The laws, championed by right-leaning state lawmakers, are rooted in the idea that the tech platforms have had a bias against conservatives. They’ve long lambasted social media practices that limited the reach of certain accounts, while tech companies have denied that they are discriminating against certain types of political speech. - Deadline
Mary Poppins is being re-released in select UK cinemas next month to celebrate the film’s 60th anniversary, prompting BBFC to upgrade its classification for the first time since 1964. - Deadline
AI will entrap us in a matrix where none of us know what’s real. If an inventor lacks empathy and spirituality, perhaps that’s not the invention we need. Dystopia stories can also become a self-fulfilling prophecy. - Los Angeles Times
She is the last member of what was known internally at one time as Warner’s “A+ talent” crew, a group that included only two other members: Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg. - The Wall Street Journal
“Letting children act like themselves ... makes the show feel textured, grounded. Their impromptu reactions — yawning, stretching, making faces — nudge scenes toward greater realism. And the cameras are there to capture it all, as quickly as possible, so that the children can return to their mandatory schooling." - The New York Times
They will likely not be big reflections of what will win at the Oscars - but the bittersweet Past Lives was rewarded with Best Feature and it director Celine Song with Best Director, while A Thousand and One (whose lead actor, critics say was snubbed this season) won Best First Feature. - The Hollywood Reporter
The Golden Bear goes to … a one-hour documentary about the return of some artwork? Yes. And “by awarding the top prize to Dahomey, the jury doubled down on Berlin’s distinctive, more political and less populist identity.” - The Guardian (UK)
Sorry, Paul Giamatti! Cillian Murphy and Oppenheimer are her. Lily Gladstone seems to have the edge over Emma Stone in the Best Actress category too. The SAG Awards were on Netflix this year - which maybe didn’t know how to handle them. Anyway, here’s the list. - The Hollywood Reporter
“Being told that it can do all of these things is one thing, but actually seeing the capabilities, it was mind-blowing,” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday, noting that his productions might not have to travel to locations or build sets with the assistance of the technology. - The Hollywood Reporter
As with (still-operational) local news sites Gothamist, LAist, and others, DCist was acquired by its nearby public radio station when the -ist sites' parent shut down. WAMU management says it is refocusing on audio content, and the DCist website is now unavailable to the public. - The Washington Post (MSN)
"Actors who allege they were teenage victims of sexual and physical abuse by directors decades older than them are shining the light on the repulsive underside of the country’s industry. The latest step in the #MeToo movement could come at the French cinema awards (the Césars) on Friday." - AP
"Several hundred of Vice’s remaining 900 employees will soon be laid off in a restructuring that essentially kills off the editorial brand. … No more stories will be published on Vice.com. But … remaining employees will put 'more emphasis on our social channels as we accelerate our discussion with partners.'" - Vulture (MSN)
Despite the $1.4bn success of Barbie, last year’s top 100 films saw just 30 feature a female lead or co-lead, the worst result since 2014 according to a new study by the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. - The Guardian
Though this is arguably a great time for SoCal's cineastes, there's been trouble sustaining big events: Outfest collapsed last year, and the Los Angeles Film Festival closed back in 2018. So indie-film presenter Mezzanine and streaming platform Mubi have organized the new Los Angeles Festival of Movies. - Los Angeles Times (Yahoo!)
