Runway's "Text to Video" demonstration reel shows a text input box that allows editing commands such as "import city street" or "make it look more cinematic" (applying an effect). It depicts someone typing "remove object" and selecting a streetlight with a drawing tool that then disappears. - Ars Technica
“Like Netflix, Amazon had been systematically undervaluing imputed license fees on theatrical films where it was both the producer and the distributor,” wrote WGA West leaders in a memo to members, first reported by Deadline. The guild filed its arbitration claim against Amazon in 2020. - Seattle Times
There are so, so many series out there - 500 or more, and "the crush of programming means that even worthy shows struggle for recognition." - Seattle Times (AP)
MoMA makes a case for including games in the permanent collection - and a case that says humans respond the same way to video game art as they do to sculptures, paintings, and prints. - Wired
"Pandemic-induced production delays, jittery Hollywood studios continuing to postpone blockbuster release dates, and a wider lack of mid-budget fare – from rom-coms and buddy movies to dramas – will push back the timeline on a full recovery for cinema owners until possibly 2024." - The Observer (UK)
Filmmaker Laura Poitras' All the Beauty and the Bloodshed takes home the top prize, rare for a documentary. "The film examines Goldin’s art, life and her activism in protesting the family and Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, for their roles in the opioid crisis." - The New York Times
There’s a lot of discussion today, including in Congress, about why parts of the web are so toxic and what to do about it—better content moderation? Updated monopoly laws?—but it seems that no one wants to say that the problem is that the web was commercialized in the first place. - The New Republic
It was the lowest haul since 2001, when summer movies earned $3.34 billion at domestic theaters. The summer season typically accounts for about 40% of annual box office receipts, Comscore says. - The Wall Street Journal
"I thought of Maude as a horseshit liberal. She was altogether liberal, but she knew far less than she should know to support her point of view. I felt that way about myself." And he says that, 50 years after it aired, he could do the abortion episode the same way today. - The Hollywood Reporter
PBS Appalachia Virginia, a streaming service operated by Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke, will have dedicated staff and studios in Abingdon producing local programming. One of the biggest challenges will be helping get better broadband service to the mountainous and rural area. - Current
Hernandez, who currently serves as the senior vice president of Film at Lincoln Center, the executive director of the New York Film Festival and the publisher of Film Comment, will join the Sundance Institute’s leadership team in November, upon conclusion of the New York festival. - The New York Times
Cineworld, which owns Regal Cinemas in the US and Cineworld and Picturehouse theatres in the UK, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in US federal court in Houston. The company will continue operations and expects to be reorganized by early next year. - AP
"A big one that we've seen in recent months and years is reorganisation at the BBC, particularly in the newsroom. A lot of that is driven by the need to reduce costs, and therefore a lot of people have simply taken voluntary redundancy (VR) and left by choice." - BBC
"A joint statement issued on behalf of ... the Gulf Cooperation Council made the request, saying the unspecified programs 'contradict Islamic and societal values and principles.'" This evidently refers to depictions of LGBTQ people: Saudi TV aired a "behavioral consultant" calling Netflix an "official sponsor of homosexuality." - AP
