The director - and actor - says that when little girls love movies, they’re told they should be actors. But “I think when little boys say they love movies, people say ‘You should be a director.’” She would like to make the messages more equal. - Variety
Alvarez, 97 when she died, won a Latin Grammy for Best New Artist in 2022. As she accepted her award, she said, “Although life is difficult, there is always a way out, and with faith and love you can achieve it. … It’s never too late.” - The New York Times
“Even if you think you are making an active choice – I am playing this song, I’m listening to this genre – the algorithm is still quietly influencing you.” Is it possible to break free, aside from abandoning the data mining app that is Spotify? - Slate
“Everything about the modern Christmas movie is so relentlessly familiar. Even the stars I don’t recognize look somehow inherently recognizable, as if they are all fitted with squinting approximations of famous faces. I’ve found myself charmed by their commitment to the bit.” - The New York Times
If there were ever an argument for dance (and a sense of humor) as a way to extend one’s life, well: Dick Van Dyke in a suit and tie, barefoot, dancing in his California backyard as he nears his 99th birthday, is it. - Vulture
“Grande and Erivo have been praised for their performances onscreen, but they have also been performing in a parallel show, making viral magic on the press tour.” - The New York Times
“The co-writers were also interested in details about the world that produced someone like Dagmar. Copenhagen in the post-WWI years was crowded and people could easily disappear.” - Time
Wow, OK, these slippers better work as claimed: “The final bid of $28 million was the largest sum spent at an auction for a piece of entertainment memorabilia, the auction house said.” - The New York Times
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found a lot of issues around Google Pay - but "says its finding that Google should be supervised doesn’t mean the company is 'guilty of wrongdoing.’” - The Verge
Why? Because the reasoning era is here. The basic difference: “Language models learn a grammar, perhaps even something about the world, while reasoning models aim to use that grammar.” - The Atlantic
“Notre Dame was a monumental achievement in the 12th and 13th centuries. Its resurrection after the devastating fire that threatened to bring the entire edifice down, is a monumental achievement for the 21st.” - The Observer (UK)
Consider The Amazing Digital Circus, which used to be a satirical indie web series - and is now, thanks to legions of fans churning out absolute mountains of content, a Netflix show. (Then there’s the Kendrick Lamar-Drake beef.) - NPR
Chiang, author of the short story that was turned into the movie Arrival, is only the second SF writer to win the PEN/Malamud Award, a lifetime achievement award for short stories. - Associated Press
Nakayama was “a reigning J-pop star of the 1980s who broke through to become a critically acclaimed dramatic actress and gained international attention.” - The New York Times
"The main beneficiaries this week are smaller films in dire need of the attention the tastemakers provide” - for instance, Drive My Car a couple of years ago. - Vulture
