American film festivals faced an identity crisis even before the pandemic. An impenetrably dense media landscape, the proliferation of on-demand content, and market instability created a mounting sense of uncertainty. IndieWire
The voice imitation revolution is already here, and artists, technologists and companies in several industries who use the new tech are grappling with the big question of what happens when you separate speech from the speaker. - Los Angeles Times
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)
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...
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
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
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
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
"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
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
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)
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
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
