North America has 5,691 fewer screens compared with pre-COVID times, according to research by media consultancy Omdia. Box office grosses haven’t rebounded either. Ticket sales in 2024 fell to $8.7 billion, a 23.5% drop from pre-pandemic levels. It’s a far cry from the nearly $11 billion the industry was generating. - Variety
Distorted? He’s a bit jowly, perhaps, but I — “even I?” — think it’s a decent resemblance. Still, I agree with the president that it’s a bad portrait. Not because it’s distorted, but because it’s bland, wooden, slick and lifeless. - Washington Post (MSN)
“Republicans, don’t miss this opportunity to rid our Country of this giant SCAM, both being arms of the Radical Left Democrat Party,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social. - The Daily Beast
“Deloitte predicts that the industry will shift away from standalone subscription services towards aggregation, similar to traditional pay TV packages. SVOD platforms need aggregators as they reach saturation in major markets and seek creative ways to reach new audiences and reduce churn.” - The Hollywood Reporter
If Russia, China, and the United States all sport various shades of totalitarianism, and Europe fractures over it, the world may very well enter a new Dark Age. One that could last a few years or many centuries. - 3 Quarks Daily
“Based on the fundamental principles of copyright, the current state of fast-evolving technology, and the information received… the Copyright Office concludes that existing legal doctrines are adequate and appropriate to resolve questions of copyrightability." - MusicRadar
“Classic writers — Chekhov, Racine, Eugene O’Neill, Gertrude Stein — have been resurrected in conversation with a tumultuous, shape-shifting present for an astonishing 50 years. … In the late 1970s, these shows … were the ones that the coolest of experimental theatergoers swooned over, gossiped about.” - The New York Times
OpenAI’s and Google’s latest tools make it easier than ever to re-create the styles of copyrighted works — simply by typing a text prompt. Together, these new AI image features seem to reignite concerns at the core of several lawsuits. - TechCrunch
A federal court in California denied an injunction sought by music publishers in their copyright case against Anthropic on Tuesday. The injunction would’ve barred the AI company from using song lyrics to train the AI models that power its chatbot Claude. - Gizmodo
From clay tablets to electronic tablets, technology has played an influential role in shaping human knowledge. Today we stand on the brink of the next knowledge revolution. It is one as big as — if not more so — the invention of the printing press, or the dawning of the digital age. - The Conversation
A state House committee working on the budget voted in favor of eliminating the state’s Division of Arts. They also considered, but later dropped, a proposal to completely defund the New Hampshire State Library. - New Hampshire Public Radio
“The new decision from U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher again temporarily blocked the part of the law that prohibits school libraries and classrooms from carrying books that depict sex acts.” - AP
“A Tarrant County grand jury declined to take action against the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth or artist Sally Mann in (the) case of … four photos that were confiscated months ago from Diaries of Home, a temporary exhibition at the museum.” - KERA (Dallas)
“The (Gounsa) temple was engulfed in flames on Tuesday as strong winds fanned the wildfires. About 20 of its 30 buildings and structures were completely burned down, including the revered Gaunru, a pavilion-shaped structure built in 1668 overlooking a stream, and Yeonsujeon, built in 1904 to mark the longevity of a king.” - AP
