"It may partially be due to the fact that Ramadan is a religious holiday, which makes associations with socially controversial subjects, and standard soap opera fare, more sensitive. It may also be that so many more people are paying attention. But mostly it's the increasingly intense competition." - Deutsche Welle
"Movie theater giant Cineworld … said it still expects to emerge from its Chapter 11 cases during the first half of 2023, even though the process could delay this beyond the first half." - The Hollywood Reporter
While acknowledging “there are clear benefits to broadcasters” from the use of deepfake technology such as the potential to increase audience engagement, the regulator warned networks to be vigilant in the growing area of “Synthetic Media,” which encompasses deepfakes. - Deadline
Less familiar is the true story of how a prototype created in 1984 by a software engineer for the Soviet Union’s Academy of Sciences ended up reaching millions of players across the world. - The New York Times
Disney and other studios have been criticized by lawmakers for self-censorship of movies as a way of gaining entry into the Chinese marketplace. - Deadline
"Frustrated hopefuls like Lizzy once formed the backbone of America’s homespun cultural heritage, and without them, we’re headed toward a barren status quo of corporate art bound to leave the next wave of pioneers spiritually starved." - The Guardian (UK)
That's what a new UCLA report says. In Hollywood, "in nearly every job category, women and people of color remain underrepresented relative to the U.S. population. They’re also still likely to receive inequitable economic opportunities compared to white men." - HuffPost
"Joy, in her rage and her depression and her love, anchors the Best Picture sweep. The best goddamn film of the year, and all the leads were recognized except her." (But honestly, all of the Jobu Topakis out there knew this was going to happen.) - Tor Dot Com
That is, after the earth is salted. "When all platforms index the same content, they’ll be desperate to differentiate. ... The apps will be programmers, not just builders, using human taste, judgment, and dealmaking skills." - Slate
"The TikTok controversy can’t simply be chalked up to generational differences. ... It’s traceable to a watershed legal decision in 1849, when Prince Albert of England sued a printer for trying to publish a catalog about drawings he and Queen Victoria had made." - Wired
Blame Gen-X, sure, but there's more. "These movies have to do something smart: tap our innocent joy around old computer games and junk food, while also letting us feel we are more knowing now." - The Guardian (UK)
So far, this year's two superhero releases, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Shazam! Fury of the Gods, have underperformed at the box office and received grudging reviews (47% and 51% on Rotten Tomatoes). Nor did this decline and fall start with them. - BBC
"As Hollywood emerged from the pandemic, its biggest film productions dipped in diversity after years of incremental progress. … Opportunities were notably greater for women and people of color on streaming platforms than in theatrically released films." - AP
"The BBC is set to slash its annual output by 1,000 hours worth of shows to cope with savings requirements that have shot up by some 40 percent to almost half a billion dollars." - The Hollywood Reporter
"The airwaves floating across America are sliced up into chunks (some wide, some incredibly narrow) where different services and uses are permitted to broadcast and receive radio signals. It is an incredibly complex system; to explain the importance of managing this invisible resource, the NTIA publishes a wall chart." - Fast Company
