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The Washington Post Now Has A Hollywood Deal

"The Washington Post and Imagine Entertainment have entered into a strategic partnership to create scripted and non-scripted film and television properties culled from The Post's vast archives, current reporting, and ongoing investigations." - Deadline

In Which I Attempt To Convince You Of The Value Of Reality TV

For many Americans, watching so-called lowbrow, “mindless” reality TV — the type of content that doesn’t further our intellect in any tangible way — is just part of our culture. - Mic

How Did Stanley Kubrick Ever Get Away With Making A Hollywood Movie Out Of “Lolita”?

"Forced to excise or elide some of the book's thorniest elements for the sake of (the film's) being allowed to exist at all, ... Kubrick flirts with bad taste by recasting sections of the movie as a dark comedy – a contrast that make its sadder moments all the starker." - The Guardian

Jaron Lanier: A Non-Obvious Way To Fix Social Media? Groups!

The point is that the people in the groups know one another well enough to take on the pursuit of trust and quality, and to rid their groups of bots. Perhaps the size limit should be in the low hundreds, corresponding to our cognitive ability to keep track of friends and family. - The Atlantic

How Pixar Grew From A Little Experimental Studio Into A Global Gold Standard For Animation

"Going back to its earliest days, Pixar was always a place where some minds succeeded by solving intractable problems with vim and whimsy, and others by tackling existential issues with cold, hard code. And all these years later, it still is." - The Ringer

As A Child, Sarah Polley Feared For Her Life On Terry Gilliam’s Chaotic Film Set

On The Adventures of Baron Munchausen set, "Blasts of debris exploded on the ground around me, accompanied by deafening booms that made me feel as if I myself had exploded. A log I was to run under was partially on fire. The gigantic blasts continued." - The Guardian (UK)

How Do Black Baltimoreans Feel About “The Wire” 20 Years On?

Photographer and writer Gioncarlo Valentine: "I was curious about how the community felt. Who liked it, and why? What has it been like for you 20 years after the show was filmed in your neighborhood? What did The Wire do — or not do — for Baltimore?" - The New York Times

An Irish-Language Film Has Become An Unlikely Hit In The British Isles

The Quiet Girl (original title An Cailín Ciúin) "has astonished the industry by quadrupling the previous record for an Irish language film, and by last week earning more than €610,000 since its release in mid-May."  Small numbers by Hollywood standards, but huge for a foreign-language film in that market. - The Guardian

Cuban Exiles Sue Netflix For Defamation Over “Wasp Network”

"Brothers to the Rescue leader Jose Basulto alleges Netflix and Ossayas falsely depicted him as a puppet of the United States and traitor to Cuba while romanticizing the criminal activity conducted by Fidel Castro's regime." - The Hollywood Reporter

In The Wake Of Mass Shootings, Showrunners Pledge To Depict Guns Differently

"A group of 200 top writers, producers and directors have signed an open letter backed by the Brady gun violence organization that includes a pledge to incorporate gun safety best practices into their shows and to scrutinize the use of firearms in storytelling." - Variety

Lightyear Is The Latest Movie Banned In Saudi Arabia And Other Countries

The censorious countries can't stand that Lightyear contains a nanosecond of a same-sex kiss, of course. - The Hollywood Reporter

A British Documentarian Says Social Media Gives Traditionally Marginalized People A Voice

Asif Kapadia also says that he wishes he'd discussed mental health more while making the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy. - The Observer (UK)

In Disney’s Latest Shake-Up, Heir Apparent Peter Rice Is Summarily Fired

Fascinating, if you like to follow the kingpins at The Mouse: "Rice, a widely admired TV veteran, was dismissed over issues of 'cultural fit,' according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment." - Los Angeles Times

How A New Disney Show May Change Muslim Representation On TV, Forever

In the comics, Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel)'s "infectious charm and steadfast strength slayed her nemeses in vivid color through the pages, her character unapologetically bucking the negative stereotypes impressed upon Muslim Americans." The TV show may do the same. - HuffPost

Spotify Claims It’s Making Millions From Podcasts

Of course, it's also paying out millions (and there are the people who left the service over its podcasting contracts with right-wing figures). But the company believes they'll start making a profit from podcasts, and their associated ads, very soon. - The Hollywood Reporter

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