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As The Movie ‘Spirited Away’ Turns Twenty, An Evaluation Of How It Changed Animation

The movie made animation a legitimate genre in Japan, and set up young girls as true heroines in their own lives. - Time Magazine

Idris Elba Says Difficult And Constant Creative Work Is Great Therapy

Elba was working as a bouncer when he got a part on The Wire - and since then, he hasn't stopped working as an actor and musician, constantly releasing music, movies, and TV shows. - The Guardian (UK)

How An Actress Known For Playing Dramatic, Troubled Roles Ended Up In Ted Lasso

Juno Temple didn't even know how to act in a comedy, she says. Brendan Hunt, Lasso co-creator and colleague: "She’s just playing the truth of what the character’s going through, and it’s just hilarious. ... Though there are certainly times where we have to be like: 'OK, great, Juno. Now try it again. Without crying.'" - The New York...

Rebooting Old Series With A BIPOC Cast Might Actually Harm Diversity Initiatives

What about original stories developed by BIPOC creators? "Reboots take up so much bandwidth for the network, for the studio ... that they have less to devote to newer features and maybe something that would be really original." - CBC

Marvel Has All The Money In The World, But Can Its Actors Do Accents?

A dialect coach weighs in on the Russian accents of Black Widow. "In the ideal world, I invite the actors first to get into a Russian body." - Slate

HBO Streaming Sees Big Surge In Subscribers

With its 2.8 million Q2 2021 subscribers, HBO Max now has 47 million subscribers in the United States, and a total of 67 million subscribers worldwide. That’s not bad at all considering HBO Max is just over a year old. - Fast Company

OnlyFans Has Some Serious, And Maybe Dangerous, Moderation Issues

Some creators on the site, especially those with erotic content, have faced hacking, ransomware, piracy, revenge porn, stalkers, and threats of violence. And they say the company has been sluggish or worse in addressing the problems. - BBC

Hollywood’s Diversity Problem — In Numbers

The study found that overall, 16.1% of the below-the-line workforce is Latino and 4.7% is Asian American. Both groups are dramatically underrepresented compared with their share of the state population (39.4% and 15.5%, respectively). - Variety

So What Do Other Documentarians Think About Using The AI-Simulated Voice Of Anthony Bourdain?

"Way overblown," declared one, who said the backlash shows "that people ... really don't understand how documentaries are edited." Others weren't so certain: "If it was clear that this was a projection of a fantasy, that's fine. But faking his voice is a betrayal of the contract." - Slate

Substack Is Launching Its Own Podcast Network

While the service already carries several podcasts, this venture, called Booksmart Studios, is its first major investment in audio, "Substack sees the venture … as a case study for what's possible for independent podcast networks." - Axios

Netflix Growth Slows Dramatically

The company "added a mere 1.5 million paying members globally in the second quarter, which is down 85% from the same period last year, when it reported 10.1 million subscriber additions." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)

‘The British Fox News’ Is Off To A Very Messy Start

Actually, 'risible' is the adjective the headline for this article uses to describe the first month on air of GB News. Here's a shake-your-head rundown of the disarray, featuring Brexit archvillain Nigel Farage in the Tucker Carlson role. - Columbia Journalism Review

Maybe Netflix’s Move Into Video Games Isn’t Such A Great Idea

Said one securities analyst. "This is like Starbucks saying, 'We've decided to get into the FedEx business because people come to our store already. They can pick up their package when they get their coffee.'" - Fast Company

South Korea Is Becoming A Bigger Player In Hollywood

Korean-language programs have seen a surge in demand following drama “Parasite” winning best picture at last year’s Academy Awards and “Minari” receiving critical acclaim. Los Angeles Times

Preserving Local Shows, And Even Commercials, From The Early Years Of TV

Rick Klein, a sysadmin by trade, has created a YouTube Channel called the Museum of Classic Chicago Television — "kids' shows like Bozo and Garfield Goose, news reports delivered by men with woolly sideburns and wide lapels" - Yahoo! (Chicago Tribune)

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