantrum Films/Pinewood Pictures
With only a few lines and one image ever offered to a filmmaker to comment on when a First Look image is about to be released, and with the lead character in this film embarking on such a large rites of passage story, it is difficult to summarize all the things one might want to about a film in a brief article. Amandla’s role as a sixteen year old in this film brings attention to an, as yet, untold story in the arena of drama cinema, to the existence of the other ‘others’ who suffered during the holocaust. This does not mean that the Jewish experience is not also key to our story. It is.
When, as a 17 year old member of the Hitler Youth (compulsory since 1936), George MacKay’s character discovers exactly what his country is and what it stands for through learning the truth of what is happening to Jews and then to Leyna as she is thrown into a camp system, he rejects the doctrine and challenges his father’s belief system.
I hope that this at least clarifies concerns as you encounter the image of this German girl of color being raised in fascist Germany. I have all the respect in the world for those who have enjoyed my films thus far and i would never make a movie that glorified, glamorized or romanticized hatred and murder in any way. On the contrary, I want to explore the voices of the marginalized. By exploring the experiences of yesterday we can hopefully be better prepared when ugliness heads our way today. Sending you all, love and light.”
Two of Asante’s previous films, “Belle” and “A United Kingdom,” are historically-set dramas that focus on interracial relationships that unfold despite intense racism and persecution.
READ MORE: ‘A United Kingdom’ Trailer: David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike Fight For Love & Country
“Where Hands Touch” was shot last year in Belgium and the Isle of Man and is currently in post-production. Asante’s latest film, “A United Kingdom,” opened last week.
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Source: IndieWire film
February 12, 2017
‘Dear White People’ Filmmaker Justin Simien Pens Heartfelt Essay Addressing Racist Backlash
Three years after making his auspicious debut with “Dear White People” — and ahead of the upcoming TV adaptation coming to Netflix — writer/director Justin Simien has answered the question he’s been getting asked since before his film even hit theaters: Why did he name it that? “Had I made a terrible mis-calculation?” he recalls wondering after receiving harsh questions at early screenings of his film and being subjected to overt racism online. “Had I doomed my film and career to obscurity because I dared to put the words ‘white’ and ‘people’ next to one another in my title?”
Thankfully not — after winning a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent at Sundance, Simien went on to receive strong reviews for “Dear White People,” and is writing the first 10 episodes of the Netflix version. But a boycott of the show has been called for on some corners of the internet (you can probably guess which), and so now he feels compelled to respond.
In his Medium post, Simien reveals that the movie’s original title was “2%,” a reference to the percentage of black students at the fictional Ivy League university where his film is set. “Sending ‘Dear White America-isms’ back and forth had become a snarky but satisfying past time initiated by my friend,” he writes. “During such an exchange it dawned on me that ‘Dear White America’ would make a great name for the radio show hosted by firebrand Samantha White, a divisive fictional character in a screenplay I’d been writing called ‘2%.’”
“But the title had to go,” he continues. “‘Number titles’ never worked, I’d been told, assisting in the publicity department at Focus Features. ‘2%’ was too nondescript. This film needed something…louder.
READ MORE: Netflix Gives ‘Dear White People’ TV Adaptation a Release Date and First Look
As a sort of dry run, Simien made a Dear White People Twitter account. It did well, and the popularity of websites like Stuff White People Like and Shit White Girls say further emboldened the aspiring filmmaker. “It occurred to me that by naming the film itself Dear White People I could tap into the burgeoning meme culture as well as make a meta-commentary about the controversies within the film,” he recalls.
“As a title it felt right. It was a clutter buster, the kind of thing that made you sit up and go ‘What is THIS going to be?’” continues Simien. “Perhaps naively I assumed that most people would move quickly past their knee jerk reaction, whatever that may be, take a look at my little art film about the lives of black students, and either be surprised or validated by seeing themselves in characters mostly absent from popular culture.”
Simien offers more thoughts and insights in hist post, which can be read in full here.
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Source: IndieWire film
February 12, 2017
Meryl Streep Fires Back at Donald Trump in Blistering Speech: ‘We Have the Right to Live Our Lives’
If you thought Meryl Streep was done with Donald Trump after the Golden Globes, think again. At a fundraiser for the Human Rights Campaign held last night, the three-time Oscar winner — who Trump called “overrated” in response to her blistering takedown of him at last month’s awards ceremony — doubled down on her criticism of the president.
“If you think people got mad when they thought the government was coming after their guns, wait until they come and try to take away our happiness,” Streep said, apparently to a two-minute standing ovation.
Streep was there to accept the gay rights organization’s Ally for Equality Award, and used the occasion to defend the LGBTQ community. “We’re not going to go back to the bad old days of ignorance and oppression and hiding who we are,” she continued. “We owe it to the people who have died for our rights, and who have died before they even got their own.”
For all her criticism of Trump, Streep said he may have given us a small gift, however unintentionally. “If we live through this precarious moment,” she began, “if [Trump’s] catastrophic instinct to retaliate doesn’t lead us to nuclear winter, we will have much to thank our current leader for. He will have woken us up to how fragile freedom is.”
Streep received her latest Academy Award nomination — her 20th, which is more than any other actor has ever received — for her role as the title character in “Florence Foster Jenkins.” She isn’t expected to win, but one can imagine what her speech might be like if she did.
“We have the right to live our lives, with God or without, as we choose,” added Streep. “There is a prohibition against the establishment of a state religion in our constitution, and we have the right to choose with whom we live, whom we love, and who and what gets to interfere with our bodies. As Americans, men, women, people, gay, straight, LGBTG. All of us have the human right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
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Source: IndieWire film