A digital drug for anyone with a phone, and especially young people, the TikTok app uses random reinforcement — similar to a slot machine on the Las Vegas strip — to keep users scrolling. It has changed the way Americans tell and view stories. - Salon
Many have begun fleeing Instagram... They expressed skepticism that Meta, a social-media behemoth, could develop, launch and manage a marketplace where they weren’t looking over their shoulders. - Forbes
Now that the movies being showcased at festivals might end up spending their opening weekend screening on your iPhone anyway, does it matter if the festivals that launched them happened on a bunch of laptops? - Wired
The film, a Lebanon-set adaptation of the much-remade Italian film Perfect Strangers, includes unfaithful spouses, a gay character, and a woman removing her undergarments offscreen. While one politician even called the movie "a plot to disrupt Arab society," many leading arts figures are defending it. - The Hollywood Reporter
Disney and two of her siblings are executive producers on a new documentary that "positions the entertainment company that bears their name as 'ground zero of the widening inequality in America.'" - The New York Times
The not-too-distant future, at that. "Film festivals have always struggled with accessibility issues that can be mitigated by allowing people to attend from home. So perhaps hybrid festivals are the future even in the best of times." - Wired
That's because her scenes got cut - and, after renting the movie partly based on her being in the trailer, some fans are so far from amused that they're suing. - Variety
As Sundance's virtual festival gets underway, the question hanging in the air is whether any indie film can succeed in traditional theatres. Older audiences are wary of the virus; thus, "the chances of success at the multiplex are now slimmer than ever." - Los Angeles Times
Early on, "when Almodóvar started making films, he promised himself one thing: his movies would give the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco the ultimate two-fingered salute. ... They would simply act as if he had never existed." Now, he's changed his mind. - The Guardian (UK)
A company called Space Entertainment Enterprise intends to open a space station containing both a film and TV studio and a sports/performance arena for clients who want to produce work in a micro-gravity environment. The scheduled completion date is December 2024. - Variety
The licence fee announcement needs to be seen as part of a wider legacy in which the government has questioned the relevance of the whole idea of Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) and its role in the 21st century. - The Conversation
It's no secret that Hollywood has faced accusations of ageism, seeking younger audiences at the expense of older players both in front of and behind the camera. Yet the priorities and business model of streaming, and the abundance of content that it has created, appears to be tinkering with that math. - CNN
